Salim Akil is an American film and television producer, director, and screenwriter from
Oakland, California
Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...
. He developed the television series ''
Black Lightning
Black Lightning (Jefferson Pierce) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character, created by writer Tony Isabella and artist Trevor Von Eeden, first appeared in ''Black Lightning'' #1 (April 1977), during ...
'' based on a
DC comics
DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery.
DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...
character
of the same name. He is a co-founder of Akil Productions which he founded with his wife
Mara Brock Akil
Mara Brock Akil (born Mara Dionne Brock; May 27, 1970) is an American screenwriter and television producer. She created the UPN comedy series '' Girlfriends'' (2000–2008) and its spin-off '' The Game'' (2006–2015). She later created the firs ...
.
Early life and education
Akil was born in Oakland, California. He attended
Columbia College Hollywood
Columbia College Hollywood (CCH) is a private college in Los Angeles, California. It is one of only 20 film institutions in the United States that have been awarded full membership by the International Association of Film and Television Schools ...
in Los Angeles, California.
Career
Akil began his production career in 1999, working on the film ''Drylongso,'' which played at the
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...
later that year.
In 2000, he worked as a staff writer and executive producer on the ''
Showtime
Showtime or Show Time may refer to:
Film
* ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film
* ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur
Television Networks and channels
* Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...
'' series ''
Soul Food
Soul food is an ethnic cuisine traditionally prepared and eaten by African Americans, originating in the Southern United States.Soul Food originated with the foods that were given to enslaved Black people by their white owners on Souther ...
''. That same year, he founded Akil Productions, then known as Happy Camper Productions, with his wife Mara Brock Akil. Mara later created the show ''
Girlfriends,'' which premiered in 2000 on
UPN
The United Paramount Network (UPN) was an American broadcast television network that launched on January 16, 1995. It was originally owned by Chris-Craft Industries' United Television. Viacom (through its Paramount Television unit, which pr ...
'','' with Salim directing several episodes. The show's spin-off ''
The Game'' premiered in 2006 on
The CW
''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite ...
, with Salim serving as an executive producer.
In 2011, he directed the film
''Jumping the Broom'', which was nominated for a
BET Award
The BET Awards is an American award show that was established in 2001 by the Black Entertainment Television network to celebrate black entertainers and other minorities in music, film, sports and philanthropy. The awards, which are presented annua ...
for Best Movie; he also won an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Director in a Motion Picture for the film that same year.
In 2012, he directed and co-produced a remake of the film ''
Sparkle
Sparkle may refer to:
* Sparkle (catamaran), a catamaran designed by Angus Primrose
* Sparkle (drink), a lemon-flavored soft drink
* Sparkle, a brand of paper towels owned by Georgia-Pacific
* Sparkle Plenty, a character in the ''Dick Tracy'' c ...
.'' Akil executive produced the
BET
Black Entertainment Television (acronym BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting African-American audiences. It is owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global via BET Networks and has offices in New York City, Los ...
series ''Being Mary Jane'', created by Mara, which premiered in 2014. In 2016, he received an
NAACP Image Award nomination for
Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series for the show's episode "Sparrow", as well as a nomination for Outstanding Directing in a Motion Picture (Television) for ''The Start Up''. He later began developing the show ''
Black Lightning
Black Lightning (Jefferson Pierce) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character, created by writer Tony Isabella and artist Trevor Von Eeden, first appeared in ''Black Lightning'' #1 (April 1977), during ...
'', which premiered in 2018 on The CW. He has written and directed several episodes of the series since its premiere. In February 2021, Akil confirmed a spin-off of ''Black Lightning'' titled ''Painkiller'' was in production.
Personal life
Akil married
Mara Brock in 1999. The two met while working on the set of ''Moesha''.
They have two sons.
He and his wife, Mara, are practicing
Sufi Muslims
Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spiri ...
. The Akils created ''
Love is ___,'' which was based on their relationship, but was canceled after a woman accused Salim of domestic violence in an alleged extramarital affair, as well as copyright infringement by using her screenplay as the basis for the series. A statement made by Akil's lawyers denied all allegations.
Awards and nominations
References
External links
*
*
{{Authority control
Showrunners
American television writers
American television producers
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people
African-American Muslims