ABOUT THE ROOST

THE ROOST is a transmedia production company specializing in story-driven content creation and production, for multi-platform exposure. From the first idea to final delivery, we deliver fresh entertainment— whether it began as our own original concept or we built upon yours with you. 

We are easily excited by non-traditional casting and endeavor to produce great stories with dimensional yet humanizing depictions of all people but especially underrepresented communities, people of color, and Black women in particular. Years in the television trenches— managing the vision of various series for delivery to air and then seeing how those shows perform with viewers —has elevated our understanding of what it means to aptly draw an audience, satiate their hunger and earn their emotional trust over an entire season's arc. These are the earned skill sets that drive THE ROOST. 

Its principal exec, Michele Barnwell, has worked as a producer for over twenty years; and for the last ten (10) as a Showrunner and Executive Producer. Her extensive work as a producer in nonfiction television, short-form branded entertainment, web-based clips, music videos, pilots, specials, and full series has been delivered for: Netflix, HBO, the CW, Fox, MTV, Lifetime, E!, BET, Centric, Oxygen, TLC, STYLE, Intel, and the UK’s Channel 4—where she sold and delivered her first nonfiction television pilot. Michele has spoken at conferences and appeared on panel discussions around the world; adding to the conversation about topics ranging from immersive storytelling to the basic means and methods of crafting an authentic story.

THE ROOST is named for her great uncle's Cape Cod Massachusetts multi-house boutique hotel, The Roost, where Michele's family spent summers growing up; and where she heard some of the best-told homemade stories ever, by family members seeking to make the woodsy Cape Cod escape into a fantastical adventure for the New-York-City-born young girl. Uncle Henry's Roost was where stories were made memorable. THE ROOST continues in that legacy.

The company's nonfiction development slate includes a wide range of projects from long-form documentary to limited series, and character-driven ensemble docuseries to innovative short-form branded-entertainment.

On the scripted side, THE ROOST has optioned the rights to a Holocaust memoir penned by a heroic woman— for whom Yad Vashem conveyed the gratitude of the State of Israel for her work in the Dutch Resistance by honoring her with the Righteous Among the Nations medal in 1998. This exciting (but harrowing) true story of a young 20-year-old female Dutch spy is currently being adapted for the screen.

We love a good story. So we will create and produce them for you too.

Our work here is fueled by an enthusiasm for telling great stories about relatable characters that refresh, challenge, and compel conversation… by any medium necessary.