
Chicago — From book to script to television screen, “The Crossover”, written by Kwame Alexander has finally come to life on Disney+.
“The Crossover”, which was originally published in 2014, focuses on the lives of 12-year-old twins Jordan and Josh, who have mean skills on the basketball court. But in the game of life, they have many challenges to overcome. Through the power of unity, team, and family, they can work together to handle anything life throws at them. The story, told through poetry, has now been brought to the screen as a new series.
The first season of the series recently dropped, but the making of the story began over nine years ago! Although it took a while to be brought to life, the time and effort put into making the project the very best, made it worth the wait. “We had to figure out how to translate the poetry, the basketball, these beautiful characters onto the screen, and so Damani (executive producer of "The Crossover") and I came together to figure that out,” said Alexander. “And then we had to cast it and figure out who was gonna create this chemistry on screen, where were we gonna create this family? So all these sort of layers y’know, that took time.”
When adapting the book for television, finding the right streaming home for the show was a major priority. “It took a little bit of time and effort and work for us to figure out who to work with,” Alexander said. “It made sense that I’m in this space of creating family entertainment through books. Why not work with the brand that’s all about family entertainment and inspiration? Disney.”
This guest post is in partnership with True Star Media.