https://simplecast.com Acting Up Acting up is smart, relevant and dedicated to supporting Black Excellence in Hollywood. Hosted by Cortney Wills, TheGrio’s Entertainment Director and pop culture junkie, covering music, TV and film since 2005, she guides us through one-on-one conversations with icons, celebrities, actors, producers, directors, and all the Black people who keep this industry thriving. en-us Wed, 24 Apr 2024 07:00:00 +0000 Thu, 16 May 2024 00:25:51 +0000 https://thegrio.com/podcasts/acting-up/ Acting Up https://image.simplecastcdn.com/images/8d41c853-3339-4319-9e29-0f3d4a2351bf/eb93c27a-7398-441e-8e38-7f3a266d3109/3000x3000/image.jpg?aid=rss_feed https://thegrio.com/podcasts/acting-up/ episodic Acting up is smart, relevant and dedicated to supporting Black Excellence in Hollywood. Hosted by Cortney Wills, TheGrio’s Entertainment Director and pop culture junkie, covering music, TV and film since 2005, she guides us through one-on-one conversations with icons, celebrities, actors, producers, directors, and all the Black people who keep this industry thriving. theGrio false https://feeds.simplecast.com/p2qhaMvl theGrio dan@thegrio.com 353c8799-b3c5-4e1a-b0dc-b15b0154a56e Bass Reeves and How the West Was Won with David Oyelowo Actor and producer David Oyelowo joins Cortney to talk about his latest passion project, Lawmen: Bass Reeves. The project is a Western television miniseries based on the life of the first African American Deputy U.S. Marshal, Bass Reeves. David and Cortney talk about the hurdles of getting the project made, why Black Westerns are important narratives to tell, and the complexities of playing a Black member of law enforcement in the 19th Century. Cortney also does a dive into Beyonce’s latest album “Cowboy Carter,” and analyzes how the record may be particularly impactful during this year’s election cycle.

Acting Up is all about Black Hollywood, who's making noise, who's making a difference, and how they're moving the needle regarding representation. 

Cortney Wills has forged deep connections with creatives, actors, directors, producers, writers, executives, and the real decision-makers who shape how our community is represented onscreen, giving Acting Up access to the inner workings of Hollywood.

]]> Wed, 24 Apr 2024 07:00:00 +0000 dan@thegrio.com (theGrio) https://thegrio.com/podcasts/acting-up/ Actor and producer David Oyelowo joins Cortney to talk about his latest passion project, Lawmen: Bass Reeves. The project is a Western television miniseries based on the life of the first African American Deputy U.S. Marshal, Bass Reeves. David and Cortney talk about the hurdles of getting the project made, why Black Westerns are important narratives to tell, and the complexities of playing a Black member of law enforcement in the 19th Century. Cortney also does a dive into Beyonce’s latest album “Cowboy Carter,” and analyzes how the record may be particularly impactful during this year’s election cycle.

Acting Up is all about Black Hollywood, who's making noise, who's making a difference, and how they're moving the needle regarding representation. 

Cortney Wills has forged deep connections with creatives, actors, directors, producers, writers, executives, and the real decision-makers who shape how our community is represented onscreen, giving Acting Up access to the inner workings of Hollywood.

]]> Bass Reeves and How the West Was Won with David Oyelowo theGrio 00:19:22 Actor and producer David Oyelowo joins Cortney to talk about his latest passion project, Lawmen: Bass Reeves. The project is a Western television miniseries based on the life of the first African American Deputy U.S. Marshal, Bass Reeves. David and Cortney talk about the hurdles of getting the project made, why Black Westerns are important narratives to tell, and the complexities of playing a Black member of law enforcement in the 19th Century. Cortney also does a dive into Beyonce’s latest album “Cowboy Carter,” and analyzes how the record may be particularly impactful during this year’s election cycle. Acting Up is all about Black Hollywood, who's making noise, who's making a difference, and how they're moving the needle regarding representation.  Cortney Wills has forged deep connections with creatives, actors, directors, producers, writers, executives, and the real decision-makers who shape how our community is represented onscreen, giving Acting Up access to the inner workings of Hollywood. Actor and producer David Oyelowo joins Cortney to talk about his latest passion project, Lawmen: Bass Reeves. The project is a Western television miniseries based on the life of the first African American Deputy U.S. Marshal, Bass Reeves. David and Cortney talk about the hurdles of getting the project made, why Black Westerns are important narratives to tell, and the complexities of playing a Black member of law enforcement in the 19th Century. Cortney also does a dive into Beyonce’s latest album “Cowboy Carter,” and analyzes how the record may be particularly impactful during this year’s election cycle. Acting Up is all about Black Hollywood, who's making noise, who's making a difference, and how they're moving the needle regarding representation.  Cortney Wills has forged deep connections with creatives, actors, directors, producers, writers, executives, and the real decision-makers who shape how our community is represented onscreen, giving Acting Up access to the inner workings of Hollywood. false full 4 ef8fce0b-27e9-408c-9a46-b12c016d3206 It Comes Down to Choice, with Da'Vine Joy Randolph As we head into Oscars weekend, Black Hollywood has much to be proud of in 2024.  Danielle Brooks, Sterling K. Brown, Colman Domingo, Jeffrey Wright, and Da’Vine Joy Randolph all earned nominations.  On this episode of Acting Up, Cortney Wills chats with Best Supporting Actress nominee Da’Vine Joy Randolph about her role as Mary Lamb in “The Holdovers.”   Da’Vine also shares the wisdom she gained on a path through Yale, to roles in “The Idol” and “Dolemite is My Name” and as the voice of Mama Luna from “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish,” and Sheila B in “Trolls World Tour.” The Academy Awards airs Sunday, March 10th, at 7 p.m. ET/4p.m. PT

Music courtesy of Transitions Music Corporation

]]> Fri, 8 Mar 2024 15:58:05 +0000 dan@thegrio.com (theGrio) https://thegrio.com/podcasts/acting-up/ As we head into Oscars weekend, Black Hollywood has much to be proud of in 2024.  Danielle Brooks, Sterling K. Brown, Colman Domingo, Jeffrey Wright, and Da’Vine Joy Randolph all earned nominations.  On this episode of Acting Up, Cortney Wills chats with Best Supporting Actress nominee Da’Vine Joy Randolph about her role as Mary Lamb in “The Holdovers.”   Da’Vine also shares the wisdom she gained on a path through Yale, to roles in “The Idol” and “Dolemite is My Name” and as the voice of Mama Luna from “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish,” and Sheila B in “Trolls World Tour.” The Academy Awards airs Sunday, March 10th, at 7 p.m. ET/4p.m. PT

Music courtesy of Transitions Music Corporation

]]> It Comes Down to Choice, with Da'Vine Joy Randolph theGrio 00:29:16 As we head into Oscars weekend, Black Hollywood has much to be proud of in 2024.  Danielle Brooks, Sterling K. Brown, Colman Domingo, Jeffrey Wright, and Da’Vine Joy Randolph all earned nominations.  On this episode of Acting Up, Cortney Wills chats with Best Supporting Actress nominee Da’Vine Joy Randolph about her role as Mary Lamb in “The Holdovers.”   Da’Vine also shares the wisdom she gained on a path through Yale, to roles in “The Idol” and “Dolemite is My Name” and as the voice of Mama Luna from “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish,” and Sheila B in “Trolls World Tour.” The Academy Awards airs Sunday, March 10th, at 7 p.m. ET/4p.m. PT Music courtesy of Transitions Music Corporation As we head into Oscars weekend, Black Hollywood has much to be proud of in 2024.  Danielle Brooks, Sterling K. Brown, Colman Domingo, Jeffrey Wright, and Da’Vine Joy Randolph all earned nominations.  On this episode of Acting Up, Cortney Wills chats with Best Supporting Actress nominee Da’Vine Joy Randolph about her role as Mary Lamb in “The Holdovers.”   Da’Vine also shares the wisdom she gained on a path through Yale, to roles in “The Idol” and “Dolemite is My Name” and as the voice of Mama Luna from “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish,” and Sheila B in “Trolls World Tour.” The Academy Awards airs Sunday, March 10th, at 7 p.m. ET/4p.m. PT Music courtesy of Transitions Music Corporation black actresses, cinema, da'vine joy randolph, academy awards, entertainment podcast, movie review, actress podcast, acting up, the holdovers, movie podcast, black actors, actor podcast, oscars, thegrio false full 3 e3c7a28b-6ae4-469f-8529-b11701392a3c Say It Loud: The Influential and Complicated Legacy of James Brown Cortney sits down with filmmaker Deborah Riley Draper to discuss her new documentary, James Brown: SAY IT LOUD. The pair speak about James Brown’s role in the Black Power Movement of the 1960s and 1970s, Brown’s iconic song “Say It Loud – I'm Black and I'm Proud,” slavery’s influence on Black entertainment, the history of hip-hop, r&b, soul, and rock musicians sampling James Brown, and funk music's impact on contemporary genres.  Cortney and Deborah also have a nuanced conversation about how to discuss artists with complicated pasts.

Acting Up is all about Black Hollywood, who's making noise, who's making a difference, and how they're moving the needle regarding representation. 

Cortney Wills has forged deep connections with creatives, actors, directors, producers, writers, executives, and the real decision-makers who shape how our community is represented onscreen, giving Acting Up access to the inner workings of Hollywood.

Connect with theGrio Black Podcast Network

Music Courtesy of: Transitions Music Corporation, Black Ice Publishing, Reach Global Songs

Media Clips Courtesy of: A + E Networks

]]> Fri, 16 Feb 2024 08:00:00 +0000 dan@thegrio.com (theGrio) https://thegrio.com/podcasts/acting-up/ Cortney sits down with filmmaker Deborah Riley Draper to discuss her new documentary, James Brown: SAY IT LOUD. The pair speak about James Brown’s role in the Black Power Movement of the 1960s and 1970s, Brown’s iconic song “Say It Loud – I'm Black and I'm Proud,” slavery’s influence on Black entertainment, the history of hip-hop, r&b, soul, and rock musicians sampling James Brown, and funk music's impact on contemporary genres.  Cortney and Deborah also have a nuanced conversation about how to discuss artists with complicated pasts.

Acting Up is all about Black Hollywood, who's making noise, who's making a difference, and how they're moving the needle regarding representation. 

Cortney Wills has forged deep connections with creatives, actors, directors, producers, writers, executives, and the real decision-makers who shape how our community is represented onscreen, giving Acting Up access to the inner workings of Hollywood.

Connect with theGrio Black Podcast Network

Music Courtesy of: Transitions Music Corporation, Black Ice Publishing, Reach Global Songs

Media Clips Courtesy of: A + E Networks

]]> Say It Loud: The Influential and Complicated Legacy of James Brown theGrio 00:28:17 Cortney sits down with filmmaker Deborah Riley Draper to discuss her new documentary, James Brown: SAY IT LOUD. The pair speak about James Brown’s role in the Black Power Movement of the 1960s and 1970s, Brown’s iconic song “Say It Loud – I'm Black and I'm Proud,” slavery’s influence on Black entertainment, the history of hip-hop, r&b, soul, and rock musicians sampling James Brown, and funk music's impact on contemporary genres.  Cortney and Deborah also have a nuanced conversation about how to discuss artists with complicated pasts. Acting Up is all about Black Hollywood, who's making noise, who's making a difference, and how they're moving the needle regarding representation.  Cortney Wills has forged deep connections with creatives, actors, directors, producers, writers, executives, and the real decision-makers who shape how our community is represented onscreen, giving Acting Up access to the inner workings of Hollywood. Connect with theGrio Black Podcast Network Music Courtesy of: Transitions Music Corporation, Black Ice Publishing, Reach Global Songs Media Clips Courtesy of: A + E Networks Cortney sits down with filmmaker Deborah Riley Draper to discuss her new documentary, James Brown: SAY IT LOUD. The pair speak about James Brown’s role in the Black Power Movement of the 1960s and 1970s, Brown’s iconic song “Say It Loud – I'm Black and I'm Proud,” slavery’s influence on Black entertainment, the history of hip-hop, r&b, soul, and rock musicians sampling James Brown, and funk music's impact on contemporary genres.  Cortney and Deborah also have a nuanced conversation about how to discuss artists with complicated pasts. Acting Up is all about Black Hollywood, who's making noise, who's making a difference, and how they're moving the needle regarding representation.  Cortney Wills has forged deep connections with creatives, actors, directors, producers, writers, executives, and the real decision-makers who shape how our community is represented onscreen, giving Acting Up access to the inner workings of Hollywood. Connect with theGrio Black Podcast Network Music Courtesy of: Transitions Music Corporation, Black Ice Publishing, Reach Global Songs Media Clips Courtesy of: A + E Networks that’s the way love goes, mick jagger, music samples, buck dancing, funky drummer, biographical documentary, janet jackson, music sampling, public enemy, historical documentary, documentary film about black american music, musical documentary, quest love false full 2 77ded424-2708-4425-9a88-b0fe0100b3ef Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor on "Origin", Inhumanity & Inequity In the season 3 debut, Cortney sits down with actress Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor about her new film, Origin, written and directed by Ava DuVernay. Cortney and Aunjanue have an honest conversation about the origins of hate and inhumanity on and off the screen, including why she believes Origin is not getting a fair shake in Hollywood despite the film's crucial global message.

The Oscar-nominated actress shares what it took to bring Isabel Wilkerson’s story to life while illuminating the weighty themes of her award-winning book “Caste: The Origin of our Discontents.” Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor also weighs in on her own experience with pay inequality in Hollywood.

Acting Up is all about Black Hollywood, who's making noise, who's making a difference, and how they're moving the needle regarding representation. 

Cortney Wills has forged deep connections with creatives, actors, directors, producers, writers, executives, and the real decision-makers who shape how our community is represented onscreen, giving Acting Up access to the inner workings of Hollywood.

Connect with theGrio Black Podcast Network

]]> Mon, 22 Jan 2024 08:00:00 +0000 dan@thegrio.com (theGrio) https://thegrio.com/podcasts/acting-up/ In the season 3 debut, Cortney sits down with actress Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor about her new film, Origin, written and directed by Ava DuVernay. Cortney and Aunjanue have an honest conversation about the origins of hate and inhumanity on and off the screen, including why she believes Origin is not getting a fair shake in Hollywood despite the film's crucial global message.

The Oscar-nominated actress shares what it took to bring Isabel Wilkerson’s story to life while illuminating the weighty themes of her award-winning book “Caste: The Origin of our Discontents.” Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor also weighs in on her own experience with pay inequality in Hollywood.

Acting Up is all about Black Hollywood, who's making noise, who's making a difference, and how they're moving the needle regarding representation. 

Cortney Wills has forged deep connections with creatives, actors, directors, producers, writers, executives, and the real decision-makers who shape how our community is represented onscreen, giving Acting Up access to the inner workings of Hollywood.

Connect with theGrio Black Podcast Network

]]> Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor on "Origin", Inhumanity & Inequity theGrio 00:29:07 In the season 3 debut, Cortney sits down with actress Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor about her new film, Origin, written and directed by Ava DuVernay. Cortney and Aunjanue have an honest conversation about the origins of hate and inhumanity on and off the screen, including why she believes Origin is not getting a fair shake in Hollywood despite the film's crucial global message. The Oscar-nominated actress shares what it took to bring Isabel Wilkerson’s story to life while illuminating the weighty themes of her award-winning book “Caste: The Origin of our Discontents.” Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor also weighs in on her own experience with pay inequality in Hollywood. Acting Up is all about Black Hollywood, who's making noise, who's making a difference, and how they're moving the needle regarding representation.  Cortney Wills has forged deep connections with creatives, actors, directors, producers, writers, executives, and the real decision-makers who shape how our community is represented onscreen, giving Acting Up access to the inner workings of Hollywood. Connect with theGrio Black Podcast Network In the season 3 debut, Cortney sits down with actress Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor about her new film, Origin, written and directed by Ava DuVernay. Cortney and Aunjanue have an honest conversation about the origins of hate and inhumanity on and off the screen, including why she believes Origin is not getting a fair shake in Hollywood despite the film's crucial global message. The Oscar-nominated actress shares what it took to bring Isabel Wilkerson’s story to life while illuminating the weighty themes of her award-winning book “Caste: The Origin of our Discontents.” Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor also weighs in on her own experience with pay inequality in Hollywood. Acting Up is all about Black Hollywood, who's making noise, who's making a difference, and how they're moving the needle regarding representation.  Cortney Wills has forged deep connections with creatives, actors, directors, producers, writers, executives, and the real decision-makers who shape how our community is represented onscreen, giving Acting Up access to the inner workings of Hollywood. Connect with theGrio Black Podcast Network celebrity interview, origin, acting up, black culture, pay inequality in hollywood., black hollywood, aunjanue ellis-taylor, cortney wills, ava duvernay false full 1 af01c2d2-2feb-4f8f-8d49-b08c01611b32 The Ring Before Spring: Black women and the MRS Degree Cortney Wills is joined by Eboni K. Williams, who responds to the backlash she received after a recent episode of “theGrio with Eboni K. Williams” examined the trend of white women seeking their MRS degrees in college. The ladies take a deep dive into the nerves she struck when she advised Black women undergrads who desire marriage to prioritize finding a man while they still can. The former RHONY cast member and host of “Equal Justice with Judge Eboni K. Williams” also opens up about her journey to motherhood and how her own experiences have shaped her outlook on marriage.

