Objectively Good Media is in early development on Seventy-Two, an authorized biopic on actor, comedian and TV presenter Steve Harvey, Deadline has learned.
Producers will include Mohamed Kheir and Matthew R. Cooper for OGM, as well as East 112, which is headed by Harvey and Thabiti Stephens, the Chief Strategy Officer of Steve Harvey Global. A writer is not yet attached to the project.
Seventy-Two centers on a transformative 72-hour period, ahead of a career-defining performance for Harvey at the legendary Apollo Theatre in 1993. The film will provide audiences an intimate look at the perseverance and challenges that defined Harvey’s career. At age 26, Harvey left a secure sales job to pursue a career in comedy, facing numerous obstacles along the way. However, by 36, he was confronting a period of self-doubt and personal struggles as he prepared for the performance that would alter his career trajectory. OGM conceptualized and brought the idea to Harvey and East 112.
Stated Harvey, “I’ve been reluctant to make a movie about my life for years, until I read the pitch for Seventy-Two. It focuses on one of the most difficult moments in my journey and career, and shows the world that hope is never truly lost. Wait until you see what we do with this.”
OGM’s Kheir added that “securing the rights to tell this story has been an incredible honor. Steve Harvey’s ability to turn his trials into triumphs is inspiring, and Seventy-Two will showcase the resilience and determination that defined those pivotal days. We look forward to sharing this powerful narrative with audiences worldwide.”
Beginning his career as a stand-up in the early 1980s, Harvey hosted the famed variety show Showtime at the Apollo from 1993 to 2000. An entertainer and media mogul whose career spans nearly four decades, he became a household name as the star of The WB’s sitcom The Steve Harvey Show, which ran for six seasons, in the same period featuring on the legendary “Kings of Comedy Tour,” which Spike Lee immortalized with his 2000 doc The Original Kings of Comedy. He earned a number of Daytime Emmys for his long-running daytime talk show Steve Harvey and has earned more as host of the game show Family Feud, which he continues to work on to this day, along with Celebrity Family Feud. This all represents just a fraction of Harvey’s career output, as he’s also well known as an author, motivational speaker, and entrepreneur.
Founded in 2023 by Cooper, Uwakokunre (Kokie) Imasogie, Nicholas “Nikko” Lara and Kheir, Objectively Good Media is coming off of production on Damned If You Do, a dark comedy following a group of teenage friends who have sold their souls to the devil. Kate Siegel and Harvey Guillén are among those set to star in the flick, marking the directorial debut of Jake Rubin and Evan Metzold. The burgeoning production company named Anna Dragoo as its new Head of Development earlier this week.
