The Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) is getting its first-ever scripted TV series, produced by Texas hoops star and ESPN host Chiney Ogwumike.
The half-hour comedy show, The W, is being developed by Peacock and will follow a rookie player and her inexperienced agent as they navigate the highs and lows of professional women’s basketball.
According to Deadline, the series is loosely based on Chiney’s real-life journey in the WNBA with her longtime business partner and agent, Allison Galer, who chose an unconventional path after Chiney, who was the #1 overall pick in the 2014 WNBA Draft, chose the 24-year-old as her agent.
The W will offer an inside look into the good and bad side of women’s sports.
Liz Flahive and Carly Mensch, the duo behind Netflix’s women-wrestling comedy-drama GLOW, will serve as showrunners for The W. They will co-write the pilot alongside Tori Collins of Jamie Foxx’s Dad Stop Embarrassing Me!
Universal Television is producing in partnership with Condé Nast’s Glamour Studios and Victorious. Chiney, Galer, Flahive, Mensch, Helen Estabrook, and Jodi Hildebrand are set to executive produce.
This project marks the first major production for Chiney’s company, Victorious. She and Galer previously developed and executive-produced the ESPN Films documentary 144, which chronicled the 2020 WNBA season inside the COVID-19 bubble.
“Our mission with Victorious is to build a future where women in sports can win big,” said Chiney told Deadline. “One of the most invaluable lessons that I have learned as a professional athlete, broadcaster, and ambassador is that we no longer have to wait for opportunities, we can create them.”
She continued: “We are in an era where barriers are being broken, ceilings are being shattered and the world is finally taking notice. And with our groundbreaking first project, we will bring the main topic to the mainstream. In that spirit, Victorious is a purpose-driven platform that will forge new pathways for us to celebrate our own wins.”
Galer echoed the sentiment, adding, “With media coverage accelerating, superstar status shining, and investment expanding, Victorious will be the go-to vehicle for women’s sports stories to reach and captivate global audiences.”
Chiney, who was drafted by the Connecticut Sun before being traded to the Los Angeles Sparks in 2019, has built an impressive career both on and off the court.
In 2018, she signed with ESPN, and in 2020, she became the first Black woman to host a national radio show for the Disney-owned sports network.
She is currently an in-studio analyst for NBA Today.