]]> Fri, 29 Sep 2023 22:00:00 +0000 dan@thegrio.com (theGrio) https://thegrio.com/podcasts/acting-up/ Cortney Wills is joined by Eboni K. Williams, who responds to the backlash she received after a recent episode of “theGrio with Eboni K. Williams” examined the trend of white women seeking their MRS degrees in college. The ladies take a deep dive into the nerves she struck when she advised Black women undergrads who desire marriage to prioritize finding a man while they still can. The former RHONY cast member and host of “Equal Justice with Judge Eboni K. Williams” also opens up about her journey to motherhood and how her own experiences have shaped her outlook on marriage.

]]> The Ring Before Spring: Black women and the MRS Degree theGrio 00:53:40 Cortney Wills is joined by Eboni K. Williams, who responds to the backlash she received after a recent episode of “theGrio with Eboni K. Williams” examined the trend of white women seeking their MRS degrees in college. The ladies take a deep dive into the nerves she struck when she advised Black women undergrads who desire marriage to prioritize finding a man while they still can. The former RHONY cast member and host of “Equal Justice with Judge Eboni K. Williams” also opens up about her journey to motherhood and how her own experiences have shaped her outlook on marriage. Cortney Wills is joined by Eboni K. Williams, who responds to the backlash she received after a recent episode of “theGrio with Eboni K. Williams” examined the trend of white women seeking their MRS degrees in college. The ladies take a deep dive into the nerves she struck when she advised Black women undergrads who desire marriage to prioritize finding a man while they still can. The former RHONY cast member and host of “Equal Justice with Judge Eboni K. Williams” also opens up about her journey to motherhood and how her own experiences have shaped her outlook on marriage. the grio, marriage, education, eboni k. williams, fertility, cortney wills, thegrio true full 14 f6260754-6b90-46ab-aee7-af4b0083de84 Return to Wakanda On this week’s episode of Acting Up, Cortney Wills takes us back to Wakanda and dives in to the highly anticipated film ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’. She sits down with actress Lupita Nyong'o to find out how her character Nakia’s journey through grief compared to her own experience mourning the late Chadwick Boseman. She also talks to the film’s co-writer and director, Ryan Coogler to find out how he continued the story after losing his hero and managed to invite a whole new demographic to the MCU. He also explains how he navigating art imitating life and what parts of the script Chadwick Boseman was excited about before he passed. 

]]> Sat, 12 Nov 2022 10:00:00 +0000 dan@thegrio.com (theGrio) https://thegrio.com/podcasts/acting-up/ On this week’s episode of Acting Up, Cortney Wills takes us back to Wakanda and dives in to the highly anticipated film ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’. She sits down with actress Lupita Nyong'o to find out how her character Nakia’s journey through grief compared to her own experience mourning the late Chadwick Boseman. She also talks to the film’s co-writer and director, Ryan Coogler to find out how he continued the story after losing his hero and managed to invite a whole new demographic to the MCU. He also explains how he navigating art imitating life and what parts of the script Chadwick Boseman was excited about before he passed. 

]]> Return to Wakanda theGrio 00:28:37 On this week’s episode of Acting Up, Cortney Wills takes us back to Wakanda and dives in to the highly anticipated film ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’. She sits down with actress Lupita Nyong'o to find out how her character Nakia’s journey through grief compared to her own experience mourning the late Chadwick Boseman. She also talks to the film’s co-writer and director, Ryan Coogler to find out how he continued the story after losing his hero and managed to invite a whole new demographic to the MCU. He also explains how he navigating art imitating life and what parts of the script Chadwick Boseman was excited about before he passed.  On this week’s episode of Acting Up, Cortney Wills takes us back to Wakanda and dives in to the highly anticipated film ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’. She sits down with actress Lupita Nyong'o to find out how her character Nakia’s journey through grief compared to her own experience mourning the late Chadwick Boseman. She also talks to the film’s co-writer and director, Ryan Coogler to find out how he continued the story after losing his hero and managed to invite a whole new demographic to the MCU. He also explains how he navigating art imitating life and what parts of the script Chadwick Boseman was excited about before he passed.  marvel, lupita, ryan coogler, marvel super hereos, black panther, acting up, chadwick, wakanda forever, cortney wills, thegrio false full 13 4d495a99-c936-4a74-92aa-af44001d6055 Trees of Peace On this week's episode of Acting Up, Cortney Wills sits down with Nicole Avant and Alanna Brown to discuss their  riveting film 'Trees of Peace'. Based on a true story, the heart-wrenching project is centered on four women who forge an unbreakable bond while in hiding during the genocide in Rwanda. The ladies discuss the story's message of determination and resilience as well as what it took to bring the idea to fruition after more than eight years. They'll also examine the ways Nicole Avant was able to use her expertise and influence to help this first time filmmaker full of raw talent take it across the finish line. 

]]> Sat, 5 Nov 2022 07:00:00 +0000 dan@thegrio.com (theGrio) https://thegrio.com/podcasts/acting-up/ On this week's episode of Acting Up, Cortney Wills sits down with Nicole Avant and Alanna Brown to discuss their  riveting film 'Trees of Peace'. Based on a true story, the heart-wrenching project is centered on four women who forge an unbreakable bond while in hiding during the genocide in Rwanda. The ladies discuss the story's message of determination and resilience as well as what it took to bring the idea to fruition after more than eight years. They'll also examine the ways Nicole Avant was able to use her expertise and influence to help this first time filmmaker full of raw talent take it across the finish line. 

]]> Trees of Peace theGrio 00:37:23 On this week's episode of Acting Up, Cortney Wills sits down with Nicole Avant and Alanna Brown to discuss their  riveting film 'Trees of Peace'. Based on a true story, the heart-wrenching project is centered on four women who forge an unbreakable bond while in hiding during the genocide in Rwanda. The ladies discuss the story's message of determination and resilience as well as what it took to bring the idea to fruition after more than eight years. They'll also examine the ways Nicole Avant was able to use her expertise and influence to help this first time filmmaker full of raw talent take it across the finish line.  On this week's episode of Acting Up, Cortney Wills sits down with Nicole Avant and Alanna Brown to discuss their  riveting film 'Trees of Peace'. Based on a true story, the heart-wrenching project is centered on four women who forge an unbreakable bond while in hiding during the genocide in Rwanda. The ladies discuss the story's message of determination and resilience as well as what it took to bring the idea to fruition after more than eight years. They'll also examine the ways Nicole Avant was able to use her expertise and influence to help this first time filmmaker full of raw talent take it across the finish line.  producers, actresses, directors, trees of peace, acting up, actors, movies, black movies, cortney wills, thegrio false full 12 5389caf8-4314-482e-87ee-af2e0130d138 Taking in ‘TILL’ On this weeks episode of Acting Up, Cortney Wills is joined by Michael Harriot to discuss ‘TILL’ the new film that highlights the life and work of Mamie Till-Mobley, a mother who galvanized the Civil Rights Movement after her 14-year-old son Emmet Till was lynched in 1955. 

Starring Danielle Deadwyler, Jalyn Hall, Frankie Faison, Haley Bennett, and Whoopi Goldberg and directed and co-written by Chinonye Chukwu, Cortney and Michael confront the fact that the film is hugely important and deeply heartbreaking. 

]]> Sat, 15 Oct 2022 07:00:00 +0000 dan@thegrio.com (theGrio) https://thegrio.com/podcasts/acting-up/ On this weeks episode of Acting Up, Cortney Wills is joined by Michael Harriot to discuss ‘TILL’ the new film that highlights the life and work of Mamie Till-Mobley, a mother who galvanized the Civil Rights Movement after her 14-year-old son Emmet Till was lynched in 1955. 

Starring Danielle Deadwyler, Jalyn Hall, Frankie Faison, Haley Bennett, and Whoopi Goldberg and directed and co-written by Chinonye Chukwu, Cortney and Michael confront the fact that the film is hugely important and deeply heartbreaking. 

]]> Taking in ‘TILL’ theGrio 00:36:02 On this weeks episode of Acting Up, Cortney Wills is joined by Michael Harriot to discuss ‘TILL’ the new film that highlights the life and work of Mamie Till-Mobley, a mother who galvanized the Civil Rights Movement after her 14-year-old son Emmet Till was lynched in 1955.  Starring Danielle Deadwyler, Jalyn Hall, Frankie Faison, Haley Bennett, and Whoopi Goldberg and directed and co-written by Chinonye Chukwu, Cortney and Michael confront the fact that the film is hugely important and deeply heartbreaking.  On this weeks episode of Acting Up, Cortney Wills is joined by Michael Harriot to discuss ‘TILL’ the new film that highlights the life and work of Mamie Till-Mobley, a mother who galvanized the Civil Rights Movement after her 14-year-old son Emmet Till was lynched in 1955.  Starring Danielle Deadwyler, Jalyn Hall, Frankie Faison, Haley Bennett, and Whoopi Goldberg and directed and co-written by Chinonye Chukwu, Cortney and Michael confront the fact that the film is hugely important and deeply heartbreaking.  acting up, movies, emmett till, black films, black movies, cortney wills, michael harriot false full 11 4a08bd95-3ab7-44f6-8c6a-af280082407d Michelle Buteau: Survival of the Thickest On this week's episode of Acting Up, Cortney Wills sits down with Michelle Buteau. The stand-up comedian, actress, and author who has made her mark on screens big and small gets real about what it's like to juggle her booming career and life as a mom of twins and a wife and takes us behind the scenes of her gig as a host of the hilarious and relatable podcast, Adulting. She also dishes details on her upcoming Netflix project, 'Survival of the Thickest' and how she continues to find the funny during the tumultuous times we're living through. 

]]> Sat, 8 Oct 2022 08:35:00 +0000 dan@thegrio.com (theGrio) https://thegrio.com/podcasts/acting-up/ On this week's episode of Acting Up, Cortney Wills sits down with Michelle Buteau. The stand-up comedian, actress, and author who has made her mark on screens big and small gets real about what it's like to juggle her booming career and life as a mom of twins and a wife and takes us behind the scenes of her gig as a host of the hilarious and relatable podcast, Adulting. She also dishes details on her upcoming Netflix project, 'Survival of the Thickest' and how she continues to find the funny during the tumultuous times we're living through. 

]]> Michelle Buteau: Survival of the Thickest theGrio 00:27:20 On this week's episode of Acting Up, Cortney Wills sits down with Michelle Buteau. The stand-up comedian, actress, and author who has made her mark on screens big and small gets real about what it's like to juggle her booming career and life as a mom of twins and a wife and takes us behind the scenes of her gig as a host of the hilarious and relatable podcast, Adulting. She also dishes details on her upcoming Netflix project, 'Survival of the Thickest' and how she continues to find the funny during the tumultuous times we're living through.  On this week's episode of Acting Up, Cortney Wills sits down with Michelle Buteau. The stand-up comedian, actress, and author who has made her mark on screens big and small gets real about what it's like to juggle her booming career and life as a mom of twins and a wife and takes us behind the scenes of her gig as a host of the hilarious and relatable podcast, Adulting. She also dishes details on her upcoming Netflix project, 'Survival of the Thickest' and how she continues to find the funny during the tumultuous times we're living through.  michelle buteau, comedy, acting, black podcasts, acting up, comedians, thegrio false full 10 1854e796-cc66-4128-9529-af20016c11ce Yvonne Orji: A Whole Me On this week’s episode of Acting Up, Cortney Wills welcomes Yvonne Orji back to the podcast to hear all about her new comedy special “A Whole Me” debuting on HBO on October 1. Hear how the pandemic helped this beauty become the  best version of herself as well as who’s inspiring her comedy these days. The ladies also dive into life after “Insecure” and what’s next for this talented woman who is working hard to amplify other voices, just directed her first short, and is developing more projects from The Continent.

]]> Sat, 1 Oct 2022 07:00:00 +0000 dan@thegrio.com (theGrio) https://thegrio.com/podcasts/acting-up/ On this week’s episode of Acting Up, Cortney Wills welcomes Yvonne Orji back to the podcast to hear all about her new comedy special “A Whole Me” debuting on HBO on October 1. Hear how the pandemic helped this beauty become the  best version of herself as well as who’s inspiring her comedy these days. The ladies also dive into life after “Insecure” and what’s next for this talented woman who is working hard to amplify other voices, just directed her first short, and is developing more projects from The Continent.

]]> Yvonne Orji: A Whole Me theGrio 00:18:02 On this week’s episode of Acting Up, Cortney Wills welcomes Yvonne Orji back to the podcast to hear all about her new comedy special “A Whole Me” debuting on HBO on October 1. Hear how the pandemic helped this beauty become the  best version of herself as well as who’s inspiring her comedy these days. The ladies also dive into life after “Insecure” and what’s next for this talented woman who is working hard to amplify other voices, just directed her first short, and is developing more projects from The Continent. On this week’s episode of Acting Up, Cortney Wills welcomes Yvonne Orji back to the podcast to hear all about her new comedy special “A Whole Me” debuting on HBO on October 1. Hear how the pandemic helped this beauty become the  best version of herself as well as who’s inspiring her comedy these days. The ladies also dive into life after “Insecure” and what’s next for this talented woman who is working hard to amplify other voices, just directed her first short, and is developing more projects from The Continent. black actresses, insecure, yvonne orji, whole me, acting up, black actors, thegrio false full 9 8763a08b-ac4c-4a64-963b-af1a0015248f The Silent Twins On this weeks episode of Acting Up, Cortney Wills dives into the haunting true story of “The Silent Twins” the new film from Focus Features starring Letitia Wright and Tamara Lawrence, who took on the roles of two sisters who were traumatized by relentless racism and created their own language and their own worlds to escape it. The actresses discuss their roles as June and Jennifer Gibbons and their roles as producers on the project directed by Agnieszka Smoczynska, who spoke candidly about her approach to telling this story about Black girls as a Polish woman. 

]]> Sat, 24 Sep 2022 07:00:00 +0000 dan@thegrio.com (theGrio) https://thegrio.com/podcasts/acting-up/ On this weeks episode of Acting Up, Cortney Wills dives into the haunting true story of “The Silent Twins” the new film from Focus Features starring Letitia Wright and Tamara Lawrence, who took on the roles of two sisters who were traumatized by relentless racism and created their own language and their own worlds to escape it. The actresses discuss their roles as June and Jennifer Gibbons and their roles as producers on the project directed by Agnieszka Smoczynska, who spoke candidly about her approach to telling this story about Black girls as a Polish woman. 

]]> The Silent Twins theGrio 00:40:52 On this weeks episode of Acting Up, Cortney Wills dives into the haunting true story of “The Silent Twins” the new film from Focus Features starring Letitia Wright and Tamara Lawrence, who took on the roles of two sisters who were traumatized by relentless racism and created their own language and their own worlds to escape it. The actresses discuss their roles as June and Jennifer Gibbons and their roles as producers on the project directed by Agnieszka Smoczynska, who spoke candidly about her approach to telling this story about Black girls as a Polish woman.  On this weeks episode of Acting Up, Cortney Wills dives into the haunting true story of “The Silent Twins” the new film from Focus Features starring Letitia Wright and Tamara Lawrence, who took on the roles of two sisters who were traumatized by relentless racism and created their own language and their own worlds to escape it. The actresses discuss their roles as June and Jennifer Gibbons and their roles as producers on the project directed by Agnieszka Smoczynska, who spoke candidly about her approach to telling this story about Black girls as a Polish woman.  black actresses, acting up, movies, black actors, cortney wills, thegrio false full 8 b38d3f67-351f-40b4-b894-af0b01669856 Beneath the “Surface” On this week’s episode of Acting Up, Cortney Wills sits down with actress Gugu Mbatha-Raw to get the inside scoop on her latest project, the binge-worthy Apple TV+ series “Surface.” The ladies discuss Gugu’s journey through Hollywood and why this was the perfect project for her to star in and executive produce. Her co-star, Stephan James drops in to reveal why he lived playing the “colorless” role and how he perfected his brooding, mysterious  character in this sexy, psychological thriller. 

