Wendy Williams & Kevin Hunter Characters Cast In Upcoming Lifetime Biopic, Ciera Payton + Morocco Omari Set To Play Divorcees

September 4, 2020 by Sincerely Liz in TV with 0 Comments

Wendy Williams & Kevin Hunter Characters Cast In Upcoming Lifetime Biopic, Ciera Payton + Morocco Omari Set To Play Divorcees

Lifetime’s biopic about media powerhouse Wendy Williams and her TV producer ex-husband Kevin Hunter has its lead characters. Ciera Payton, who’s most recently known for her role as Lilly Winthrop, the wife of the President’s Chief of Staff on Tyler Perry‘s “The Oval” on BET, has been tapped to take on the role of Wendy Williams. Kevin Hunter will be played by Morocco Omari of “P-Valley” and “Empire.”

Wendy Williams

Reportedly, the biopic has the working title of “Wendy Williams: The Hot Topic,” an apparent play off of her popular “The Wendy Williams Show” segment where Wendy talks with her fellow “co-hosts” (audience members) about the trending news of the day. The film will be directed by Darren Grant who’s directed episodes of the hit series “The Chi,” music videos for the likes of Brian McKnight (“Anytime”) and Destiny’s Child (“Survivor”, “Bills, Bills, Bills”) He made his directorial feature film debut while working on Tyler Perry‘s 2005 film Diary of a Mad Black Woman.

The biopic is scheduled to premiere in 2021 and will run just before the airing of a documentary centered around the well-known and famously outspoken talk show host.

The film is authorized and executive produced by Wendy herself and will cover the time from her wildly-opinionated beginnings in radio to the start and continued success of her self-titled daytime television talk show. Additionally, the film will have Will Packer and Sheila Ducksworth as executive producers as well.

Wendy‘s portrayer, Ciera Payton, took to Instagram to celebrate the news and reposted a photo of the breaking news story. She said, in part:

“Wendy’s story is powerfully inspiring. Which makes it clear why she is such a tour de force! Lifetime, Wendy Williams, WIll Packer, and Sheila Ducksworth have assembled an amazing team and I’m so excited to be a part of it!”