EXCLUSIVE: Actor-filmmaker Cheryl Nichols (Doula) has signed with Stride Management.
Nichols recently directed the comedy Doula, produced by Chris Pine’s company Barry Linen Motion Pictures, which Universal Pictures will release across digital and VOD platforms on June 28. Her third feature starring Troian Bellisario, Arron Shiver and Will Greenberg centers on Deb (Bellisario) and Silvio (Arron Shiver), who after months of dating, are expecting their first child. When their elderly midwife Penka passes away suddenly, Silvio makes the hasty decision to hire her son, Sascha (Greenberg), as their live-in doula. Deb is bewildered, as Silvio didn’t consult her before hiring. But before long, the two grow closer, and when the pregnancy nears its conclusion, Silvio feels like the odd man out. His continued efforts to exert control over the pregnancy lead to a blow-up fight in which he forces Deb to choose between him and Sascha.
Nichols also recently exec produced Dear Pony: Keep This Between Us, a four-part docuseries examining the epidemic of grooming in U.S. high schools. The show produced by Vox and The Front will premiere on Freeform later this summer.
The Texas native previously co-wrote, shot and directed the 2019 ensemble feature The Living Worst, which premiered at the New Ohio Theatre Film Festival and picked up Best Ensemble at the DTLA Film Festival. She made her feature directorial debut with the 2017 Slamdance title Cortez, which collected honors for cinematography at the Ashland Independent Film Festival and Best New Mexican Feature at the Santa Fe Independent Film Festival, as well as the Jury Prize for Best Narrative Feature at the Atlanta Film Festival.
Nichols previously produced and starred in the 2015 indie My Good Man’s Gone, which premiered at the Vancouver Film Festival, and continues to be represented by UTA.
Managers Mike Nilon and Matt Shelton founded Stride Management in 2018. The company’s client list also includes Oscar winner Nicolas Cage, Emmy nominee Mike O’Malley, Billy Baldwin, Julie Benz, Karen Fukuhara, Emmy nominee Shannon Purser (Stranger Things), Y’lan Noel (Insecure), Candice Patton (The Flash), Meagan Tandy (Batwoman), Kate Siegel (The Haunting of Hill House), Vanessa Morgan (Riverdale), Yasmine Al-Bustami (NCIS: Hawaii), Nick Creegan (Batwoman), Joe Chrest (Stranger Things), Julian Dennison (Godzilla vs. Kong), Chris Pang (Crazy Rich Asians), Caroline Arapoglou (Outer Banks) and Christopher Meyer (The Sex Lives of College Girls), among others.