Photo Credit: The Come Up Show / CC by 2.0
Snoop Dogg and Kenya Barris are teaming up in MGM’s upcoming sports comedy The Underdoggs, out October 20, 2023.
Produced by Snoop’s Death Row Pictures, The Underdoggs tells the story of former NFL star Jaycen “2J’s” Jenning (Snoop Dogg), who agrees to coach a youth football team with hopes of rejuvenating his career instead of going to prison after a brush with the law. The Underdoggs is based on a pitch created by the rapper and longtime collaborator Constance Schwartz-Morini, with whom he started the Snoop Youth Football League.
“The Underdoggs is a real personal project for me considering that I’ve been coaching football for 15+ years with the Snoop Youth Football League,” says Snoop. “Giving back to the community through football has taught us so many invaluable life lessons that we’ve been able to share with kids in similar situations like mine when I was growing up. My hope is that this movie will shed light on the realities that kids and adults face in the hood and within the complex world of football.”
Charles Stone (Drumline) is directing the film from a screenplay by Danny Segal and Isaac Schamis (Grown-ish, #BlackAF). Mychelle Deschamps of Kenya Barris’ Khalabo Ink Society, Jonathan Glickman of Panoramic Media, and Schwartz-Morini are co-producing.
“We have brought together the perfect team, from MGM to the creatives led by Kenya, to make this film a reality,” added Schwartz-Morini. “I am excited to build upon my ten years at the National Football League and broader work across the sports and entertainment industry to help Snoop bring this film idea to life.”
“Snoop’s longtime commitment to his community via his youth football league is hugely inspiring to all of us at MGM,” says MGM’s Chief Operating Officer Chris Brearton. “We are thrilled to be working alongside this incredible creative team to bring this great comedy to moviegoing audiences, and to further MGM’s commitment to the theatrical exhibition when it hits theaters next October.”
“Having been fortunate to work with each in the past, I can attest that Snoop, Charles, and Kenya are the perfect ingredients to make Underdoggs a classic sports comedy,” producer Jonathan Glickman concludes. “Snoop’s personal connection to the material will make for a film that not only delivers laughs but a whole lot of heart for generations of fans.”