Chicago’s Oscar winner Matthew A. Cherry to launch HBO Max show based on ‘Hair Love’

The animated series ‘Young Love’ looks into the lives of the family introduced in his short film.

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“Hair Love,” by Chicagoan Matthew A. Cherry, won the Oscar for best animated short film on Feb. 9, 2020.

Sony Pictures Animation

Academy Award-winning short film “Hair Love” is going from the big screen to the small screen — well, sort of.

HBO Max has ordered a 12-episode season of “Young Love,” an animated series that looks into the lives of the Young family — Stephen and Angela, daughter Zuri and pet cat Rocky — introduced in the Academy Award-winning short film “Hair Love” by filmmaker and Northwest Side native Matthew A. Cherry.

The show plans to discuss topics such as parenthood, social issues, careers and marriage.

“I am beyond excited to continue telling the story of Stephen, Angela and Zuri and further explore the family dynamics of a young Black millennial family we established in our short film ‘Hair Love’ as an animated series,” said Cherry in a statement. “Couldn’t ask for better partners in Sony Pictures Animation and HBO Max in helping us get ‘Young Love’ out to the world.”

“Hair Love,” which won the Oscar for best animated short film earlier this year, is about an African American father who attempts to do his daughter’s hair for the first time; the short film debuted in 2019 when it was shown in theaters with “The Angry Birds Movie 2.”

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