To commemorate the 10th anniversary of his 2006 urban dramady feature production “I Used to Love Her,” producer / director / writer Mark L. Harris of 1555 Filmworks, is bringing it back as an entirely new, reimagined digital series.
Released in 2008, the feature was well-received by international audiences, garnering several awards and Harris continues to receive emails requesting a sequel. “Since this is the age of digital, we thought an ongoing series would be the perfect way to circle back on these popular characters,” he says.
The new six-episode, socially-relevant series begins shooting Aug. 5 on a $15,000 budget, in and around Chicago, with a crew of 12. Harris is EP and director. Ricardo Islas is DP and will edit; music by Kenny Humble.
The series picks up today, 10 years later in the lives of main characters Ramadan played by Mel Roberson returning in his original role, and his wife Simee, now played by Tiffany Addison (“Batman v Superman,” “Barbershop”), who owned a small, indie record company.
“Ramadan and Simee are now a couple in every sense, from intimacy to business,” says Harris. “Together they have decided to release socially-conscious music. But big corporations don’t want that. Once upon a time hip hop was our news of the streets. And Ramadan and Simee want to return to that.
“The bigger labels want to keep things as is. So we focus on a lot of conspiracy theories involving hip-hop, the prison system and our community.”
Harris plans for each episode to tackle socially impactful issues that plague pop culture today.
Those were among the reasons that Addison, a big fan of the original film, took on the role of Simee. “Simee (originally played by Toya Turner) was not Muslim. But in the series, she has married Ramadan and converted. It felt very personal and something I really wanted to explore with this rich character.
“Plus, I like the idea of portraying a strong Black woman married to a strong Black man on screen. We just don’t have enough of these roles.”
The new series also stars Bynum (Tyra), Henderson (Terrance), Curtis (Celine) and reprising their original film roles.
“We’re hoping that the series is not only entertaining, but creates a positive dialog as we’re inviting politicians, police, pastors, teachers, gang members, basically everyone in the community to the premiere,” Harris says.
The premiere screening is set for Sept. 29 at the Studio Movie Grill, 210 W. 87th St.Harris says.
Colin Costello, who still calls Chicago, “home,” is a working screenwriter whose credits include the 2016 family film, “Traveling Without Moving.” He can be reached at colin@colincostello.com.
