Debmar Mercury and WIll Packer to Test ‘Central Ave.’

Lionsgate’s Debmar-Mercury and producer Will Packer (“Night School,” “Girls Trip”) are teaming on a new half-hour magazine strip originating from Atlanta called “Central Ave.” The series will launch as a four to five week preview on select Fox Television stations.

The logline: With a quest to blast trails and set trends, Central Ave, co-hosted by Julissa Bermudez (“106 & Park”) and former Olympic track star Sanya Richards-Ross, is poised to deliver relevant entertainment and pop culture news through a provocative, socially conscious and diverse lens.
 
Central Ave is the second collaboration between Will Packer Media and Debmar-Mercury, which together with Lionsgate Television produce OWN’s upcoming multigenerational family saga, “Ambitions.”  The Fox stations will air the magazine strip in access and early fringe time periods following the conclusion of the World Series.
 
Frank Cicha, EVP of programming for FOX Television Stations, said, “We can’t wait to work with someone this successful who, when you ask how many syndicated strips they’ve worked on before, the answer is ‘none.’  I have to believe we’re going to get something fresh here. Will Packer doesn’t know what he can’t do in this space.  That, to me, is invigorating.”
 
Debmar-Mercury Co-Presidents Ira Bernstein and Mort Marcus commented, “Will Packer brings an entirely new and vibrant vision to syndication with Central Ave. We are excited to fill a need in the marketplace for a magazine show like this by partnering once again with our good friends at the FOX stations and a team headed by an A-List film producer of the caliber of Will.”
 
Added Will Packer: “Central Ave will stand out in the newsmag space by presenting a unique first-person perspective on the culture-driving, trendsetting topics that mainstream audiences have a voracious appetite for. Being fronted by fresh voices that happen to be diverse and female gives us license to do stories in a way no one else can.”