Queen & Slim Director Melina Matsoukas Signs First-Look Deal at FX

If Beyoncé wants to work with someone, they’re probably really good at their job. THR reports that Queen & Silm director and Lemonade collaborator Melina Matsoukas has signed to a first-look deal with FX Productions, through which Matsoukas will develop projects for FX Networks.

Matsoukas already has a working relationship with FX: She directed and is an executive producer for the pilot for the forthcoming Y, a show based on the comic book Y: The Last Man. Nick Grad, president of original programming at FX Entertainment, stated, “Melina is an enormously talented director and producer,” adding that he is “especially excited that Melina has such a depth of directing experience across film, commercials, music videos and television, and look forward to developing projects that draw on her bold vision and great skill.” FX Productions notably produces shows like Snowfall, Atlanta, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and Archer.

Matsoukas will certainly be a director to watch in the coming year but she already has a few accolades to her name. She has won Grammys for Best Music Video for Beyoncé’s “Formation” and Rihanna’s “We Found Love,” and earned a Directors Guild Award nomination in 2018 for the “Thanksgiving” episode of Master of None, which was written by Lena Waithe. The Waithe-written Queen & Slim will debut in theaters Nov. 27.