50 Cent Joins Payday TV Series as Executive Producer

Starbreeze Entertainment and Vice Studios have added an unexpected name to the Payday TV show team: rapper Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson. The artist and actor, known for hits like "In Da Club" and the 2009 video game 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand, has officially joined the heist video game adaptation as an executive producer through his company G-Unit Film and Television.

"G-Unit Film & TV has built cinematic crime stories that connect with audiences around the world," 50 Cent said in a statement. "Teaming up with Vice Studios and bringing the world of Payday to the screen gives us the chance to build something big, a high-energy franchise that pushes the heist genre forward."

50 Cent has extensive experience both in front of and behind the camera. He has recently executive produced shows like Fightland, The Gilgo Beach Killer: House of Secrets, and Power Book IV: Force. As an actor, he has appeared in films such as Den of Thieves, Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping, and Southpaw. One of his most notable movie roles will arrive in October when he plays Balrog in the live-action Street Fighter movie. Gaming fans may also recognize him from his work on 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand, 50 Cent: Bulletproof, and the original Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.

"Payday has always been about the fantasy of getting away with it," Starbreeze CEO Adolf Kristjansson said. "Curtis and G-Unit don’t do subtle, and neither do we. This is not about playing it safe; it's about doing the franchise justice with people who are as immersed in the world as we are."

50 Cent's involvement in Payday appears to be limited to his executive producer role. As the pieces of Starbreeze and Vice's plan come together, the video game-to-TV adaptation is still without a network or streamer. Payday is Starbreeze's long-running co-op video game series, announced to be adapted for TV with Vice in March. The series follows masked criminals like Dallas, Hoxton, Wolf, and Chains as they plan and execute high-level heists. Payday has had three mainline entries with varying success. Payday 2 still attracts tens of thousands of daily players on Steam, while its most recent entry, Payday 3, has struggled to retain interest after a rocky launch in 2023.

"Vice has always been drawn to stories that live outside the lines, and Payday is exactly that kind of world," said Amy Powell, president of Vice Studios. "G-Unit understands what makes Payday tick, and they’re bringing a perspective that’s true to the franchise without playing it safe."

Starbreeze has also teased interest in a Payday movie in the past, but there have been few updates. For now, the Payday TV show has no release date, cast, or plot details. You can read about the four-player co-op VR spinoff called Payday: Aces High, announced earlier this year.