]]> Sat, 10 Sep 2022 00:30:00 +0000 dan@thegrio.com (theGrio) https://thegrio.com/podcasts/acting-up/ On this week’s episode of Acting Up, Cortney Wills sits down with actress Gugu Mbatha-Raw to get the inside scoop on her latest project, the binge-worthy Apple TV+ series “Surface.” The ladies discuss Gugu’s journey through Hollywood and why this was the perfect project for her to star in and executive produce. Her co-star, Stephan James drops in to reveal why he lived playing the “colorless” role and how he perfected his brooding, mysterious  character in this sexy, psychological thriller. 

]]> Beneath the “Surface” theGrio 00:29:25 On this week’s episode of Acting Up, Cortney Wills sits down with actress Gugu Mbatha-Raw to get the inside scoop on her latest project, the binge-worthy Apple TV+ series “Surface.” The ladies discuss Gugu’s journey through Hollywood and why this was the perfect project for her to star in and executive produce. Her co-star, Stephan James drops in to reveal why he lived playing the “colorless” role and how he perfected his brooding, mysterious  character in this sexy, psychological thriller.  On this week’s episode of Acting Up, Cortney Wills sits down with actress Gugu Mbatha-Raw to get the inside scoop on her latest project, the binge-worthy Apple TV+ series “Surface.” The ladies discuss Gugu’s journey through Hollywood and why this was the perfect project for her to star in and executive produce. Her co-star, Stephan James drops in to reveal why he lived playing the “colorless” role and how he perfected his brooding, mysterious  character in this sexy, psychological thriller.  false full 7 8fe8272d-5ecc-449d-9e27-af040136a8ef There's No Stopping Nicole Beharie On this week's episode of Acting Up, Cortney Wills welcomes Nicole Beharie back to the podcast to discuss her roles in two new films. The actress reveals what it took to play a pastor in the hilarious "Honk For Jesus Save Your Soul" alongside Sterling K. Brown and Regina Hall before diving into the drama/thriller "Breaking" where she stars as a real-life hero of sorts in the tragic true story of Brian Brown-Easley alongside John Boyega and the late, great Michael K. Williams.

]]> Fri, 2 Sep 2022 18:53:05 +0000 dan@thegrio.com (theGrio) https://thegrio.com/podcasts/acting-up/ On this week's episode of Acting Up, Cortney Wills welcomes Nicole Beharie back to the podcast to discuss her roles in two new films. The actress reveals what it took to play a pastor in the hilarious "Honk For Jesus Save Your Soul" alongside Sterling K. Brown and Regina Hall before diving into the drama/thriller "Breaking" where she stars as a real-life hero of sorts in the tragic true story of Brian Brown-Easley alongside John Boyega and the late, great Michael K. Williams.

]]> There's No Stopping Nicole Beharie theGrio 00:38:03 On this week's episode of Acting Up, Cortney Wills welcomes Nicole Beharie back to the podcast to discuss her roles in two new films. The actress reveals what it took to play a pastor in the hilarious "Honk For Jesus Save Your Soul" alongside Sterling K. Brown and Regina Hall before diving into the drama/thriller "Breaking" where she stars as a real-life hero of sorts in the tragic true story of Brian Brown-Easley alongside John Boyega and the late, great Michael K. Williams. On this week's episode of Acting Up, Cortney Wills welcomes Nicole Beharie back to the podcast to discuss her roles in two new films. The actress reveals what it took to play a pastor in the hilarious "Honk For Jesus Save Your Soul" alongside Sterling K. Brown and Regina Hall before diving into the drama/thriller "Breaking" where she stars as a real-life hero of sorts in the tragic true story of Brian Brown-Easley alongside John Boyega and the late, great Michael K. Williams. false full 6 8172b44a-ea9d-42ac-aa02-aefc0145b8a0 Nathalie Emmanuel: The Invitation On this week’s episode of Acting Up, Cortney Wills sits down with actress Nathalie Emmanuel to get all the details about her starring role in the thrilling horror flick “The Invitation” and what it means for Black women to break into the genre. The “Game of Thrones” alum also speaks on the impact her groundbreaking role of Missandei had on the show and the community and what she thinks about HBO’s newest “Game of Thrones” spinoff, “House of the Dragon.” 

]]> Sat, 27 Aug 2022 07:00:00 +0000 dan@thegrio.com (theGrio) https://thegrio.com/podcasts/acting-up/ On this week’s episode of Acting Up, Cortney Wills sits down with actress Nathalie Emmanuel to get all the details about her starring role in the thrilling horror flick “The Invitation” and what it means for Black women to break into the genre. The “Game of Thrones” alum also speaks on the impact her groundbreaking role of Missandei had on the show and the community and what she thinks about HBO’s newest “Game of Thrones” spinoff, “House of the Dragon.” 

]]> Nathalie Emmanuel: The Invitation theGrio 00:35:02 On this week’s episode of Acting Up, Cortney Wills sits down with actress Nathalie Emmanuel to get all the details about her starring role in the thrilling horror flick “The Invitation” and what it means for Black women to break into the genre. The “Game of Thrones” alum also speaks on the impact her groundbreaking role of Missandei had on the show and the community and what she thinks about HBO’s newest “Game of Thrones” spinoff, “House of the Dragon.”  On this week’s episode of Acting Up, Cortney Wills sits down with actress Nathalie Emmanuel to get all the details about her starring role in the thrilling horror flick “The Invitation” and what it means for Black women to break into the genre. The “Game of Thrones” alum also speaks on the impact her groundbreaking role of Missandei had on the show and the community and what she thinks about HBO’s newest “Game of Thrones” spinoff, “House of the Dragon.”  false full 5 a44ce9d7-4087-42d2-b41a-aef50138fd2e Hell of a Week with Charlamagne Tha God On this weeks episode of Acting Up, Charlamagne Tha God weighs in on the news that Angela Yee is leaving The Breakfast Club to launch her own show “Way Up with Angela Yee” and explains why women have the most powerful voices in media. He also takes us through his road to becoming a mental health advocate, how his father influenced that journey, and what we can expect from his late night show, “Comedy Central’s Hell of a Week with Charlamagne Tha God.”

]]> Sat, 20 Aug 2022 08:30:00 +0000 dan@thegrio.com (theGrio) https://thegrio.com/podcasts/acting-up/ On this weeks episode of Acting Up, Charlamagne Tha God weighs in on the news that Angela Yee is leaving The Breakfast Club to launch her own show “Way Up with Angela Yee” and explains why women have the most powerful voices in media. He also takes us through his road to becoming a mental health advocate, how his father influenced that journey, and what we can expect from his late night show, “Comedy Central’s Hell of a Week with Charlamagne Tha God.”

]]> Hell of a Week with Charlamagne Tha God theGrio 00:23:05 On this weeks episode of Acting Up, Charlamagne Tha God weighs in on the news that Angela Yee is leaving The Breakfast Club to launch her own show “Way Up with Angela Yee” and explains why women have the most powerful voices in media. He also takes us through his road to becoming a mental health advocate, how his father influenced that journey, and what we can expect from his late night show, “Comedy Central’s Hell of a Week with Charlamagne Tha God.” On this weeks episode of Acting Up, Charlamagne Tha God weighs in on the news that Angela Yee is leaving The Breakfast Club to launch her own show “Way Up with Angela Yee” and explains why women have the most powerful voices in media. He also takes us through his road to becoming a mental health advocate, how his father influenced that journey, and what we can expect from his late night show, “Comedy Central’s Hell of a Week with Charlamagne Tha God.” ott, acting up, podcast false full 4 a1691689-865c-4042-bf0f-aeef0142b9df Trials to Triumphs On this week's episode of Acting Up, Cortney Wills sits down with Ashley Blaine Featherson-Jenkins. The actress, producer, and proud Howard alum reveals what led to her latest project as the host of her own podcast, Trials to Triumphs on OWN, and how her life has changed since tying the knot. She also reveals the ways that her role on 'Dear White People' helped carve out her path in Hollywood and how the end of the beloved series prompted a return to her roots as a content creator.  They'll also get into what the TV buff is watching right now and where she still sees room for improvement when it comes to representing Black women onscreen. 

]]> Sat, 13 Aug 2022 08:30:00 +0000 dan@thegrio.com (theGrio) https://thegrio.com/podcasts/acting-up/ On this week's episode of Acting Up, Cortney Wills sits down with Ashley Blaine Featherson-Jenkins. The actress, producer, and proud Howard alum reveals what led to her latest project as the host of her own podcast, Trials to Triumphs on OWN, and how her life has changed since tying the knot. She also reveals the ways that her role on 'Dear White People' helped carve out her path in Hollywood and how the end of the beloved series prompted a return to her roots as a content creator.  They'll also get into what the TV buff is watching right now and where she still sees room for improvement when it comes to representing Black women onscreen. 

]]> Trials to Triumphs theGrio 00:29:49 On this week's episode of Acting Up, Cortney Wills sits down with Ashley Blaine Featherson-Jenkins. The actress, producer, and proud Howard alum reveals what led to her latest project as the host of her own podcast, Trials to Triumphs on OWN, and how her life has changed since tying the knot. She also reveals the ways that her role on 'Dear White People' helped carve out her path in Hollywood and how the end of the beloved series prompted a return to her roots as a content creator.  They'll also get into what the TV buff is watching right now and where she still sees room for improvement when it comes to representing Black women onscreen.  On this week's episode of Acting Up, Cortney Wills sits down with Ashley Blaine Featherson-Jenkins. The actress, producer, and proud Howard alum reveals what led to her latest project as the host of her own podcast, Trials to Triumphs on OWN, and how her life has changed since tying the knot. She also reveals the ways that her role on 'Dear White People' helped carve out her path in Hollywood and how the end of the beloved series prompted a return to her roots as a content creator.  They'll also get into what the TV buff is watching right now and where she still sees room for improvement when it comes to representing Black women onscreen.  hollywood, trials to triumphs, podcasts, acting up, dear white people, content creating, black actors, cortney wills, actress, ashley blaine fashley blaine featherson-jenkins true full 3 657913d7-52f1-4b95-96de-aee8011bc2a2 Amanda Seales is Black Outside Part 2 Cortney Wills continues her conversation with actress, comedian, and podcast host, Amanda Seales. The ladies discuss the ‘Insecure’ alum’s latest standup tour “Black Outside Tour” and share their fears and frustrations in the wake of Roe v. Wade being overturned, coping with COVID, and how the current social climate has become particularly challenging for comedians, especially when you’re “Smart, Funny, and Black”

]]> Sat, 6 Aug 2022 08:30:00 +0000 dan@thegrio.com (theGrio) https://thegrio.com/podcasts/acting-up/ Cortney Wills continues her conversation with actress, comedian, and podcast host, Amanda Seales. The ladies discuss the ‘Insecure’ alum’s latest standup tour “Black Outside Tour” and share their fears and frustrations in the wake of Roe v. Wade being overturned, coping with COVID, and how the current social climate has become particularly challenging for comedians, especially when you’re “Smart, Funny, and Black”

]]> Amanda Seales is Black Outside Part 2 theGrio 00:30:27 Cortney Wills continues her conversation with actress, comedian, and podcast host, Amanda Seales. The ladies discuss the ‘Insecure’ alum’s latest standup tour “Black Outside Tour” and share their fears and frustrations in the wake of Roe v. Wade being overturned, coping with COVID, and how the current social climate has become particularly challenging for comedians, especially when you’re “Smart, Funny, and Black” Cortney Wills continues her conversation with actress, comedian, and podcast host, Amanda Seales. The ladies discuss the ‘Insecure’ alum’s latest standup tour “Black Outside Tour” and share their fears and frustrations in the wake of Roe v. Wade being overturned, coping with COVID, and how the current social climate has become particularly challenging for comedians, especially when you’re “Smart, Funny, and Black” false full 2 b795b383-a0f9-4f81-9a2a-aee2002b10b7 Amanda Seales is Black Outside Part 1 Cortney Wills is kicking off Season 2 of Acting Up with actress, comedian, and podcast host, Amanda Seales. The ladies discuss the ‘Insecure’ alum’s latest standup tour “Black Outside Tour” and share their fears and frustrations in the wake of Roe v. Wade being overturned, coping with COVID, and how the current social climate has become particularly challenging for comedians, especially when you’re “Smart, Funny, and Black”

]]> Sat, 30 Jul 2022 08:30:00 +0000 dan@thegrio.com (theGrio) https://thegrio.com/podcasts/acting-up/ Cortney Wills is kicking off Season 2 of Acting Up with actress, comedian, and podcast host, Amanda Seales. The ladies discuss the ‘Insecure’ alum’s latest standup tour “Black Outside Tour” and share their fears and frustrations in the wake of Roe v. Wade being overturned, coping with COVID, and how the current social climate has become particularly challenging for comedians, especially when you’re “Smart, Funny, and Black”

]]> Amanda Seales is Black Outside Part 1 theGrio 00:31:28 Cortney Wills is kicking off Season 2 of Acting Up with actress, comedian, and podcast host, Amanda Seales. The ladies discuss the ‘Insecure’ alum’s latest standup tour “Black Outside Tour” and share their fears and frustrations in the wake of Roe v. Wade being overturned, coping with COVID, and how the current social climate has become particularly challenging for comedians, especially when you’re “Smart, Funny, and Black” Cortney Wills is kicking off Season 2 of Acting Up with actress, comedian, and podcast host, Amanda Seales. The ladies discuss the ‘Insecure’ alum’s latest standup tour “Black Outside Tour” and share their fears and frustrations in the wake of Roe v. Wade being overturned, coping with COVID, and how the current social climate has become particularly challenging for comedians, especially when you’re “Smart, Funny, and Black” false full 1 3bc772d6-7dcb-43e1-a29a-aeaf015a895a Inside ABFF Cortney Wills sits down with Jeff and Nicole Friday, the couple who founded the African American Film Festival in 1996, creating a space for Black creators to build community, share their art, and foster new talent. Now in its 26th year, ABFF remains one of the most beloved film festivals of the year and has given rise to countless creators from Ryan Coogler to Issa Rae. The group will discuss what it was like to bring the event back to Miami after the COVID-19 pandemic and what we all have to look forward to from this year's star-studded lineup.

]]> Fri, 10 Jun 2022 09:00:00 +0000 dan@thegrio.com (theGrio) https://thegrio.com/podcasts/acting-up/ Cortney Wills sits down with Jeff and Nicole Friday, the couple who founded the African American Film Festival in 1996, creating a space for Black creators to build community, share their art, and foster new talent. Now in its 26th year, ABFF remains one of the most beloved film festivals of the year and has given rise to countless creators from Ryan Coogler to Issa Rae. The group will discuss what it was like to bring the event back to Miami after the COVID-19 pandemic and what we all have to look forward to from this year's star-studded lineup.

]]> Inside ABFF theGrio 00:26:35 Cortney Wills sits down with Jeff and Nicole Friday, the couple who founded the African American Film Festival in 1996, creating a space for Black creators to build community, share their art, and foster new talent. Now in its 26th year, ABFF remains one of the most beloved film festivals of the year and has given rise to countless creators from Ryan Coogler to Issa Rae. The group will discuss what it was like to bring the event back to Miami after the COVID-19 pandemic and what we all have to look forward to from this year's star-studded lineup.  Cortney Wills sits down with Jeff and Nicole Friday, the couple who founded the African American Film Festival in 1996, creating a space for Black creators to build community, share their art, and foster new talent. Now in its 26th year, ABFF remains one of the most beloved film festivals of the year and has given rise to countless creators from Ryan Coogler to Issa Rae. The group will discuss what it was like to bring the event back to Miami after the COVID-19 pandemic and what we all have to look forward to from this year's star-studded lineup.  false full 51 bd54e368-67d0-4b4d-b327-ae9701008df7 Rising Troublemaker Cortney Wills sits down with NY Times best-selling author, speaker, and podcast host Luvvie Ajayi Jones to discuss her latest book “Rising Troublemaker,” an incredibly necessary fear-fighting manual for teens at a time when they need it most. The ladies will also discuss the importance of taking control of our mental health, why therapy should be free for all marginalized people, and how content on big and small screens can help shape the way young people see the world and themselves.

]]> Mon, 16 May 2022 15:37:00 +0000 dan@thegrio.com (theGrio) https://thegrio.com/podcasts/acting-up/ Cortney Wills sits down with NY Times best-selling author, speaker, and podcast host Luvvie Ajayi Jones to discuss her latest book “Rising Troublemaker,” an incredibly necessary fear-fighting manual for teens at a time when they need it most. The ladies will also discuss the importance of taking control of our mental health, why therapy should be free for all marginalized people, and how content on big and small screens can help shape the way young people see the world and themselves.

