Serena Williams Gears Up for a Hollywood Takeover With Her Collaboration With $392B Worth Brand’s Bold New Project

“…we aim to elevate female and diverse voices through content that speaks to everyone,” Serena Williams said back in April 2023. A year after she retired from the sport, the 23-time GS champion entered the entertainment space with the launch of her multimedia production company, 926 Productions. The move came after the success of King Richard – a film which was co-produced by the Williams sisters, recalling the journey of their family. Since its launch, the company has already produced the soccer documentary Copa 71, and now it has come up with another exciting project in collaboration with Netflix.

On Monday, April 14, Deadline reported that Serena Williams, through her company 926 productions, would serve as an executive producer on the upcoming Netflix adaptation of Taylor Jenkins Reid’s bestselling novel Carrie Soto Is Back.

Williams confirmed the news in her IG Stories through a screenshot of the Deadline article and tagged her production company, Nine Two Six. Per Deadline, the TV adaptation is also “expected to be loosely inspired by Serena Williams’ story,” which may imply certain deviations from the novel. Serena Williams and Caroline Currier will be the executive producers via Nine Two Six Productions alongside Picturestart, Taylor Jenkins Reid, and Brad Mendesohn via Circle Management + Production.

Note: Netflix’s market cap as of April 11, 2025, is $392.81 billion.

Written by Amanda Kate Shuman, the drama series follows the journey of a tennis legend, Carrie Soto, whose determination to win at all costs has not made her popular. By the time she retires from tennis, she is the best player the world has ever seen. 

Interestingly, six years after her retirement, when there comes a real threat of her world record being taken away by another stunning player, Nicki Chan, Carrie makes the call to come out of retirement and be coached by her father for one last year in a desperate attempt to reclaim her record. And to make things more complicated, she’s joined in the journey by her on-off romantic partner, Bowe Huntley.

Although Carrie Soto is not based on Serena Williams, the character evokes the American legend, and even Taylor Jenkins Reid, the author of the novel, has spoken about the influence of the Williams sisters on the book.

“My incredible respect for the Williams sisters is part of what makes me interested in tennis. I wouldn’t write a book about tennis without the influence of just the absolute glory that has been their journey, but also specifically Serena’s quest to get as many Grand Slam titles as she has managed to do,” Reid said in an interview at the time of the book’s release in 2022.

Serena Williams previously executive-produced the 2024 docuseries, ‘In the Arena: Serena Williams,’ as well as King Richard (2021). In the Arena: Serena Williams, which was released in July 2024, earned three Sports Emmy nominations. And, Williams’ husband, Alexis Ohanian, couldn’t be any prouder.

Alexis Ohanian congratulates Serena Williams for her astonishing off-court feat

The first episode of In the Arena: Serena Williams was released in July 2024, and its final episode came out on September 1, 2024. The docuseries is mainly based on the key moments of Serena Williams‘ life, both on and off the court. Recently, the tennis legend shared a few pictures on her IG handle, celebrating the three Sports Emmy nominations earned by her ESPN+ documentary (Outstanding Graphics Design- Specialty, Outstanding Documentary Series, and Outstanding Audio/Sound -Post Produced).

Williams captioned the post writing, “3 Sports Emmy Nominations for In The Arena!!! @ninetwosix.” And her husband, Alexis Ohanian, couldn’t help dropping a heartwarming comment. “Well Deserved!!” he wrote.

What was the purpose or motivation behind this documentary series, though? Previously, in an interview with Access Hollywood at the Tribeca Film Festival, Williams revealed, “That was the biggest thing when I was creating this documentary was the fact that my daughters would get to see it and have an opportunity to see this whole new side of me that maybe I won’t be able to explain thoroughly through stories. To put all of this story on camera was a super huge motivation for me.“

Serena has time and again talked about the importance of setting an example for her daughters and she is doing that with her business endeavours. Share your thoughts on Serena Williams’ incredible transition from a tennis legend to a successful entrepreneur.