PAYBACK ENTERTAINMENT

PRENTICE PENNY is an Emmy® nominated and Peabody Award winning writer, producer and director who has brought his unique voice and sensibilities to some of today’s most beloved projects. He is best known for his role as showrunner, executive producer and frequent director for HBO’s award-winning hit comedy “Insecure.” Fresh off its award-winning fourth season, the Emmy-nominated and Peabody-winning series will return for its highly-anticipated fifth and final season on October 24th. Earlier this year, Penny also launched the late-night series “Pause with Sam Jay,” which he co-created and executive produces with “SNL” writer Sam Jay and was quickly renewed for a second season at HBO. Additionally, Penny marked his feature film directorial and screenwriting debut last year with the Netflix original film “Uncorked.” Starring Mamoudou Athie, Niecy Nash and Courtney B. Vance, the film earned rave reviews and quickly become Netflix’s #1 movie in the U.S. the week of its release. Further cementing Penny as a versatile and talented filmmaker, the film’s skillful storytelling offered an intimate glimpse at the complicated dynamics of a family with depth, nuance and dimension that expands and overturns the traditional stereotypes of Black father-son relationships. Penny produces all of his projects through his multi-media production company A Penny For Your Thoughts Entertainment, which specializes in content exploring the human experience with nuanced storytelling and the specificity of its diverse characters. The company has several projects in various stages of development. Among Penny’s past credits are several acclaimed comedy series, including the Golden Globe-winning “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” critically-acclaimed cult favorite “Happy Endings,” the hit ensemble series “Scrubs” and the seminal sitcom “Girlfriends.”  

SEBASTIAN A. JONES is the Founder and President of Stranger Comics, where their mission statement is to create stories with a philosophy of quality, where both story and art are sacred and authentic representation matters. Jones is the creator of the world of Asunda, which is published by Stranger Comics and is currently in development at HBO where he is Executive Producing. At the age of 20 he founded the critically acclaimed record label MVP Records, releasing 25 albums that featured such artists as James Brown, John Coltrane, Marvin Gaye, and Billie Holiday.

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Jones also teaches his lecture series “How to take an idea from concept to creation,” at universities worldwide. Comics and kid’s books published to his writing credit include Niobe: She is Life, co-authored with Amandla Stenberg with foreword by Viola Davis, which became the first nationally distributed comic with a Black Female author, artist (Ashley A. Woods), and hero in entertainment history; Niobe: She is Death, The Untamed: A Sinner’s Prayer, The Untamed: Killing Floor, Morka Moa, Dusu: Path of the Ancient, Piñata, Salvador, Ruining Christmas, Tales of Asunda, Erathune, Essessa, and kid’s books Pinata, plus I Am Mixed, I Am Living in 2 Homes, and I Am Awesome co-created by Garcelle Beauvais. He has also written the psychological thriller video game Hektor, and he has also starred in scores of national commercials and recently appeared in the feature film White Space.