‘The Flash’ Star Danielle Nicolet Adapting ‘Black Karen’ Short Into Feature For Kevin Hart’s Hartbeat:

EXCLUSIVE: The Flash star Danielle Nicolet is set to write and exec produce a feature adaptation of her short Black Karen for Kevin Hart‘s multi-platform media company, Hartbeat.

The short film, written by Nicolet and directed by Meagan Good (Prime Video’s Harlem), was created through Hartbeat’s comedic screenwriting fellowship Women Write Now, launched in 2021, which aims to champion the next generation of Black women in comedy.

Pic tells the story of Karen Johnson, a Black woman on the verge. Her work, home and personal life are falling to pieces while she’s plagued by anxiety. After being convinced by her therapist the world is woke and the only one who hasn’t changed is her, Karen decides to improve her life by acting like a white woman would. It all goes great… until it doesn’t. When the private bank Karen works in is robbed, she realizes that the situation needs a hero. However, her strength doesn’t come from acting like a white woman… it comes from embracing the beauty, and badassery, that is her blackness.

Hartbeat’s Candice Wilson Cherry is also attached to exec produce the feature take. Those interested in viewing the original short can find it streaming on Peacock alongside Women Write Now’s full collection of titles including Wilandrea Blair’s Buddy and Bernice and Moni Oyedepo’s Take the Job from the inaugural 2021 fellowship, as well as Night Off (Kiana Butler Jabangwe), Hey Boo (Danielle Solomon) and Power Dynamics (Mayanna Berrin) from its second series.

“We’re thrilled to continue our relationship with Danielle, developing Black Karen from an idea to a short created through the first Women Write Now fellowship in partnership with Sundance Institute, and now to a feature,” said Women Write Now co-founder and Hartbeat CEO Thai Randolph. “With WWN, our goal was never to stop at mentorship. We are dedicated to creating career-changing opportunities for Black women writers that extend beyond the fellowship itself.”

A series regular on The CW’s The Flash, which is in its final season, Nicolet was among the inaugural 2021 class of Women Write Now Fellows, through the program securing a first-look deal with Hartbeat. The actress played Cecile Horton on the aforementioned superhero series and has also been seen on shows like Supergirl and Key and Peele, among many others. Notable film credits include Tyler Perry’s Acrimony, the acclaimed Sundance-premiering Netflix pic Deidra & Laney Rob a Train and the Warner Bros action-comedy Central Intelligence led by Hart and Dwayne Johnson.

Hartbeat has produced such feature vehicles for Hart as Me Time, The Man from Toronto and Night School, along with a number of his comedy specials. Among its next projects set to hit the screen is the Netflix action-comedy Lift directed by F. Gary Gray, which has Hart starring alongside Vincent D’Onofrio, Sam Worthington, Gugu Mbatha-Raw and more.

Hartbeat’s Women Write Now fellowship looks to bolster Black women in comedy through mentorship, advocacy, production and exhibition, having up-and-comers develop short comedic scripts for the screen under the guidance of industry vets, with guest directors then coming in to bring them to the screen. 2022 fellows Berrin, Jabangwe and Solomon had their works brought to life by Logan Browning (Netflix’s The Perfection), Tika Sumpter (Sonic the Hedgehog) and Nicole Byer (Netflix’s Nailed It), with each then premiering in a private screening at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival.

Nicolet is represented by A3 Artists Agency, Link Entertainment, Vault Entertainment and Goodman, Genow, Schenkman.

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