Former Saturday Night Live star Jim Belushi will launch a new reality series on the Discovery Channel called Growing Belushi. The series dives into his growing cannabis business.
Chicago-native Belushi is known for his lead roles as Jim in According to Jim and Art Ridzik in the 1988 Arnold Schwarzenegger film, Red Heat. He also had a brief two-year stint on SNL in the 1980s. His better-known brother, John Belushi, was an SNL original cast member, going on to star in cult classics like The Blues Brothers and Animal House. John Belushi was recognized as a tour de force in comedy before his untimely death in 1982. In recent years, Jim Belushi has continued his acting career, landing prominent roles as Bradley Mitchum in the Twin Peaks reboot and as Humpty in Woody Allen's 2017 Kate Winslet film, Wonder Wheel. He is also a celebrated musician, performing often with acts like The Blues Brothers and The Sacred Hearts Band.
Jim Belushi prides himself on being man of passion and talent, and now those qualities are being channeled into growing a successful cannabis business. In a new reality series entitled Growing Belushi, as announced by Deadline, the actor-turned-farmer will offer a fly-on-the-wall look into his burgeoning cannabis empire and the personal journeys of Belushi, his family, and employees. Set to release on August 19, the series will mark Belushi's first appearance as a lead star in a reality program.
Belushi began growing cannabis in 2015 with only 28 plants in his pasture. Now expanded to a profitable brand, he tends 93 acres and several strains, including Belushi's Secret Stash and a strain popularized on SNL in the 1970s, Captain Jack’s Gulzar Afghanica. Celebrities including SNL legend Dan Aykroyd and The Blues Brothers are set to guest star in the series, with Belushi and his employees acting as regular characters. Oregon is one of the few states to fully legalize marijuana, while the federal government has yet to decriminalize its sale and circulation.
Upon buying his initial plot of land, Belushi hadn't decided which crop to grow. In a matter of happenstance, Oregon legalized recreational marijuana the same year, encouraging Belushi to try his hand at this generation's money crop. “This is much more than a business for me. I’ve seen the positive impact that cannabis has had in treating people from around the world,” Belushi said. Though the farm is first and foremost a business, Belushi explained that it has been a vehicle to induce growth and change in himself and his family.
Source: Deadline