]]> Rising Troublemaker theGrio 00:29:59 Cortney Wills sits down with NY Times best-selling author, speaker, and podcast host Luvvie Ajayi Jones to discuss her latest book “Rising Troublemaker,” an incredibly necessary fear-fighting manual for teens at a time when they need it most. The ladies will also discuss the importance of taking control of our mental health, why therapy should be free for all marginalized people, and how content on big and small screens can help shape the way young people see the world and themselves.  Cortney Wills sits down with NY Times best-selling author, speaker, and podcast host Luvvie Ajayi Jones to discuss her latest book “Rising Troublemaker,” an incredibly necessary fear-fighting manual for teens at a time when they need it most. The ladies will also discuss the importance of taking control of our mental health, why therapy should be free for all marginalized people, and how content on big and small screens can help shape the way young people see the world and themselves.  false full 50 4202e115-dec8-4f8e-ab3f-ae86005e5d33 O-T Fagbenle: Becoming Barack Cortney Wills sits down with actor, writer, director, songwriter, and producer, O-T Fagbenle to discuss how he took on the role of Barack Obama in ‘The First Lady’ and what went into cultivating his career as a multi-hyphenate artist in Hollywood. We also dive in to his turn in ‘We Crashed’ and analyze his beloved ‘Handmaid’s Tale’ character, while pondering what’s next on his long list of upcoming projects including collabs with some equally impressive siblings.

]]> Fri, 29 Apr 2022 09:00:00 +0000 dan@thegrio.com (theGrio) https://thegrio.com/podcasts/acting-up/ Cortney Wills sits down with actor, writer, director, songwriter, and producer, O-T Fagbenle to discuss how he took on the role of Barack Obama in ‘The First Lady’ and what went into cultivating his career as a multi-hyphenate artist in Hollywood. We also dive in to his turn in ‘We Crashed’ and analyze his beloved ‘Handmaid’s Tale’ character, while pondering what’s next on his long list of upcoming projects including collabs with some equally impressive siblings.

]]> O-T Fagbenle: Becoming Barack theGrio 00:24:40 Cortney Wills sits down with actor, writer, director, songwriter, and producer, O-T Fagbenle to discuss how he took on the role of Barack Obama in ‘The First Lady’ and what went into cultivating his career as a multi-hyphenate artist in Hollywood. We also dive in to his turn in ‘We Crashed’ and analyze his beloved ‘Handmaid’s Tale’ character, while pondering what’s next on his long list of upcoming projects including collabs with some equally impressive siblings.   Cortney Wills sits down with actor, writer, director, songwriter, and producer, O-T Fagbenle to discuss how he took on the role of Barack Obama in ‘The First Lady’ and what went into cultivating his career as a multi-hyphenate artist in Hollywood. We also dive in to his turn in ‘We Crashed’ and analyze his beloved ‘Handmaid’s Tale’ character, while pondering what’s next on his long list of upcoming projects including collabs with some equally impressive siblings.   false full 49 913bba58-717e-4bca-9769-ae7f000922ea Bye Bye Black-ish Cortney Wills sits down with Courtney Lilly, showrunner and executive producer of Black-ish to discuss the impact the Emmy/nominated series had on the culture throughout its eight-season run. They will reflect on their favorite moments and what it took to create the series that kept us laughing, crying, and rooting for the Johnson family year after year.

]]> Fri, 22 Apr 2022 09:00:00 +0000 dan@thegrio.com (theGrio) https://thegrio.com/podcasts/acting-up/ Cortney Wills sits down with Courtney Lilly, showrunner and executive producer of Black-ish to discuss the impact the Emmy/nominated series had on the culture throughout its eight-season run. They will reflect on their favorite moments and what it took to create the series that kept us laughing, crying, and rooting for the Johnson family year after year.

]]> Bye Bye Black-ish theGrio 00:28:51 Cortney Wills sits down with Courtney Lilly, showrunner and executive producer of Black-ish to discuss the impact the Emmy/nominated series had on the culture throughout its eight-season run. They will reflect on their favorite moments and what it took to create the series that kept us laughing, crying, and rooting for the Johnson family year after year.  Cortney Wills sits down with Courtney Lilly, showrunner and executive producer of Black-ish to discuss the impact the Emmy/nominated series had on the culture throughout its eight-season run. They will reflect on their favorite moments and what it took to create the series that kept us laughing, crying, and rooting for the Johnson family year after year.  false full 48 65e1e644-5709-4262-82d8-ae61010b8a45 Oscars So… Black? On this weeks episode of Acting Up, Cortney Wills sits down with Will Packer to find out what we can expect from the 94th annual Academy Awards and what went into producing Hollywood’s biggest night. They’ll get into this year’s nominees and discuss what an Oscar win really means for Black creators in 2022. They’ll also tackle the ways the Academy is continuing to make strides toward a more inclusive event and how Will Packer plans to use his secret weapon, Regina Hall.

]]> Fri, 25 Mar 2022 09:00:00 +0000 dan@thegrio.com (theGrio) https://thegrio.com/podcasts/acting-up/ On this weeks episode of Acting Up, Cortney Wills sits down with Will Packer to find out what we can expect from the 94th annual Academy Awards and what went into producing Hollywood’s biggest night. They’ll get into this year’s nominees and discuss what an Oscar win really means for Black creators in 2022. They’ll also tackle the ways the Academy is continuing to make strides toward a more inclusive event and how Will Packer plans to use his secret weapon, Regina Hall.

]]> Oscars So… Black? theGrio 00:28:56 On this weeks episode of Acting Up, Cortney Wills sits down with Will Packer to find out what we can expect from the 94th annual Academy Awards and what went into producing Hollywood’s biggest night. They’ll get into this year’s nominees and discuss what an Oscar win really means for Black creators in 2022. They’ll also tackle the ways the Academy is continuing to make strides toward a more inclusive event and how Will Packer plans to use his secret weapon, Regina Hall.  On this weeks episode of Acting Up, Cortney Wills sits down with Will Packer to find out what we can expect from the 94th annual Academy Awards and what went into producing Hollywood’s biggest night. They’ll get into this year’s nominees and discuss what an Oscar win really means for Black creators in 2022. They’ll also tackle the ways the Academy is continuing to make strides toward a more inclusive event and how Will Packer plans to use his secret weapon, Regina Hall.  false full 47 5a469914-41b7-408a-8733-ae5c011f2079 The Belles of Bel-Air On this weeks episode of Acting Up, Cortney Wills sits down with ‘Bel-Air’ stars Coco Jones and Cassandra Freeman to find out how they managed to breathe new life into beloved ‘Fresh Prince’ characters, Hilary Banks and Aunt Viv on Peacock’s deliciously dramatic reboot. The ladies take us along on their journeys through Hollywood and describe how they have combated colorism in their own careers and the ways this new iteration of an old favorite is making big strides in representation onscreen and beyond.

]]> Fri, 18 Mar 2022 09:00:00 +0000 dan@thegrio.com (theGrio) https://thegrio.com/podcasts/acting-up/ On this weeks episode of Acting Up, Cortney Wills sits down with ‘Bel-Air’ stars Coco Jones and Cassandra Freeman to find out how they managed to breathe new life into beloved ‘Fresh Prince’ characters, Hilary Banks and Aunt Viv on Peacock’s deliciously dramatic reboot. The ladies take us along on their journeys through Hollywood and describe how they have combated colorism in their own careers and the ways this new iteration of an old favorite is making big strides in representation onscreen and beyond.

]]> The Belles of Bel-Air theGrio 00:37:07 On this weeks episode of Acting Up, Cortney Wills sits down with ‘Bel-Air’ stars Coco Jones and Cassandra Freeman to find out how they managed to breathe new life into beloved ‘Fresh Prince’ characters, Hilary Banks and Aunt Viv on Peacock’s deliciously dramatic reboot. The ladies take us along on their journeys through Hollywood and describe how they have combated colorism in their own careers and the ways this new iteration of an old favorite is making big strides in representation onscreen and beyond.  On this weeks episode of Acting Up, Cortney Wills sits down with ‘Bel-Air’ stars Coco Jones and Cassandra Freeman to find out how they managed to breathe new life into beloved ‘Fresh Prince’ characters, Hilary Banks and Aunt Viv on Peacock’s deliciously dramatic reboot. The ladies take us along on their journeys through Hollywood and describe how they have combated colorism in their own careers and the ways this new iteration of an old favorite is making big strides in representation onscreen and beyond.  false full 46 b8d04469-5e5e-4265-8dbe-ae5500873418 The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey On this week’s episode of Acting Up, Cortney Wills sits down with Samuel L. Jackson and Dominique Fishback to discuss their roles in the new limited series from Apple TV+, ‘The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey.’ Jackson executive produced and starred in the series based on the book by Walter Mosley and reveals what went into his breathtaking portrayal of a man struggling with dementia. Fishback is equally impressive in the project and during this intimate conversation, she gets real about taking control of her characters and her career.

]]> Fri, 11 Mar 2022 10:00:00 +0000 dan@thegrio.com (theGrio) https://thegrio.com/podcasts/acting-up/ On this week’s episode of Acting Up, Cortney Wills sits down with Samuel L. Jackson and Dominique Fishback to discuss their roles in the new limited series from Apple TV+, ‘The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey.’ Jackson executive produced and starred in the series based on the book by Walter Mosley and reveals what went into his breathtaking portrayal of a man struggling with dementia. Fishback is equally impressive in the project and during this intimate conversation, she gets real about taking control of her characters and her career.

]]> The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey theGrio 00:23:25 On this week’s episode of Acting Up, Cortney Wills sits down with Samuel L. Jackson and Dominique Fishback to discuss their roles in the new limited series from Apple TV+, ‘The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey.’ Jackson executive produced and starred in the series based on the book by Walter Mosley and reveals what went into his breathtaking portrayal of a man struggling with dementia. Fishback is equally impressive in the project and during this intimate conversation, she gets real about taking control of her characters and her career.   On this week’s episode of Acting Up, Cortney Wills sits down with Samuel L. Jackson and Dominique Fishback to discuss their roles in the new limited series from Apple TV+, ‘The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey.’ Jackson executive produced and starred in the series based on the book by Walter Mosley and reveals what went into his breathtaking portrayal of a man struggling with dementia. Fishback is equally impressive in the project and during this intimate conversation, she gets real about taking control of her characters and her career.   false full 45 f2d37951-8daf-4149-ad98-ae5301827cd2 Bringing Blackness to Disney On a special bonus episode of Acting Up, Cortney Wills sits down with Babatunde Akinloye, Bruce W. Smith, Michael Yates and Marlon West; four men behind some of Disney’s most beloved projects, like Princess and the Frog, The Proud Family, Soul and Encanto and broke down what it takes to tell diverse stories that reflect our community in animation and discusses their journeys as black creators at Disney.

]]> Thu, 10 Mar 2022 00:00:00 +0000 dan@thegrio.com (theGrio) https://thegrio.com/podcasts/acting-up/ On a special bonus episode of Acting Up, Cortney Wills sits down with Babatunde Akinloye, Bruce W. Smith, Michael Yates and Marlon West; four men behind some of Disney’s most beloved projects, like Princess and the Frog, The Proud Family, Soul and Encanto and broke down what it takes to tell diverse stories that reflect our community in animation and discusses their journeys as black creators at Disney.

]]> Bringing Blackness to Disney theGrio 00:38:03 On a special bonus episode of Acting Up, Cortney Wills sits down with Babatunde Akinloye, Bruce W. Smith, Michael Yates and Marlon West; four men behind some of Disney’s most beloved projects, like Princess and the Frog, The Proud Family, Soul and Encanto and broke down what it takes to tell diverse stories that reflect our community in animation and discusses their journeys as black creators at Disney.  On a special bonus episode of Acting Up, Cortney Wills sits down with Babatunde Akinloye, Bruce W. Smith, Michael Yates and Marlon West; four men behind some of Disney’s most beloved projects, like Princess and the Frog, The Proud Family, Soul and Encanto and broke down what it takes to tell diverse stories that reflect our community in animation and discusses their journeys as black creators at Disney.  false full 44 49c84b0c-fbff-4e31-adff-ae4e016d26eb Everything's Gonna Be All White On this weeks episode, Cortney Wills sits down with Director, Sacha Jenkins to discuss his latest project “Everything’s Gonna be All White.” The 3-part docuseries that debuted on Showtime on February 11 pulls no punches while diving into the history of racism in this country. The provocative project features insights from Jemele Hill, Tamika Mallory, Amanda Seales, and Nell Irvin Painter as well as hip hop veterans from Roxanne Shante to Havoc to Styles P among others who all help to paint a picture that some folks just don’t want to see. Find out how Jenkins feels about the backlash and what he hopes audiences will take away.

]]> Fri, 4 Mar 2022 10:00:00 +0000 dan@thegrio.com (theGrio) https://thegrio.com/podcasts/acting-up/ On this weeks episode, Cortney Wills sits down with Director, Sacha Jenkins to discuss his latest project “Everything’s Gonna be All White.” The 3-part docuseries that debuted on Showtime on February 11 pulls no punches while diving into the history of racism in this country. The provocative project features insights from Jemele Hill, Tamika Mallory, Amanda Seales, and Nell Irvin Painter as well as hip hop veterans from Roxanne Shante to Havoc to Styles P among others who all help to paint a picture that some folks just don’t want to see. Find out how Jenkins feels about the backlash and what he hopes audiences will take away.

]]> Everything's Gonna Be All White theGrio 00:29:36 On this weeks episode, Cortney Wills sits down with Director, Sacha Jenkins to discuss his latest project “Everything’s Gonna be All White.” The 3-part docuseries that debuted on Showtime on February 11 pulls no punches while diving into the history of racism in this country. The provocative project features insights from Jemele Hill, Tamika Mallory, Amanda Seales, and Nell Irvin Painter as well as hip hop veterans from Roxanne Shante to Havoc to Styles P among others who all help to paint a picture that some folks just don’t want to see. Find out how Jenkins feels about the backlash and what he hopes audiences will take away. On this weeks episode, Cortney Wills sits down with Director, Sacha Jenkins to discuss his latest project “Everything’s Gonna be All White.” The 3-part docuseries that debuted on Showtime on February 11 pulls no punches while diving into the history of racism in this country. The provocative project features insights from Jemele Hill, Tamika Mallory, Amanda Seales, and Nell Irvin Painter as well as hip hop veterans from Roxanne Shante to Havoc to Styles P among others who all help to paint a picture that some folks just don’t want to see. Find out how Jenkins feels about the backlash and what he hopes audiences will take away. false full 43 2c0bbc88-b246-42b9-ae24-ae4600359dcd The Depths of History On this week’s episode, Cortney Wills sits down with National Geographic Explorer and Storyteller, Tara Roberts. The ladies discuss “Into the Depths,” NatGeo’s new podcast that follows Tara as she chronicles Black divers, marine archaeologists, and historians on a quest to examine slave ship wrecks and uncover the little-known truths about the Middle Passage. They’ll also dive deep into the astounding discovery of The Clotilda, the last known slave ship to arrive from Africa in 1860, and examine how what lies beneath the surface stands to change so much about how we understand our history.

]]> Fri, 25 Feb 2022 10:00:00 +0000 dan@thegrio.com (theGrio) https://thegrio.com/podcasts/acting-up/ On this week’s episode, Cortney Wills sits down with National Geographic Explorer and Storyteller, Tara Roberts. The ladies discuss “Into the Depths,” NatGeo’s new podcast that follows Tara as she chronicles Black divers, marine archaeologists, and historians on a quest to examine slave ship wrecks and uncover the little-known truths about the Middle Passage. They’ll also dive deep into the astounding discovery of The Clotilda, the last known slave ship to arrive from Africa in 1860, and examine how what lies beneath the surface stands to change so much about how we understand our history.

]]> The Depths of History theGrio 00:35:04 On this week’s episode, Cortney Wills sits down with National Geographic Explorer and Storyteller, Tara Roberts. The ladies discuss “Into the Depths,” NatGeo’s new podcast that follows Tara as she chronicles Black divers, marine archaeologists, and historians on a quest to examine slave ship wrecks and uncover the little-known truths about the Middle Passage. They’ll also dive deep into the astounding discovery of The Clotilda, the last known slave ship to arrive from Africa in 1860, and examine how what lies beneath the surface stands to change so much about how we understand our history.  On this week’s episode, Cortney Wills sits down with National Geographic Explorer and Storyteller, Tara Roberts. The ladies discuss “Into the Depths,” NatGeo’s new podcast that follows Tara as she chronicles Black divers, marine archaeologists, and historians on a quest to examine slave ship wrecks and uncover the little-known truths about the Middle Passage. They’ll also dive deep into the astounding discovery of The Clotilda, the last known slave ship to arrive from Africa in 1860, and examine how what lies beneath the surface stands to change so much about how we understand our history.  false full 42 97dca534-ef9c-4f04-8273-ae4000637dca Descendant Cortney Will takes a deep dive into Descendant, the award-winning documentary that debuted at Sundance Film Festival and revealed the riveting true story of The Clotilda, the last known slave ship to arrive from Africa in 1860. The people it carried to the U.S. arrived 40 years after the slave trade was outlawed, and they established a community called Africatown. The film follows their descendants, who kept the truth about their ancestors alive through oral history passed down generations, truths that have finally been legitimized since the ship’s wreckage was discovered in 2018. Director, Margaret Brown takes us along on her journey for truth and historian Dr. Kern Jackson offers his take on the implications of this monumental discovery and decades-long cover up, and the role Zora Neale Hurston played in this true story that’s stranger than fiction.

