BET Announces 'Project Cre8' Winner

On Monday (September 21), BET and Tracy Yvonne Productions announced the winner of its nationwide competition, “Project CRE8.” After a nine-month-long search and hundreds of submissions, Thaddeus McCants from Madison, WI was crowned the “PROJECT CRE8” winner. In partnership with powerhouse writer/director/producer Tracy Oliver (First Wives Club, Girls Trip, Little), “Project CRE8” gave aspiring and emerging TV writers the opportunity to develop an original comedy for the small screen. The contest culminated Thursday, September 17, where the five finalists pitched their original TV comedy to Tracy Oliver, Connie Orlando and a panel of successful TV executives. McCants’ original TV script, “Lit Lounge,” rose to the top of the heap and was selected the winning script. “Lit Lounge” is a satire on marijuana’s transition from Schedule-I drug to corporate commodity and follows a young Black man’s troubled climb to the top of the legal world of weed. BET will purchase McCants’ TV script for $25K and work with him to develop a comedy series with Oliver’s Tracy Yvonne Productions. 

“Project CRE8 is a program that showcases BET’s commitment to diversity and inclusion, and its longstanding support of emerging talent from the creative community,” said Connie Orlando, EVP Specials, Music Programming & Music Strategy, BET. “I’m incredibly proud of our ongoing dedication to revealing the excellence of untapped producers, writers, and directors of color with a platform for them to be seen and heard. I am thrilled to partner with Tracy Yvonne Productions to tell a compelling original story and welcome Thaddeus’ fresh and comedic perspective to the BET family.”

“We loved Thaddeus’ fresh voice and script and are excited to bring it to life with our partners at BET,” said Tracy Oliver.

About the “PROJECT CRE8” Winner Thaddeus McCants:

McCants is a Brooklyn-based playwright and television writer originally from Madison, Wisconsin. He is currently pursuing his MFA in Playwriting at NYU, where he is a Tisch Graduate Scholarship Award Recipient; he also holds a BFA in Acting from Ithaca College. His Comedy pilot ‘Lit Lounge’ is a finalist for the 2020 Yes, And Laughter Lab partnered with Comedy Central and 3Arts; His Sci-Fi pilot about the Flint water crisis ‘What Doesn’t Kill Us…’ was a semi-finalist for the 2020 ATX Pitch Competition sponsored by Sundance and The Black List, and his 30-Minute Comedy ‘Fakers’ has won festivals on both coasts. As a performer, he was in the original cast of the Disney’s ‘Freaky Friday the Musical’, working with Tony winners Christopher Ashley and Sergio Trujillo and has worked with HBO, MTV, and was a member of UCB NY (RIP) where he performed with his Lloyd team The Hometown Tigers.

For more information on “PROJECT CRE8,” go to BET.com/Cre8. Join the conversation on social media by using and following the hashtag #ProjectCRE8.