HBO has given a series order to a comedy series based on the film Skate Kitchen. Now titled Betty, the series is set against the backdrop of New York City and will follow a diverse group of young women navigating their lives through the predominantly male oriented world of skateboarding. Development on the series was originally announced in December. HBO has given the half-hour show a six episode order. Production is currently underway in New York.
Skate Kitchen stars Rachelle Vinberg, Nina Moran, Moonbear, Dede Lovelace, and Ajani Russell will star in the series, reprising their roles from the film. Crystal Moselle, who directed and co-wrote “Skate Kitchen,” will write, direct, and executive produce “Betty.” Lesley Arfin will also write and executive produce. Igor Srubshchik and Jason Weinberg will also executive produce, with Isabella Tzenkova of Kotva Films and Lizzie Nastro producing. Michael Sherman and Matthew Perniciaro of Bow & Arrow Entertainment and Rodrigo Teixeira of RT Features will co-executive produce. Arfin Material and Untitled Entertainment will produce for HBO.
Vinberg’s other roles include the short film That One Day, which was also inspired by the real-life Skate Kitchen, of which Rachelle is a founding member. She has also modeled for Free People, Old Navy, Adidas, Target, Nike, and Volcom. She is repped by ICM, Untitled Entertainment, and Granderson Des Rochers LLP
Moselle’s Sundance film Skate Kitchen was distributed by Magnolia. She is also known for the Sundance Grand Jury Prize award winning documentary, The Wolfpack. In the last decade she has been working with short-form storytelling for publications such as Vice and The New York Times, where she created a series called Something Big, Something Small, featuring talent such as Pharrell Williams and Shepard Fairey. Most recently she directed a documentary short series for National Geographic entitled Our Dream of Water about women dealing with water crisis in Haiti, Peru and Kenya.