]]> Fri, 18 Feb 2022 10:00:00 +0000 dan@thegrio.com (theGrio) https://thegrio.com/podcasts/acting-up/ Cortney Will takes a deep dive into Descendant, the award-winning documentary that debuted at Sundance Film Festival and revealed the riveting true story of The Clotilda, the last known slave ship to arrive from Africa in 1860. The people it carried to the U.S. arrived 40 years after the slave trade was outlawed, and they established a community called Africatown. The film follows their descendants, who kept the truth about their ancestors alive through oral history passed down generations, truths that have finally been legitimized since the ship’s wreckage was discovered in 2018. Director, Margaret Brown takes us along on her journey for truth and historian Dr. Kern Jackson offers his take on the implications of this monumental discovery and decades-long cover up, and the role Zora Neale Hurston played in this true story that’s stranger than fiction.

]]> Descendant theGrio 00:33:22 Cortney Will takes a deep dive into Descendant, the award-winning documentary that debuted at Sundance Film Festival and revealed the riveting true story of The Clotilda, the last known slave ship to arrive from Africa in 1860. The people it carried to the U.S. arrived 40 years after the slave trade was outlawed, and they established a community called Africatown. The film follows their descendants, who kept the truth about their ancestors alive through oral history passed down generations, truths that have finally been legitimized since the ship’s wreckage was discovered in 2018. Director, Margaret Brown takes us along on her journey for truth and historian Dr. Kern Jackson offers his take on the implications of this monumental discovery and decades-long cover up, and the role Zora Neale Hurston played in this true story that’s stranger than fiction.   Cortney Will takes a deep dive into Descendant, the award-winning documentary that debuted at Sundance Film Festival and revealed the riveting true story of The Clotilda, the last known slave ship to arrive from Africa in 1860. The people it carried to the U.S. arrived 40 years after the slave trade was outlawed, and they established a community called Africatown. The film follows their descendants, who kept the truth about their ancestors alive through oral history passed down generations, truths that have finally been legitimized since the ship’s wreckage was discovered in 2018. Director, Margaret Brown takes us along on her journey for truth and historian Dr. Kern Jackson offers his take on the implications of this monumental discovery and decades-long cover up, and the role Zora Neale Hurston played in this true story that’s stranger than fiction.   false full 41 d3ca3b6d-e1b1-46e3-b2bb-ae390073e750 The Gilded Age Cortney Wills dives into HBO’s ‘The Gilded Age’ with one of its stars, Audra McDonald to discuss how the show is exploring the often-overlooked experiences of the Black elite in the 1890s. The pair will highlight the little-known plight of the people who went North after slavery and how they built careers, accumulated wealth, and cultivated communities that were thriving in the North while Jim Crow was busy wreaking havoc in the South. Cortney also sits down with one of the show’s executive producers and historical consultant, Erica Dunbar, who illuminated the real history that informs this groundbreaking project that reminds us that the Black experience consists of much more than we’ve been told and Black wealth is nothing new.

]]> Fri, 11 Feb 2022 10:00:00 +0000 dan@thegrio.com (theGrio) https://thegrio.com/podcasts/acting-up/ Cortney Wills dives into HBO’s ‘The Gilded Age’ with one of its stars, Audra McDonald to discuss how the show is exploring the often-overlooked experiences of the Black elite in the 1890s. The pair will highlight the little-known plight of the people who went North after slavery and how they built careers, accumulated wealth, and cultivated communities that were thriving in the North while Jim Crow was busy wreaking havoc in the South. Cortney also sits down with one of the show’s executive producers and historical consultant, Erica Dunbar, who illuminated the real history that informs this groundbreaking project that reminds us that the Black experience consists of much more than we’ve been told and Black wealth is nothing new.

]]> The Gilded Age theGrio 00:33:39 Cortney Wills dives into HBO’s ‘The Gilded Age’ with one of its stars, Audra McDonald to discuss how the show is exploring the often-overlooked experiences of the Black elite in the 1890s. The pair will highlight the little-known plight of the people who went North after slavery and how they built careers, accumulated wealth, and cultivated communities that were thriving in the North while Jim Crow was busy wreaking havoc in the South. Cortney also sits down with one of the show’s executive producers and historical consultant, Erica Dunbar, who illuminated the real history that informs this groundbreaking project that reminds us that the Black experience consists of much more than we’ve been told and Black wealth is nothing new.  Cortney Wills dives into HBO’s ‘The Gilded Age’ with one of its stars, Audra McDonald to discuss how the show is exploring the often-overlooked experiences of the Black elite in the 1890s. The pair will highlight the little-known plight of the people who went North after slavery and how they built careers, accumulated wealth, and cultivated communities that were thriving in the North while Jim Crow was busy wreaking havoc in the South. Cortney also sits down with one of the show’s executive producers and historical consultant, Erica Dunbar, who illuminated the real history that informs this groundbreaking project that reminds us that the Black experience consists of much more than we’ve been told and Black wealth is nothing new.  false full 40 7177c1c0-1b98-4c12-8f18-ae3200299ca6 In Defense of Whitney Houston Cortney Wills sits down with her friend and fellow entertainment journalist, Gerrick Kennedy who just released his highly anticipated book "Didn't We Almost Have It All: In Defense of Whitney Houston" on February 1. The remarkable project from the music expert and lifelong fan invites us to examine a life we felt quite entitled to with a different lens and contextualizes some of her biggest moments, greatest successes, and most devastating losses, almost ten years after her tragic death.

]]> Fri, 4 Feb 2022 10:00:00 +0000 dan@thegrio.com (theGrio) https://thegrio.com/podcasts/acting-up/ Cortney Wills sits down with her friend and fellow entertainment journalist, Gerrick Kennedy who just released his highly anticipated book "Didn't We Almost Have It All: In Defense of Whitney Houston" on February 1. The remarkable project from the music expert and lifelong fan invites us to examine a life we felt quite entitled to with a different lens and contextualizes some of her biggest moments, greatest successes, and most devastating losses, almost ten years after her tragic death.

]]> In Defense of Whitney Houston theGrio 00:34:40 Cortney Wills sits down with her friend and fellow entertainment journalist, Gerrick Kennedy who just released his highly anticipated book "Didn't We Almost Have It All: In Defense of Whitney Houston" on February 1. The remarkable project from the music expert and lifelong fan invites us to examine a life we felt quite entitled to with a different lens and contextualizes some of her biggest moments, greatest successes, and most devastating losses, almost ten years after her tragic death. Cortney Wills sits down with her friend and fellow entertainment journalist, Gerrick Kennedy who just released his highly anticipated book "Didn't We Almost Have It All: In Defense of Whitney Houston" on February 1. The remarkable project from the music expert and lifelong fan invites us to examine a life we felt quite entitled to with a different lens and contextualizes some of her biggest moments, greatest successes, and most devastating losses, almost ten years after her tragic death. false full 39 0bda5263-70f7-4d74-918a-ae2b0084ca9c Aftershock Cortney Wills is joined by Tonya Lewis Lee and Paula Eiselt, to discuss their unmissable new documentary ‘Aftershock’ after debuting it at the Sundance Film Festival. The ladies discuss the U.S maternal health crisis, the racism at the root of it, and real solutions to address it. They also open up their own experiences with childbirth as they examine the many factors that make birthing while Black a very dangerous mission.

]]> Fri, 28 Jan 2022 10:00:00 +0000 dan@thegrio.com (theGrio) https://thegrio.com/podcasts/acting-up/ Cortney Wills is joined by Tonya Lewis Lee and Paula Eiselt, to discuss their unmissable new documentary ‘Aftershock’ after debuting it at the Sundance Film Festival. The ladies discuss the U.S maternal health crisis, the racism at the root of it, and real solutions to address it. They also open up their own experiences with childbirth as they examine the many factors that make birthing while Black a very dangerous mission.

]]> Aftershock theGrio 00:27:51 Cortney Wills is joined by Tonya Lewis Lee and Paula Eiselt, to discuss their unmissable new documentary ‘Aftershock’ after debuting it at the Sundance Film Festival. The ladies discuss the U.S maternal health crisis, the racism at the root of it, and real solutions to address it. They also open up their own experiences with childbirth as they examine the many factors that make birthing while Black a very dangerous mission. Cortney Wills is joined by Tonya Lewis Lee and Paula Eiselt, to discuss their unmissable new documentary ‘Aftershock’ after debuting it at the Sundance Film Festival. The ladies discuss the U.S maternal health crisis, the racism at the root of it, and real solutions to address it. They also open up their own experiences with childbirth as they examine the many factors that make birthing while Black a very dangerous mission. false full 38 9d5bee07-db72-4120-a606-ae2400843c80 Sundance Film Festival Cortney Wills sits down with Tabitha Jackson, Director of the Sundance Film Festival to discuss her journey to the top as a Black woman and how she came to the tough decision to take the annual event virtual in light of the omicron variant. They’ll also dive into several of the must-see projects from creators of color and dish details on amazing performances from folks like John Boyega, and the late Michael K. Williams, who takes his final bow in ‘892.’

]]> Fri, 21 Jan 2022 10:00:00 +0000 dan@thegrio.com (theGrio) https://thegrio.com/podcasts/acting-up/ Cortney Wills sits down with Tabitha Jackson, Director of the Sundance Film Festival to discuss her journey to the top as a Black woman and how she came to the tough decision to take the annual event virtual in light of the omicron variant. They’ll also dive into several of the must-see projects from creators of color and dish details on amazing performances from folks like John Boyega, and the late Michael K. Williams, who takes his final bow in ‘892.’

]]> Sundance Film Festival theGrio 00:25:47 Cortney Wills sits down with Tabitha Jackson, Director of the Sundance Film Festival to discuss her journey to the top as a Black woman and how she came to the tough decision to take the annual event virtual in light of the omicron variant. They’ll also dive into several of the must-see projects from creators of color and dish details on amazing performances from folks like John Boyega, and the late Michael K. Williams, who takes his final bow in ‘892.’ Cortney Wills sits down with Tabitha Jackson, Director of the Sundance Film Festival to discuss her journey to the top as a Black woman and how she came to the tough decision to take the annual event virtual in light of the omicron variant. They’ll also dive into several of the must-see projects from creators of color and dish details on amazing performances from folks like John Boyega, and the late Michael K. Williams, who takes his final bow in ‘892.’ false full 37 a89101e8-ba4a-4352-9633-ae1d007b0dc5 Tasha Smith: Iron Sharpens Iron Cortney Wills sits down with Tasha Smith to discuss her work as a director, executive producer on shows like ‘BMF’ and ‘Our Kind of People’ as well as her 20-year career as an acting force for the likes of Mary J. Blige, Andra Day, and countless others. The ladies dive into what it takes to create great projects and what happens when offerings from our people aren’t as impressive as we’d like, as well as the particular challenge that comes with criticizing Black art.

]]> Fri, 14 Jan 2022 10:00:00 +0000 dan@thegrio.com (theGrio) https://thegrio.com/podcasts/acting-up/ Cortney Wills sits down with Tasha Smith to discuss her work as a director, executive producer on shows like ‘BMF’ and ‘Our Kind of People’ as well as her 20-year career as an acting force for the likes of Mary J. Blige, Andra Day, and countless others. The ladies dive into what it takes to create great projects and what happens when offerings from our people aren’t as impressive as we’d like, as well as the particular challenge that comes with criticizing Black art.

]]> Tasha Smith: Iron Sharpens Iron theGrio 00:27:50 Cortney Wills sits down with Tasha Smith to discuss her work as a director, executive producer on shows like ‘BMF’ and ‘Our Kind of People’ as well as her 20-year career as an acting force for the likes of Mary J. Blige, Andra Day, and countless others. The ladies dive into what it takes to create great projects and what happens when offerings from our people aren’t as impressive as we’d like, as well as the particular challenge that comes with criticizing Black art.  Cortney Wills sits down with Tasha Smith to discuss her work as a director, executive producer on shows like ‘BMF’ and ‘Our Kind of People’ as well as her 20-year career as an acting force for the likes of Mary J. Blige, Andra Day, and countless others. The ladies dive into what it takes to create great projects and what happens when offerings from our people aren’t as impressive as we’d like, as well as the particular challenge that comes with criticizing Black art.  false full 36 4380a485-b637-4a3e-bf22-ae160128df9c Going IN on the Golden Globes On this weeks episode, Cortney Wills sits down with Neil Phillips, Chief Diversity Officer for the HFPA to find out how the disgraced organization behind the Golden Globes is attempting to reform and rebuild after a humiliating year of public scrutiny and being boycotted by Hollywood. She’ll also be joined by award-winning journalist, Kelley Carter, to discuss her reasons for joining the group after it was criticized for having no Black members. In this candid conversation, they’ll examine what work has been done and ponder the public’s response ahead of the 2022 Golden Globes ceremony.

]]> Fri, 7 Jan 2022 10:00:00 +0000 dan@thegrio.com (theGrio) https://thegrio.com/podcasts/acting-up/ On this weeks episode, Cortney Wills sits down with Neil Phillips, Chief Diversity Officer for the HFPA to find out how the disgraced organization behind the Golden Globes is attempting to reform and rebuild after a humiliating year of public scrutiny and being boycotted by Hollywood. She’ll also be joined by award-winning journalist, Kelley Carter, to discuss her reasons for joining the group after it was criticized for having no Black members. In this candid conversation, they’ll examine what work has been done and ponder the public’s response ahead of the 2022 Golden Globes ceremony.

]]> Going IN on the Golden Globes theGrio 00:37:59 On this weeks episode, Cortney Wills sits down with Neil Phillips, Chief Diversity Officer for the HFPA to find out how the disgraced organization behind the Golden Globes is attempting to reform and rebuild after a humiliating year of public scrutiny and being boycotted by Hollywood. She’ll also be joined by award-winning journalist, Kelley Carter, to discuss her reasons for joining the group after it was criticized for having no Black members. In this candid conversation, they’ll examine what work has been done and ponder the public’s response ahead of the 2022 Golden Globes ceremony.  On this weeks episode, Cortney Wills sits down with Neil Phillips, Chief Diversity Officer for the HFPA to find out how the disgraced organization behind the Golden Globes is attempting to reform and rebuild after a humiliating year of public scrutiny and being boycotted by Hollywood. She’ll also be joined by award-winning journalist, Kelley Carter, to discuss her reasons for joining the group after it was criticized for having no Black members. In this candid conversation, they’ll examine what work has been done and ponder the public’s response ahead of the 2022 Golden Globes ceremony.  false full 35 1123348f-8011-4358-89f7-ae0f00053d2e Farewell To 2021 Cortney Wills reflects on some of her favorite conversations of 2021 and revisits a few highlights from Acting Up guests like Erika Alexander, Little Marvin, Natasha Rothwell, and more.

]]> Fri, 31 Dec 2021 10:00:00 +0000 dan@thegrio.com (theGrio) https://thegrio.com/podcasts/acting-up/ Cortney Wills reflects on some of her favorite conversations of 2021 and revisits a few highlights from Acting Up guests like Erika Alexander, Little Marvin, Natasha Rothwell, and more.

]]> Farewell To 2021 theGrio 00:33:09 Cortney Wills reflects on some of her favorite conversations of 2021 and revisits a few highlights from Acting Up guests like Erika Alexander, Little Marvin, Natasha Rothwell, and more.  Cortney Wills reflects on some of her favorite conversations of 2021 and revisits a few highlights from Acting Up guests like Erika Alexander, Little Marvin, Natasha Rothwell, and more.  false full 34 10b6fba6-3b4a-49f7-a285-ae070157ad07 Kerri Grant: Queen of Kids Content On this weeks episode, Cortney Wills sits down with the woman behind some of the best kids content ever made, Kerri Grant. The Peabody Award winner and eight-time Emmy nominee discusses her journey, and her work on shows like ‘The Backyardigans,’ ‘Doc McStuffins,’ and ‘ Elena of Avalon’ among others. They’ll also dive in to her latest project, Netflix’s ‘Ada Twist, Scientist’ from Higher Ground Productions.

