Streamer IMDb TV has ordered Primo (working title), a new comedy series from Shea Serrano and Michael Schur. The single-camera series, inspired by Serrano’s life growing up in San Antonio, will stream exclusively in the U.S. and UK on IMDb TV, Amazon’s premium free streaming service.
Primo is described as a heartwarming and highly entertaining coming-of-age comedy about a teenager balancing college aspirations, societal expectations, and a hectic home life anchored by his single mom and five uncles. The half-hour series is written and executive produced by Serrano, a New York Times best-selling author whose childhood stories are the foundation for this semi-autobiographical comedy.
Serrano serves as creator and executive producer for the series, alongside executive producers Michael Schur via Fremulon, David Miner for 3 Arts Entertainment, and Morgan Sackett. Primo is produced by Amazon Studios and Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group.
“Do you remember when the Spurs won the 2014 title after having their hearts broken in the 2013 Finals? That’s what I feel like right now. I couldn’t be happier, I couldn’t be prouder, I couldn’t be more thankful. Honestly, I still kind of can’t even believe that this is happening,” said Serrano.
“When I first met Shea Serrano, I personally guaranteed him that someday I would make him feel like the 2014 Spurs did after winning the NBA championship. I’m thrilled to have achieved my goal. And I’m doubly thrilled to work with him and IMDb TV on this hilarious and heartwarming show,” said Schur.
“It is a dream to be in business with these two incredible writers. Their individual talents have combined to make an insightful, relevant, and genuinely funny show. More than just making us laugh, these scripts simultaneously reminded us of the angst of adolescence, the dizzying magic of first love, how friends become family, and how family imprints us for life,” said Lauren Anderson and Ryan Pirozzi, co-heads of content and programming at IMDb TV. “IMDb TV’s commitment to telling broad, timely, and highly entertaining stories is perfectly illustrated in Primo, and we know the series will deeply resonate with our viewers.”
“We’re thrilled that our partners at IMDb TV have picked up Primo! This project has been a long time in the making, and we’re incredibly proud to see Shea’s memorable and funny experiences come to life on the small screen,” said Jim Donnelly, EVP, comedy development, Universal Television. “From his best-selling books to this new show, Shea’s storytelling will captivate audiences not unlike power forward Tim Duncan captivated Spurs fans from 1997-2016.”
Serrano is an author, screenwriter, and journalist. He is the first Mexican-American to be a three-time New York Times best-selling author. His first book, The Rap Year Book, was turned into a six-episode docuseries for AMC. His second book, Basketball (And Other Things), was selected by President Obama as one of the best books he read in 2017. His third book, Movies (And Other Things), debuted at No. 1 on the Times’ Best Seller List. Currently, Serrano is a staff writer for the sports and pop culture website The Ringer, where he co-hosts the popular No Skips podcast with Brandon “Jinx” Jenkins that explores hip-hop’s most iconic and unskippable albums. He resides in San Antonio with his wife and kids.
Michael Schur created the critically acclaimed NBC comedy The Good Place, and co-created Parks and Recreation, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and the Peacock series Rutherford Falls. He is also an executive producer on HBO Max’s Hacks and Netflix’s Master of None. Prior to Parks, Schur spent four years as a writer-producer on the Emmy Award-winning NBC hit The Office. His first TV writing job was at Saturday Night Live, where he spent seven seasons, including three as the producer of “Weekend Update” with Tina Fey and Jimmy Fallon. Currently, Schur is working on the upcoming series Field of Dreams for Peacock, in which he serves as creator and executive producer.