According to a new exclusive with Variety Natasha Rothwell is bringing the viral TikTok series “Who TF Did I Marry?” to television, based on the content created by Tareasa “Reesa Teesa” Johnson earlier this year.
Rothwell is not only set to executive produce the show but will also take on the role of Johnson.
Johnson’s TikTok series, spread across 50 videos totaling over eight hours, details her tumultuous relationship with her ex-husband, whom she labels a pathological liar.
The series has accumulated more than 450 million impressions on social media and helped Johnson gain over 3 million followers in just two weeks.
Among the details Johnson shared were that her ex-husband told her that he played football at San Diego State University despite never having attended the school, asked for money to pay for a funeral for his step-daughter who she later learned was still alive, and had a social insurance number that didn’t match the one on their marriage license. Johnson also says he was cheating on her. Though she referred to him in her videos as “Legion,” fans on TikTok later found that his real name was Jerome McCoy. McCoy has since spoken publicly to deny Johnson’s claims.
Following a competitive bidding war, Rothwell acquired the rights to “Who TF Did I Marry?” via her Big Hattie Productions banner, where Mary Sayama McHenry was recently hired as director of development. McHenry joins Big Hattie after previously holding roles at CBS TV Studios and most recently Get Lifted Film Company.
The news comes ahead of the Sept. 13 premiere of “How to Die Alone,” a Hulu comedy Rothwell created and stars in. Additionally, Rothwell will appear in Season 3 of “The White Lotus,” reprising her Emmy-nominated role from Season 1. Besides “The White Lotus,” Rothwell is best known for playing Kelli in HBO’s “Insecure,” which she also wrote for, and serving as a “Saturday Night Live” writer from 2014 to 2015. She is repped by CAA, Edna Cowan Management and Jackoway Austen Tyerman Wertheimer Mandelbaum Morris Bernstein Trattner Auerbach Hynick Jaime LeVine Sample & Klein.
Johnson signed with CAA in March, the month after “Who TF Did I Marry?” went viral. A graduate of Kennesaw State University, where she received a degree criminal justice before studying international law and counterterrorism abroad in the Hague, she is now based in metro Atlanta. She is repped by attorney Omara Harris.