]]> Fri, 24 Dec 2021 10:00:00 +0000 dan@thegrio.com (theGrio) https://thegrio.com/podcasts/acting-up/ On this weeks episode, Cortney Wills sits down with the woman behind some of the best kids content ever made, Kerri Grant. The Peabody Award winner and eight-time Emmy nominee discusses her journey, and her work on shows like ‘The Backyardigans,’ ‘Doc McStuffins,’ and ‘ Elena of Avalon’ among others. They’ll also dive in to her latest project, Netflix’s ‘Ada Twist, Scientist’ from Higher Ground Productions.

]]> Kerri Grant: Queen of Kids Content theGrio 00:33:11 On this weeks episode, Cortney Wills sits down with the woman behind some of the best kids content ever made, Kerri Grant. The Peabody Award winner and eight-time Emmy nominee discusses her journey, and her work on shows like ‘The Backyardigans,’ ‘Doc McStuffins,’ and ‘ Elena of Avalon’ among others. They’ll also dive in to her latest project,  Netflix’s ‘Ada Twist, Scientist’ from Higher Ground Productions.  On this weeks episode, Cortney Wills sits down with the woman behind some of the best kids content ever made, Kerri Grant. The Peabody Award winner and eight-time Emmy nominee discusses her journey, and her work on shows like ‘The Backyardigans,’ ‘Doc McStuffins,’ and ‘ Elena of Avalon’ among others. They’ll also dive in to her latest project,  Netflix’s ‘Ada Twist, Scientist’ from Higher Ground Productions.  false full 33 28cf0d7e-5f24-4cb7-885c-ae010053ccec The Agony of ‘Attica’ Cortney Wills sits down with ‘Attica’ directors Stanley Nelson, Jr. and Traci A. Curry to discuss the riveting documentary that uncovers terrible truths about the deadliest prison uprising in our nation’s history. They also get real about how little has changed in the 50 years since the harrowing events and why prison reform remains one of our community’s most urgent issues.

]]> Fri, 17 Dec 2021 10:00:00 +0000 dan@thegrio.com (theGrio) https://thegrio.com/podcasts/acting-up/ Cortney Wills sits down with ‘Attica’ directors Stanley Nelson, Jr. and Traci A. Curry to discuss the riveting documentary that uncovers terrible truths about the deadliest prison uprising in our nation’s history. They also get real about how little has changed in the 50 years since the harrowing events and why prison reform remains one of our community’s most urgent issues.

]]> The Agony of ‘Attica’ theGrio 00:26:51 Cortney Wills sits down with ‘Attica’ directors Stanley Nelson, Jr. and Traci A. Curry to discuss the riveting documentary that uncovers terrible truths about the deadliest prison uprising in our nation’s history. They also get real about how little has changed in the 50 years since the harrowing events and why prison reform remains one of our community’s most urgent issues.  Cortney Wills sits down with ‘Attica’ directors Stanley Nelson, Jr. and Traci A. Curry to discuss the riveting documentary that uncovers terrible truths about the deadliest prison uprising in our nation’s history. They also get real about how little has changed in the 50 years since the harrowing events and why prison reform remains one of our community’s most urgent issues.  false full 32 afa827cd-38c0-4bcc-9ed7-adfa009b80a9 Black in the City On this week's episode of Acting Up, Cortney Wills dives into two new shows that highlight what it means to be a Black woman navigating friendship, love, and life in NYC. ‘Harlem’ star Jerrie Johnson reveals how she cultivated her groundbreaking character “Tye” for the Amazon Prime series from Tracy Oliver and tackled issues like “superwoman syndrome” and Reproductive health.

Cortney also sits down with Nicole Ari Parker, who is bringing some much-needed melanin to the Sex and the City franchise with a big role in HBO Max’s highly anticipated limited series ‘And Just Like That’ to talk about the ways age-ism affects Black women in Hollywood and beyond.

]]> Fri, 10 Dec 2021 10:00:00 +0000 dan@thegrio.com (theGrio) https://thegrio.com/podcasts/acting-up/ On this week's episode of Acting Up, Cortney Wills dives into two new shows that highlight what it means to be a Black woman navigating friendship, love, and life in NYC. ‘Harlem’ star Jerrie Johnson reveals how she cultivated her groundbreaking character “Tye” for the Amazon Prime series from Tracy Oliver and tackled issues like “superwoman syndrome” and Reproductive health.

Cortney also sits down with Nicole Ari Parker, who is bringing some much-needed melanin to the Sex and the City franchise with a big role in HBO Max’s highly anticipated limited series ‘And Just Like That’ to talk about the ways age-ism affects Black women in Hollywood and beyond.

]]> Black in the City theGrio 00:32:52 On this week's episode of Acting Up, Cortney Wills dives into two new shows that highlight what it means to be a Black woman navigating friendship, love, and life in NYC. ‘Harlem’ star Jerrie Johnson reveals how she cultivated her groundbreaking character “Tye” for the Amazon Prime series from Tracy Oliver and tackled issues like “superwoman syndrome” and Reproductive health.  Cortney also sits down with Nicole Ari Parker, who is bringing some much-needed melanin to the Sex and the City franchise with a big role in HBO Max’s highly anticipated limited series ‘And Just Like That’ to talk about the ways age-ism affects Black women in Hollywood and beyond.  On this week's episode of Acting Up, Cortney Wills dives into two new shows that highlight what it means to be a Black woman navigating friendship, love, and life in NYC. ‘Harlem’ star Jerrie Johnson reveals how she cultivated her groundbreaking character “Tye” for the Amazon Prime series from Tracy Oliver and tackled issues like “superwoman syndrome” and Reproductive health.  Cortney also sits down with Nicole Ari Parker, who is bringing some much-needed melanin to the Sex and the City franchise with a big role in HBO Max’s highly anticipated limited series ‘And Just Like That’ to talk about the ways age-ism affects Black women in Hollywood and beyond.  false full 31 7051fb7c-6766-4c9b-825f-adf3001852a1 Lowkey KILLING IT: Natasha Rothwell Cortney Wills sits down with Natasha Rothwell to discuss the final season of Insecure, her directorial debut, and how she went from the writers' room to the call sheet, snagging a leading role on the groundbreaking series. They’ll also get real about representation and get into what’s next for the actress, writer, producer, and director.

]]> Fri, 3 Dec 2021 10:00:00 +0000 dan@thegrio.com (theGrio) https://thegrio.com/podcasts/acting-up/ Cortney Wills sits down with Natasha Rothwell to discuss the final season of Insecure, her directorial debut, and how she went from the writers' room to the call sheet, snagging a leading role on the groundbreaking series. They’ll also get real about representation and get into what’s next for the actress, writer, producer, and director.

]]> Lowkey KILLING IT: Natasha Rothwell theGrio 00:25:08 Cortney Wills sits down with Natasha Rothwell to discuss the final season of Insecure, her directorial debut, and how she went from the writers' room to the call sheet, snagging a leading role on the groundbreaking series. They’ll also get real about representation and get into what’s next for the actress, writer, producer, and director. Cortney Wills sits down with Natasha Rothwell to discuss the final season of Insecure, her directorial debut, and how she went from the writers' room to the call sheet, snagging a leading role on the groundbreaking series. They’ll also get real about representation and get into what’s next for the actress, writer, producer, and director. false full 30 490ccce7-81b8-4bd7-b1d0-adec001bb02d Fighting Words: Aida Rodriguez Cortney Wills sits down with comedian, actor, and producer Aida Rodriguez to discuss her work, her hustle, her heritage and HBO Max special, Fighting Words. The ladies also get real about Afro- Latinx identity, colorism, and how the comedy game has changed amid the collective trauma our communities have faced.

]]> Fri, 26 Nov 2021 07:00:00 +0000 dan@thegrio.com (theGrio) https://thegrio.com/podcasts/acting-up/ Cortney Wills sits down with comedian, actor, and producer Aida Rodriguez to discuss her work, her hustle, her heritage and HBO Max special, Fighting Words. The ladies also get real about Afro- Latinx identity, colorism, and how the comedy game has changed amid the collective trauma our communities have faced.

]]> Fighting Words: Aida Rodriguez theGrio 00:34:35 Cortney Wills sits down with comedian, actor, and producer Aida Rodriguez to discuss her work, her hustle, her heritage and HBO Max special, Fighting Words. The ladies also get real about Afro- Latinx identity, colorism, and how the comedy game has changed amid the collective trauma our communities have faced.  Cortney Wills sits down with comedian, actor, and producer Aida Rodriguez to discuss her work, her hustle, her heritage and HBO Max special, Fighting Words. The ladies also get real about Afro- Latinx identity, colorism, and how the comedy game has changed amid the collective trauma our communities have faced.  false full 29 2e1a247e-ec0b-4f01-b3d6-ade40150b2c4 Jonathan Majors: The Harder They Fall Cortney Wills sits down with actor Jonathan Majors to discuss his starring role as Nat Love in “The Harder They Fall,” how he and costars like Regina King, Lakeith Stanfield, Zazie Beats, Idris Elba, and Delroy Lindo rose to the challenge of filming the action-packed Western during the pandemic, and how his own heroes inspired him to pursue his passions onscreen and off. He also weighs in on his Lovecraft Country, his meteoric rise, and his journey through Hollywood.

]]> Fri, 19 Nov 2021 10:00:00 +0000 dan@thegrio.com (theGrio) https://thegrio.com/podcasts/acting-up/ Cortney Wills sits down with actor Jonathan Majors to discuss his starring role as Nat Love in “The Harder They Fall,” how he and costars like Regina King, Lakeith Stanfield, Zazie Beats, Idris Elba, and Delroy Lindo rose to the challenge of filming the action-packed Western during the pandemic, and how his own heroes inspired him to pursue his passions onscreen and off. He also weighs in on his Lovecraft Country, his meteoric rise, and his journey through Hollywood.

]]> Jonathan Majors: The Harder They Fall theGrio 00:25:53 Cortney Wills sits down with actor Jonathan Majors to discuss his starring role as Nat Love in “The Harder They Fall,” how he and costars like Regina King, Lakeith Stanfield, Zazie Beats, Idris Elba, and Delroy Lindo rose to the challenge of filming the action-packed Western during the pandemic, and how his own heroes inspired him to pursue his passions onscreen and off.  He also weighs in on his Lovecraft Country, his meteoric rise, and his journey through Hollywood.  Cortney Wills sits down with actor Jonathan Majors to discuss his starring role as Nat Love in “The Harder They Fall,” how he and costars like Regina King, Lakeith Stanfield, Zazie Beats, Idris Elba, and Delroy Lindo rose to the challenge of filming the action-packed Western during the pandemic, and how his own heroes inspired him to pursue his passions onscreen and off.  He also weighs in on his Lovecraft Country, his meteoric rise, and his journey through Hollywood.  false full 28 aa0255d6-9a76-4402-845a-adde0076ed54 Lowkey Revolutionary: Christina Elmore Actress Christina Elmore sits down with Cortney Wills to discuss her journey through Hollywood and motherhood; how her real life compares to her character Condola’s epic arc on the final season of Insecure, and what she really thinks of Lawrence. She’ll also shares her experience on another groundbreaking series, Twenties, and what it has been like to work alongside trailblazers like Lena Waithe and Issa Rae.

]]> Fri, 12 Nov 2021 10:00:00 +0000 dan@thegrio.com (theGrio) https://thegrio.com/podcasts/acting-up/ Actress Christina Elmore sits down with Cortney Wills to discuss her journey through Hollywood and motherhood; how her real life compares to her character Condola’s epic arc on the final season of Insecure, and what she really thinks of Lawrence. She’ll also shares her experience on another groundbreaking series, Twenties, and what it has been like to work alongside trailblazers like Lena Waithe and Issa Rae.

]]> Lowkey Revolutionary: Christina Elmore theGrio 00:29:13 Actress Christina Elmore sits down with Cortney Wills to discuss her journey through Hollywood and motherhood; how her real life compares to her character Condola’s epic arc on the final season of Insecure, and what she really thinks of Lawrence. She’ll also shares her experience on another groundbreaking series, Twenties, and what it has been like to work alongside trailblazers like Lena Waithe and Issa Rae.  Actress Christina Elmore sits down with Cortney Wills to discuss her journey through Hollywood and motherhood; how her real life compares to her character Condola’s epic arc on the final season of Insecure, and what she really thinks of Lawrence. She’ll also shares her experience on another groundbreaking series, Twenties, and what it has been like to work alongside trailblazers like Lena Waithe and Issa Rae.  false full 27 7104ac7a-d67a-407d-85b1-add700261e02 Being Seen: Anika Noni Rose Cortney Wills sits down with Grammy-nominated, Tony Award-winning actress Anika Noni Rose to discuss how she navigates her ever-evolving career, her commitment to Black women, and her new gig as the host of season 3 of the award-winning podcast Being Seen.

]]> Fri, 5 Nov 2021 09:00:00 +0000 dan@thegrio.com (theGrio) https://thegrio.com/podcasts/acting-up/ Cortney Wills sits down with Grammy-nominated, Tony Award-winning actress Anika Noni Rose to discuss how she navigates her ever-evolving career, her commitment to Black women, and her new gig as the host of season 3 of the award-winning podcast Being Seen.

]]> Being Seen: Anika Noni Rose theGrio 00:25:59 Cortney Wills sits down with Grammy-nominated, Tony Award-winning actress Anika Noni Rose to discuss how she navigates her ever-evolving career, her commitment to Black women, and her new gig as the host of season 3 of the award-winning podcast Being Seen.  Cortney Wills sits down with Grammy-nominated, Tony Award-winning actress Anika Noni Rose to discuss how she navigates her ever-evolving career, her commitment to Black women, and her new gig as the host of season 3 of the award-winning podcast Being Seen.  false full 26 02902ff0-513d-4298-8161-adcf014f97fe Shalita Grant: Making Good in Hollywood Cortney Wills sits down with actress Shalita Grant to discuss her breakout role in season 3 of “YOU” on Netflix, how she overcame a challenging childhood and cultivated a killer career on her own terms, and how she’s fighting back against the damage done to her hair while on set with her own natural hair care line, Four Naturals.

]]> Fri, 29 Oct 2021 09:00:00 +0000 dan@thegrio.com (theGrio) https://thegrio.com/podcasts/acting-up/ Cortney Wills sits down with actress Shalita Grant to discuss her breakout role in season 3 of “YOU” on Netflix, how she overcame a challenging childhood and cultivated a killer career on her own terms, and how she’s fighting back against the damage done to her hair while on set with her own natural hair care line, Four Naturals.

]]> Shalita Grant: Making Good in Hollywood theGrio 00:35:37 Cortney Wills sits down with actress Shalita Grant to discuss her breakout role in season 3 of “YOU” on Netflix, how she overcame a challenging childhood and cultivated a killer career on her own terms, and how she’s fighting back against the damage done to her hair while on set with her own natural hair care line, Four Naturals.  Cortney Wills sits down with actress Shalita Grant to discuss her breakout role in season 3 of “YOU” on Netflix, how she overcame a challenging childhood and cultivated a killer career on her own terms, and how she’s fighting back against the damage done to her hair while on set with her own natural hair care line, Four Naturals.  false full 25 e438854a-3793-4737-9b88-adc900b91540 ‘Finding Kendrick Johnson’ with Jenifer Lewis Cortney Wills sits down with actress and activist, Jenifer Lewis to discuss “Finding Kendrick Johnson,” the riveting documentary she executive produced and narrated, streaming now on Amazon Prime. Jenifer reveals her reasons for lending her voice and her platform to the project she calls “the most important work she has ever done” and why she hopes the Biden administration will step up to get justice for the 17-year-old boy who was found dead in his Georgia high school’s gym in 2013.

]]> Fri, 22 Oct 2021 14:28:00 +0000 dan@thegrio.com (theGrio) https://thegrio.com/podcasts/acting-up/ Cortney Wills sits down with actress and activist, Jenifer Lewis to discuss “Finding Kendrick Johnson,” the riveting documentary she executive produced and narrated, streaming now on Amazon Prime. Jenifer reveals her reasons for lending her voice and her platform to the project she calls “the most important work she has ever done” and why she hopes the Biden administration will step up to get justice for the 17-year-old boy who was found dead in his Georgia high school’s gym in 2013.

]]> ‘Finding Kendrick Johnson’ with Jenifer Lewis theGrio 00:32:11 Cortney Wills sits down with actress and activist, Jenifer Lewis to discuss “Finding Kendrick Johnson,” the riveting documentary she executive produced and narrated, streaming now on Amazon Prime. Jenifer reveals her reasons for lending her voice and her platform to the project she calls “the most important work she has ever done” and why she hopes the Biden administration will step up to get justice for the 17-year-old boy who was found dead in his Georgia high school’s gym in 2013.  Cortney Wills sits down with actress and activist, Jenifer Lewis to discuss “Finding Kendrick Johnson,” the riveting documentary she executive produced and narrated, streaming now on Amazon Prime. Jenifer reveals her reasons for lending her voice and her platform to the project she calls “the most important work she has ever done” and why she hopes the Biden administration will step up to get justice for the 17-year-old boy who was found dead in his Georgia high school’s gym in 2013.  false full 24 4e461824-7da3-4c8d-af33-adc200b68bd1 Randy Huggins: Black Mafia Family Cortney Wills sits down with creator and showrunner of ‘BMF’ Randy Huggins to find out how he crafter the hit STARZ drama series based on the true story of Detroit’s most infamous kingpins. He also discusses what went into casting Demetrius “Lil Meech” Flenory to portray his own father; how he deals with 50 Cent and his wild ways; and the impact of this larger-than-life story.

