Issa Rae returns to HBO with new comedy about friendship and boxing

HBO has ordered a pilot for a new half-hour comedy from Issa Rae, the creator and star of the acclaimed series Insecure.

The untitled project will explore male friendship, ambition and the pressures of success against the high-stakes backdrop of professional boxing in Las Vegas.

Written and executive produced by Rae, the HBO comedy centres on Menzel, a 30-year-old barber and aspiring sports manager who also considers himself the professional best friend of JB, an up-and-coming boxer. As JB pursues a career in boxing, the pair navigate ambition, insecurity, loneliness and the complicated realities that come with success.

Prentice Penny, a longtime collaborator of Rae’s on Insecure, will serve as showrunner, executive producer and director of the pilot. Jax Clark will executive produce for Rae’s Hoorae production company, while Penny will produce through A Penny For Your Thoughts. Jonathan Berry and Dave Becky will executive produce for 3 Arts Entertainment.

The new project continues Rae’s long creative relationship with HBO. She broke through with Insecure, which ran for five seasons and earned widespread acclaim for its portrayal of friendship, relationships, career ambitions and contemporary Black life.

Rae later executive produced A Black Lady Sketch Show and created the HBO Max comedy Rap Sh!t, which followed two aspiring rappers and their friendship in Miami. The series ran for two seasons.

The new boxing comedy comes after Rae signed a three-year first-look film and television production deal with Paramount in January 2026. Despite that agreement, the upcoming HBO pilot reportedly predates her new pact.

With Rae and Penny reunited behind the scenes, the project marks another collaboration between two creators who helped shape HBO’s recent comedy lineup.