A television adaptation of Michael Arceneaux’s I Can’t Date Jesus: Love, Sex, Family, Race and Other Reasons I’ve Put My Faith in Beyoncé is in development from Disney’s 20th Century Fox TV, Jerrod Carmichael, Lee Daniels and Marc Velez.

According to Deadline, which first broke the news, it is half-hour series being shopped to cable networks and streaming services. Arceneaux will adapt his book and is executive producing with Carmichael, as well as and Daniels and Velez for Lee Daniels Entertainment.

I Can’t Date Jesus was first released in 2018 via Simon & Schuester. The description:

Equality for LGBTQ people has come a long way and all, but voices of persons of color within the community are still often silenced, and being Black in America is…well, have you watched the news?

With the characteristic wit and candor that have made him one of today’s boldest writers on social issues, I Can’t Date Jesus is Michael Arceneaux’s impassioned, forthright, and refreshing look at minority life in today’s America. Leaving no bigoted or ignorant stone unturned, he describes his journey in learning to embrace his identity when the world told him to do the opposite.

He eloquently writes about coming out to his mother; growing up in Houston, Texas; being approached for the priesthood; his obstacles in embracing intimacy that occasionally led to unfortunate fights with fire ants and maybe fleas; and the persistent challenges of young people who feel marginalized and denied the chance to pursue their dreams.

News of this adaptation comes the same day as the release of Arcenaux’s second book,  I Don’t Want to Die Poor. 

 

READ MORE:

‘On The Count Of Three’: Jerrod Carmichael To Make Directorial Debut With ‘Darkly Comedic Thriller’

‘The Spook Who Sat By The Door’ Series From Lee Daniels And Fox 21 Lands At FX For Development

 

Photo: Getty/Simon & Schuester 

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