]]> Fri, 15 Oct 2021 09:00:00 +0000 dan@thegrio.com (theGrio) https://thegrio.com/podcasts/acting-up/ Cortney Wills sits down with creator and showrunner of ‘BMF’ Randy Huggins to find out how he crafter the hit STARZ drama series based on the true story of Detroit’s most infamous kingpins. He also discusses what went into casting Demetrius “Lil Meech” Flenory to portray his own father; how he deals with 50 Cent and his wild ways; and the impact of this larger-than-life story.

]]> Randy Huggins: Black Mafia Family theGrio 00:28:15 Cortney Wills sits down with creator and showrunner of ‘BMF’ Randy Huggins to find out how he crafter the hit STARZ drama series based on the true story of Detroit’s most infamous kingpins. He also discusses what went into casting Demetrius “Lil Meech” Flenory to portray his own father; how he deals with 50 Cent and his wild ways; and the impact of this larger-than-life story.  Cortney Wills sits down with creator and showrunner of ‘BMF’ Randy Huggins to find out how he crafter the hit STARZ drama series based on the true story of Detroit’s most infamous kingpins. He also discusses what went into casting Demetrius “Lil Meech” Flenory to portray his own father; how he deals with 50 Cent and his wild ways; and the impact of this larger-than-life story.  false full 23 b2a1b4a1-2146-4f1d-ac94-adbb00b5546d Desean Terry: Black Faces in White Spaces Cortney Wills sits down with actor and director, Desean Terry to discuss his role as a Black journalist on “The Morning Show.” The two examine how the star-studded series tackles issues of race, sexual orientation, and trauma and examines the gray areas of consent, sexual misconduct, and cancel culture. They also take a deep look at the different ways Black professionals navigate predominately white workplaces and the resulting effects of imposter syndrome. Desean also reveals his reasons for inspiring and uplifting LA youth through theater.

]]> Fri, 8 Oct 2021 06:00:00 +0000 dan@thegrio.com (theGrio) https://thegrio.com/podcasts/acting-up/ Cortney Wills sits down with actor and director, Desean Terry to discuss his role as a Black journalist on “The Morning Show.” The two examine how the star-studded series tackles issues of race, sexual orientation, and trauma and examines the gray areas of consent, sexual misconduct, and cancel culture. They also take a deep look at the different ways Black professionals navigate predominately white workplaces and the resulting effects of imposter syndrome. Desean also reveals his reasons for inspiring and uplifting LA youth through theater.

]]> Desean Terry: Black Faces in White Spaces theGrio 00:30:22 Cortney Wills sits down with actor and director, Desean Terry to discuss his role as a Black journalist on “The Morning Show.” The two examine how the star-studded series tackles issues of race, sexual orientation, and trauma and examines the gray areas of consent, sexual misconduct, and cancel culture. They also take a deep look at the different ways Black professionals navigate predominately white workplaces and the resulting effects of imposter syndrome. Desean also reveals his reasons for inspiring and uplifting LA youth through theater.  Cortney Wills sits down with actor and director, Desean Terry to discuss his role as a Black journalist on “The Morning Show.” The two examine how the star-studded series tackles issues of race, sexual orientation, and trauma and examines the gray areas of consent, sexual misconduct, and cancel culture. They also take a deep look at the different ways Black professionals navigate predominately white workplaces and the resulting effects of imposter syndrome. Desean also reveals his reasons for inspiring and uplifting LA youth through theater.  false full 22 a9a88fd2-1f0a-4847-9d81-adb4006e65b7 Black to the Future Cortney Wills is joined by beloved actress, writer, producer, and activist Erika Alexander who opens up about forging her own path, her passion for sci-fi, and why Black people are the original futurists. She’ll also dish details about the launch of her history-making Concrete Park Bangers collection that just dropped on Curio. She’ll be joined by Curio’s COO, Rikin Mantri who helps explain why NFTs could be the future of storytelling.

]]> Fri, 1 Oct 2021 09:00:00 +0000 dan@thegrio.com (theGrio) https://thegrio.com/podcasts/acting-up/ Cortney Wills is joined by beloved actress, writer, producer, and activist Erika Alexander who opens up about forging her own path, her passion for sci-fi, and why Black people are the original futurists. She’ll also dish details about the launch of her history-making Concrete Park Bangers collection that just dropped on Curio. She’ll be joined by Curio’s COO, Rikin Mantri who helps explain why NFTs could be the future of storytelling.

]]> Black to the Future theGrio 00:29:33 Cortney Wills is joined by beloved actress, writer, producer, and activist Erika Alexander who opens up about forging her own path, her passion for sci-fi, and why Black people are the original futurists. She’ll also dish details about the launch of her history-making Concrete Park Bangers collection that just dropped on Curio. She’ll be joined by Curio’s COO, Rikin Mantri who helps explain why NFTs could be the future of storytelling.  Cortney Wills is joined by beloved actress, writer, producer, and activist Erika Alexander who opens up about forging her own path, her passion for sci-fi, and why Black people are the original futurists. She’ll also dish details about the launch of her history-making Concrete Park Bangers collection that just dropped on Curio. She’ll be joined by Curio’s COO, Rikin Mantri who helps explain why NFTs could be the future of storytelling.  false full 21 024a1c99-0938-4f5c-ba1d-adad0047ee47 My Name Is Pauli Murray Cortney Wills dives into the life of Pauli Murray, the activist, author, priest, lawyer, and revolutionary who coined the term “Jane Crow” and led a life every American should celebrate. She’ll be joined by Julie Cohen and Talleah Bridges-McMahon two of the women behind the unmissable documentary, ‘My Name is Pauli Murray’ in theaters now and available on Amazon Prime Video on October 1. In this candid conversation, the group discusses the fascinating work and monumental contributions of Pauli Murray as well as what it took to get this story told, what happens when the stories of Black lives are helmed by white women, what goes into getting it right, and what impact they hope it will have.

]]> Fri, 24 Sep 2021 09:00:00 +0000 dan@thegrio.com (theGrio) https://thegrio.com/podcasts/acting-up/ Cortney Wills dives into the life of Pauli Murray, the activist, author, priest, lawyer, and revolutionary who coined the term “Jane Crow” and led a life every American should celebrate. She’ll be joined by Julie Cohen and Talleah Bridges-McMahon two of the women behind the unmissable documentary, ‘My Name is Pauli Murray’ in theaters now and available on Amazon Prime Video on October 1. In this candid conversation, the group discusses the fascinating work and monumental contributions of Pauli Murray as well as what it took to get this story told, what happens when the stories of Black lives are helmed by white women, what goes into getting it right, and what impact they hope it will have.

]]> My Name Is Pauli Murray theGrio 00:35:28 Cortney Wills dives into the life of Pauli Murray, the activist, author, priest, lawyer, and revolutionary who coined the term “Jane Crow” and led a life every American should celebrate. She’ll be joined by Julie Cohen and Talleah Bridges-McMahon two of the women behind the unmissable documentary, ‘My Name is Pauli Murray’ in theaters now and available on Amazon Prime Video on October 1. In this candid conversation, the group discusses the fascinating work and monumental contributions of Pauli Murray as well as what it took to get this story told, what happens when the stories of Black lives are helmed by white women, what goes into getting it right, and what impact they hope it will have.  Cortney Wills dives into the life of Pauli Murray, the activist, author, priest, lawyer, and revolutionary who coined the term “Jane Crow” and led a life every American should celebrate. She’ll be joined by Julie Cohen and Talleah Bridges-McMahon two of the women behind the unmissable documentary, ‘My Name is Pauli Murray’ in theaters now and available on Amazon Prime Video on October 1. In this candid conversation, the group discusses the fascinating work and monumental contributions of Pauli Murray as well as what it took to get this story told, what happens when the stories of Black lives are helmed by white women, what goes into getting it right, and what impact they hope it will have.  false full 20 05a3aee9-b4c0-4168-82da-ad6600762aa0 Emmys So Black Cortney Wills weighs in on the 2021 Primetime Emmy nominations and highlights the 37 Black creators who nabbed nods including several Acting Up guests including Aunjanue Ellis, Courtney B. Vance, Amber Ruffin, O. T. Fagbenle, and more.

]]> Thu, 15 Jul 2021 09:00:00 +0000 dan@thegrio.com (theGrio) https://thegrio.com/podcasts/acting-up/ Cortney Wills weighs in on the 2021 Primetime Emmy nominations and highlights the 37 Black creators who nabbed nods including several Acting Up guests including Aunjanue Ellis, Courtney B. Vance, Amber Ruffin, O. T. Fagbenle, and more.

]]> Emmys So Black theGrio 00:13:41 Cortney Wills weighs in on the 2021 Primetime Emmy nominations and highlights the 37 Black creators who nabbed nods including several Acting Up guests including Aunjanue Ellis, Courtney B. Vance, Amber Ruffin, O. T. Fagbenle, and more.  Cortney Wills weighs in on the 2021 Primetime Emmy nominations and highlights the 37 Black creators who nabbed nods including several Acting Up guests including Aunjanue Ellis, Courtney B. Vance, Amber Ruffin, O. T. Fagbenle, and more.  false full 19 ecbfb8b5-ba7a-4367-a29c-ad5f00e99808 Taking Over: O. T. Fagbenle Cortney Wills sits down with multi-talented actor, director, and producer O. T. Fagbenle to discuss his work on Hulu’s “The Handmaids Tale”, making it into the MCU for “Black Widow” and how he’s prepping to play Barack Obama in Showtime’s upcoming “The First Lady” and what went into creating “Maxxx”.

]]> Thu, 8 Jul 2021 14:20:00 +0000 dan@thegrio.com (theGrio) https://thegrio.com/podcasts/acting-up/ Cortney Wills sits down with multi-talented actor, director, and producer O. T. Fagbenle to discuss his work on Hulu’s “The Handmaids Tale”, making it into the MCU for “Black Widow” and how he’s prepping to play Barack Obama in Showtime’s upcoming “The First Lady” and what went into creating “Maxxx”.

]]> Taking Over: O. T. Fagbenle theGrio 00:25:08 Cortney Wills sits down with multi-talented actor, director, and producer O. T. Fagbenle to discuss his work on  Hulu’s “The Handmaids Tale”, making it into the MCU for “Black Widow” and how he’s prepping to play Barack Obama in Showtime’s upcoming “The First Lady” and what went into creating “Maxxx”. Cortney Wills sits down with multi-talented actor, director, and producer O. T. Fagbenle to discuss his work on  Hulu’s “The Handmaids Tale”, making it into the MCU for “Black Widow” and how he’s prepping to play Barack Obama in Showtime’s upcoming “The First Lady” and what went into creating “Maxxx”. false full 18 2da6049c-da88-4d09-be91-ad57018b1df7 Raising the Bar: William Jackson Harper Cortney Wills sits down with Emmy-nominated actor William Jackson Harper to discuss his riveting portrayal of Royal In Barry Jenkins’ Underground Railroad and his upcoming role as the lead in the second season of HBO max series love life.

Anti trans bills to be stopped can be found at: https://freedomforallamericans.org/legislative-tracker/anti-transgender-legislation/

Representative phone numbers can be found at: https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative

Sample Phone Message:

“Good afternoon, my name is Cortney Wills and I’m a member of the City Transgender Alliance. I am calling to urge my Senator to champion the opposition of the (INSERT ANTI TRANS BILL: Vulnerable Child Compassion and Protection Act) to ensure that there are protections for transgender children. In our country, everyone should have the right to move fluidly across their gender identity without the fear of discrimination. Even if they are a sponsor of the bill, I hope that they will vote against it. Again, this is Cortney Wills. My address is 123 theGrio Street, Los Angeles, CA, 90123 and my telephone number is 987-654-3210. Thank you for your time.”

]]> Thu, 1 Jul 2021 09:00:00 +0000 dan@thegrio.com (theGrio) https://thegrio.com/podcasts/acting-up/ Cortney Wills sits down with Emmy-nominated actor William Jackson Harper to discuss his riveting portrayal of Royal In Barry Jenkins’ Underground Railroad and his upcoming role as the lead in the second season of HBO max series love life.

Anti trans bills to be stopped can be found at: https://freedomforallamericans.org/legislative-tracker/anti-transgender-legislation/

Representative phone numbers can be found at: https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative

Sample Phone Message:

“Good afternoon, my name is Cortney Wills and I’m a member of the City Transgender Alliance. I am calling to urge my Senator to champion the opposition of the (INSERT ANTI TRANS BILL: Vulnerable Child Compassion and Protection Act) to ensure that there are protections for transgender children. In our country, everyone should have the right to move fluidly across their gender identity without the fear of discrimination. Even if they are a sponsor of the bill, I hope that they will vote against it. Again, this is Cortney Wills. My address is 123 theGrio Street, Los Angeles, CA, 90123 and my telephone number is 987-654-3210. Thank you for your time.”

]]> Raising the Bar: William Jackson Harper theGrio 00:44:39 Cortney Wills sits down with Emmy-nominated actor William Jackson Harper to discuss his riveting portrayal of Royal In Barry Jenkins’ Underground Railroad and his upcoming role as the lead in the second season of HBO max series love life. Anti trans bills to be stopped can be found at: https://freedomforallamericans.org/legislative-tracker/anti-transgender-legislation/ Representative phone numbers can be found at: https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative Sample Phone Message: “Good afternoon, my name is Cortney Wills and I’m a member of the City Transgender Alliance. I am calling to urge my Senator to champion the opposition of the (INSERT ANTI TRANS BILL: Vulnerable Child Compassion and Protection Act) to ensure that there are protections for transgender children. In our country, everyone should have the right to move fluidly across their gender identity without the fear of discrimination. Even if they are a sponsor of the bill, I hope that they will vote against it. Again, this is Cortney Wills. My address is 123 theGrio Street, Los Angeles, CA, 90123 and my telephone number is 987-654-3210. Thank you for your time.”   Cortney Wills sits down with Emmy-nominated actor William Jackson Harper to discuss his riveting portrayal of Royal In Barry Jenkins’ Underground Railroad and his upcoming role as the lead in the second season of HBO max series love life. Anti trans bills to be stopped can be found at: https://freedomforallamericans.org/legislative-tracker/anti-transgender-legislation/ Representative phone numbers can be found at: https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative Sample Phone Message: “Good afternoon, my name is Cortney Wills and I’m a member of the City Transgender Alliance. I am calling to urge my Senator to champion the opposition of the (INSERT ANTI TRANS BILL: Vulnerable Child Compassion and Protection Act) to ensure that there are protections for transgender children. In our country, everyone should have the right to move fluidly across their gender identity without the fear of discrimination. Even if they are a sponsor of the bill, I hope that they will vote against it. Again, this is Cortney Wills. My address is 123 theGrio Street, Los Angeles, CA, 90123 and my telephone number is 987-654-3210. Thank you for your time.”   false full 17 9b581255-7f60-4978-94b9-ad51008c3f13 Black Women in Comedy Black comedians are having a major moment in Hollywood and Cortney Wills sits down with two women who are killing the comedy game. Amber Ruffin dishes details about her groundbreaking show "The Amber Ruffin Show" and Yvonne Orji opens up about the end of "Insecure" and her new book "Bamboozled by Jesus".

]]> Thu, 24 Jun 2021 09:00:00 +0000 dan@thegrio.com (theGrio) https://thegrio.com/podcasts/acting-up/ Black comedians are having a major moment in Hollywood and Cortney Wills sits down with two women who are killing the comedy game. Amber Ruffin dishes details about her groundbreaking show "The Amber Ruffin Show" and Yvonne Orji opens up about the end of "Insecure" and her new book "Bamboozled by Jesus".

]]> Black Women in Comedy theGrio 00:48:33 Black comedians are having a major moment in Hollywood and Cortney Wills sits down with two women who are killing the comedy game. Amber Ruffin dishes details about her groundbreaking show "The Amber Ruffin Show" and Yvonne Orji opens up about the end of "Insecure" and her new book "Bamboozled by Jesus". Black comedians are having a major moment in Hollywood and Cortney Wills sits down with two women who are killing the comedy game. Amber Ruffin dishes details about her groundbreaking show "The Amber Ruffin Show" and Yvonne Orji opens up about the end of "Insecure" and her new book "Bamboozled by Jesus". false full 16 3256d890-4506-4033-8f81-ad4901646766 Reality TV Gets Real: Eboni K. Williams The first Black woman to be cast on RHONY discusses her strategy for tackling issues of race on reality TV and how she’s handling micro and macro aggressions from her costars with such composure, being labeled “angry” and the ridiculousness that is Heather Thomson. She also dishes details about why she ended her engagement. Spoiler alert: it’s not what you think!

]]> Thu, 17 Jun 2021 09:00:00 +0000 dan@thegrio.com (theGrio) https://thegrio.com/podcasts/acting-up/ The first Black woman to be cast on RHONY discusses her strategy for tackling issues of race on reality TV and how she’s handling micro and macro aggressions from her costars with such composure, being labeled “angry” and the ridiculousness that is Heather Thomson. She also dishes details about why she ended her engagement. Spoiler alert: it’s not what you think!

]]> Reality TV Gets Real: Eboni K. Williams theGrio 00:55:06 The first Black woman to be cast on RHONY discusses her strategy for tackling issues of race on reality TV and how she’s handling micro and macro aggressions from her costars with such composure, being labeled “angry” and the ridiculousness that is Heather Thomson. She also dishes details about why she ended her engagement. Spoiler alert: it’s not what you think!  The first Black woman to be cast on RHONY discusses her strategy for tackling issues of race on reality TV and how she’s handling micro and macro aggressions from her costars with such composure, being labeled “angry” and the ridiculousness that is Heather Thomson. She also dishes details about why she ended her engagement. Spoiler alert: it’s not what you think!  false full 15 e174f3fe-0981-4493-a610-ad430057310a PRIDE & JOY: Brandon Kyle Goodman Cortney Wills sits down with “Big Mouth” writer, Brandon Kyle Goodman to discuss his latest project “The Latrell Show” and his ongoing work as an LGBTQ+ advocate as well as how conversations about acceptance have to start at home. Cortney also weighs in on the end of “POSE” as well as the groundbreaking new season of “Master of None” starring Naomi Ackie and Lena Waithe.

]]> Thu, 10 Jun 2021 09:00:00 +0000 dan@thegrio.com (theGrio) https://thegrio.com/podcasts/acting-up/ Cortney Wills sits down with “Big Mouth” writer, Brandon Kyle Goodman to discuss his latest project “The Latrell Show” and his ongoing work as an LGBTQ+ advocate as well as how conversations about acceptance have to start at home. Cortney also weighs in on the end of “POSE” as well as the groundbreaking new season of “Master of None” starring Naomi Ackie and Lena Waithe.

]]> PRIDE & JOY: Brandon Kyle Goodman theGrio 00:45:26 Cortney Wills sits down with “Big Mouth” writer, Brandon Kyle Goodman to discuss his latest project “The Latrell Show” and his ongoing work as an LGBTQ+ advocate as well as how conversations about acceptance have to start at home. Cortney also weighs in on the end of “POSE” as well as the groundbreaking new season of “Master of None” starring Naomi Ackie and Lena Waithe.  Cortney Wills sits down with “Big Mouth” writer, Brandon Kyle Goodman to discuss his latest project “The Latrell Show” and his ongoing work as an LGBTQ+ advocate as well as how conversations about acceptance have to start at home. Cortney also weighs in on the end of “POSE” as well as the groundbreaking new season of “Master of None” starring Naomi Ackie and Lena Waithe.  false full 14 6c1f7381-d805-4a9d-a96b-ad3c008cedf8 Inside Tribeca Film Festival Cortney Wills sits down with Loren Hammonds, VP, Immersive Programming to discuss how Tribeca Film Festival is meeting the moment with the content they curated, a special Juneteenth lineup, and how they prepped for the star-studded, in-person event that will take over NYC from June 9th to June 20th.

]]> Thu, 3 Jun 2021 09:00:00 +0000 dan@thegrio.com (theGrio) https://thegrio.com/podcasts/acting-up/ Cortney Wills sits down with Loren Hammonds, VP, Immersive Programming to discuss how Tribeca Film Festival is meeting the moment with the content they curated, a special Juneteenth lineup, and how they prepped for the star-studded, in-person event that will take over NYC from June 9th to June 20th.

]]> Inside Tribeca Film Festival theGrio 00:35:03 Cortney Wills sits down with Loren Hammonds, VP, Immersive Programming to discuss how Tribeca Film Festival is meeting the moment with the content they curated, a special Juneteenth lineup, and how they prepped for the star-studded, in-person event that will take over NYC from June 9th to June 20th. Cortney Wills sits down with Loren Hammonds, VP, Immersive Programming to discuss how Tribeca Film Festival is meeting the moment with the content they curated, a special Juneteenth lineup, and how they prepped for the star-studded, in-person event that will take over NYC from June 9th to June 20th. false full 13 9fc3d9d9-440b-4be4-bfe9-ad3500569f1e Dawn Porter: The Way She Sees It Award-winning director Dawn Porter dishes on working with Oprah Winfrey and Prince Harry on the new Apple+ series, “The Me You Don’t See” and discusses her upcoming NatGeo documentary, “Tulsa and the Red Summer.”

]]> Thu, 27 May 2021 09:00:00 +0000 dan@thegrio.com (theGrio) https://thegrio.com/podcasts/acting-up/ Award-winning director Dawn Porter dishes on working with Oprah Winfrey and Prince Harry on the new Apple+ series, “The Me You Don’t See” and discusses her upcoming NatGeo documentary, “Tulsa and the Red Summer.”

]]> Dawn Porter: The Way She Sees It theGrio 00:33:37 Award-winning director Dawn Porter dishes on working with Oprah Winfrey and Prince Harry on the new Apple+ series, “The Me You Don’t See” and discusses her upcoming NatGeo documentary, “Tulsa and the Red Summer.”  Award-winning director Dawn Porter dishes on working with Oprah Winfrey and Prince Harry on the new Apple+ series, “The Me You Don’t See” and discusses her upcoming NatGeo documentary, “Tulsa and the Red Summer.”  false full 12 494bd5c9-86a0-49c6-a009-ad2e00322e74 The Magic of Nicole Beharie Cortney Wills sits down with Nicole Beharie, star of Amazon’s star-studded anthology series, ‘Solos’; discusses her beautiful performance in ‘Miss Juneteenth’ and gets real about navigating Hollywood as a Black woman.

]]> Thu, 20 May 2021 09:00:00 +0000 dan@thegrio.com (theGrio) https://thegrio.com/podcasts/acting-up/ Cortney Wills sits down with Nicole Beharie, star of Amazon’s star-studded anthology series, ‘Solos’; discusses her beautiful performance in ‘Miss Juneteenth’ and gets real about navigating Hollywood as a Black woman.

]]> The Magic of Nicole Beharie theGrio 00:31:52 Cortney Wills sits down with Nicole Beharie, star of Amazon’s star-studded anthology series, ‘Solos’; discusses her beautiful performance in ‘Miss Juneteenth’ and gets real about navigating Hollywood as a Black woman.  Cortney Wills sits down with Nicole Beharie, star of Amazon’s star-studded anthology series, ‘Solos’; discusses her beautiful performance in ‘Miss Juneteenth’ and gets real about navigating Hollywood as a Black woman.  false full 11 5e3148b1-ab4f-4324-b1d7-ad260188ec19 Breaking Stigmas Onscreen Cortney Wills sits down with filmmaker Reggie Lochard to discuss how he battled deeply ingrained mental health stigmas to get the help he needed in real life and why he confronts Black America’s measures of masculinity in his latest project ‘A for Alpha’.

]]> Thu, 13 May 2021 09:00:00 +0000 dan@thegrio.com (theGrio) https://thegrio.com/podcasts/acting-up/ Cortney Wills sits down with filmmaker Reggie Lochard to discuss how he battled deeply ingrained mental health stigmas to get the help he needed in real life and why he confronts Black America’s measures of masculinity in his latest project ‘A for Alpha’.

]]> Breaking Stigmas Onscreen theGrio 00:34:48 Cortney Wills sits down with filmmaker Reggie Lochard to discuss how he battled deeply ingrained mental health stigmas to get the help he needed in real life and why he confronts Black America’s measures of masculinity in his latest project ‘A for Alpha’.  Cortney Wills sits down with filmmaker Reggie Lochard to discuss how he battled deeply ingrained mental health stigmas to get the help he needed in real life and why he confronts Black America’s measures of masculinity in his latest project ‘A for Alpha’.  false full 10 95e2a5be-1516-4f39-8a2d-ad1f015f7511 Meeting The Moment: Omar Dorsey Cortney Wills is joined by ‘Queen Sugar’ star Omar Dorsey to discuss how the hit OWN series handled the pandemic as well as what it took to transform into the iconic James Cleveland for his role in ‘Genius: Aretha’.

]]> Thu, 6 May 2021 09:00:00 +0000 dan@thegrio.com (theGrio) https://thegrio.com/podcasts/acting-up/ Cortney Wills is joined by ‘Queen Sugar’ star Omar Dorsey to discuss how the hit OWN series handled the pandemic as well as what it took to transform into the iconic James Cleveland for his role in ‘Genius: Aretha’.

]]> Meeting The Moment: Omar Dorsey theGrio 00:40:43 Cortney Wills is joined by ‘Queen Sugar’ star Omar Dorsey to discuss how the hit OWN series handled the pandemic as well as what it took to transform into the iconic James Cleveland for his role in ‘Genius: Aretha’. Cortney Wills is joined by ‘Queen Sugar’ star Omar Dorsey to discuss how the hit OWN series handled the pandemic as well as what it took to transform into the iconic James Cleveland for his role in ‘Genius: Aretha’. false full 9 8cfac46d-2c1f-457c-8a9e-ad19005f67f9 The Power of Black Superheroes Cortney Wills reflects on the impact of Black Panther and is joined by ‘Batwoman’ star Javicia Leslie to discuss how far Hollywood has come in the world of Black superheroes as well as the effect representation in that space has on the LGBTQ+ and Black communities.

]]> Thu, 29 Apr 2021 12:54:00 +0000 dan@thegrio.com (theGrio) https://thegrio.com/podcasts/acting-up/ Cortney Wills reflects on the impact of Black Panther and is joined by ‘Batwoman’ star Javicia Leslie to discuss how far Hollywood has come in the world of Black superheroes as well as the effect representation in that space has on the LGBTQ+ and Black communities.

]]> The Power of Black Superheroes theGrio 00:26:42 Cortney Wills reflects on the impact of Black Panther and is joined by ‘Batwoman’ star Javicia Leslie to discuss how far Hollywood has come in the world of Black superheroes as well as the effect representation in that space has on the LGBTQ+ and Black communities.  Cortney Wills reflects on the impact of Black Panther and is joined by ‘Batwoman’ star Javicia Leslie to discuss how far Hollywood has come in the world of Black superheroes as well as the effect representation in that space has on the LGBTQ+ and Black communities.  false full 8 8bc1a608-d216-4455-8990-ad11012f19a5 2021 Oscars: Are They Still So White? Cortney Wills sits down with Devon Franklin, Governor at large for the Academy of motion pictures arts and sciences to discuss this years Oscar noms, how the Academy Is working toward more equity for Black Hollywood and how far they have come since #oscarssowhite.

]]> Thu, 22 Apr 2021 09:00:00 +0000 dan@thegrio.com (theGrio) https://thegrio.com/podcasts/acting-up/ Cortney Wills sits down with Devon Franklin, Governor at large for the Academy of motion pictures arts and sciences to discuss this years Oscar noms, how the Academy Is working toward more equity for Black Hollywood and how far they have come since #oscarssowhite.

]]> 2021 Oscars: Are They Still So White? theGrio 00:33:16 Cortney Wills sits down with Devon Franklin, Governor at large for the Academy of motion pictures arts and sciences to discuss this years Oscar noms, how the Academy Is working toward more equity for Black Hollywood and how far they have come since #oscarssowhite. Cortney Wills sits down with Devon Franklin, Governor at large for the Academy of motion pictures arts and sciences to discuss this years Oscar noms, how the Academy Is working toward more equity for Black Hollywood and how far they have come since #oscarssowhite. false full 7 2ddbb8c0-401c-41f4-9b43-ad0a011a7616 Does THEM Take Trauma Too Far? Cortney Wills sits down with Little Marvin, creator of horror anthology series THEM to take a deep dive into the controversial Amazon Prime show that highlights redlining, white terror, and Black trauma.

]]> Thu, 15 Apr 2021 09:00:00 +0000 dan@thegrio.com (theGrio) https://thegrio.com/podcasts/acting-up/ Cortney Wills sits down with Little Marvin, creator of horror anthology series THEM to take a deep dive into the controversial Amazon Prime show that highlights redlining, white terror, and Black trauma.

]]> Does THEM Take Trauma Too Far? theGrio 00:30:15 Cortney Wills sits down with Little Marvin, creator of horror anthology series THEM to take a deep dive into the controversial Amazon Prime show that highlights redlining, white terror, and Black trauma. Cortney Wills sits down with Little Marvin, creator of horror anthology series THEM to take a deep dive into the controversial Amazon Prime show that highlights redlining, white terror, and Black trauma. false full 6 3d86bd07-d9a1-4fe7-bd4e-ad030112eb54 SEAspiracy: Climate Change Is Racist Cortney Wills takes a deep dive into the SEAspiracy documentary from Netflix joined by meteorologist Liana Brackett who helps break down why Black folks need to care about climate change.

]]> Wed, 7 Apr 2021 16:45:00 +0000 dan@thegrio.com (theGrio) https://thegrio.com/podcasts/acting-up/ Cortney Wills takes a deep dive into the SEAspiracy documentary from Netflix joined by meteorologist Liana Brackett who helps break down why Black folks need to care about climate change.

]]> SEAspiracy: Climate Change Is Racist theGrio 00:36:14 Cortney Wills takes a deep dive into the SEAspiracy documentary from Netflix joined by meteorologist Liana Brackett who helps break down why Black folks need to care about climate change.  Cortney Wills takes a deep dive into the SEAspiracy documentary from Netflix joined by meteorologist Liana Brackett who helps break down why Black folks need to care about climate change.  false full 5 f451f3aa-2d73-4dcb-87d2-acfc015e7ef6 Crucial Content: Why Representation Matters for Black Kids Cortney Wills examines the effect Hollywood has on Black children and how stories about Black families are represented onscreen with guests Debra Martin Chase, Denene Millner, and Lexi Underwood.

]]> Thu, 1 Apr 2021 03:41:00 +0000 dan@thegrio.com (theGrio) https://thegrio.com/podcasts/acting-up/ Cortney Wills examines the effect Hollywood has on Black children and how stories about Black families are represented onscreen with guests Debra Martin Chase, Denene Millner, and Lexi Underwood.

]]> Crucial Content: Why Representation Matters for Black Kids theGrio 00:49:01 Cortney Wills examines the effect Hollywood has on Black children and how stories about Black families are represented onscreen with guests Debra Martin Chase, Denene Millner, and Lexi Underwood. Cortney Wills examines the effect Hollywood has on Black children and how stories about Black families are represented onscreen with guests Debra Martin Chase, Denene Millner, and Lexi Underwood. false full 4 849005de-4004-4425-9e79-acf600535bd7 Pay Black Women in Hollywood April Ryan joins Cortney Wills to discuss the 2021 NAACP image awards and Aunjanue Ellis and Dr. Holly Carter weigh in on pay inequity for black women in Hollywood.

]]> Thu, 25 Mar 2021 09:00:00 +0000 dan@thegrio.com (theGrio) https://thegrio.com/podcasts/acting-up/ April Ryan joins Cortney Wills to discuss the 2021 NAACP image awards and Aunjanue Ellis and Dr. Holly Carter weigh in on pay inequity for black women in Hollywood.

]]> Pay Black Women in Hollywood theGrio 00:39:12 April Ryan joins Cortney Wills to discuss the 2021 NAACP image awards and Aunjanue Ellis and Dr. Holly Carter weigh in on pay inequity for black women in Hollywood. April Ryan joins Cortney Wills to discuss the 2021 NAACP image awards and Aunjanue Ellis and Dr. Holly Carter weigh in on pay inequity for black women in Hollywood. false full 3 389dcf24-9f8e-418c-8989-acef004778a1 Music Icons Onscreen: Inside ‘Genius Aretha’ Cortney Wills offers her take on the 2021 Oscar nominations and reveals the year’s biggest snubs and surprises. She’ll invite listeners to examine what happens when Hollywood highlights musical icons like Billie Holiday and Aretha Franklin. She’ll take a deep dive into Nat Geo’s upcoming series ‘Genius: Aretha’ featuring candid conversations with Pulitzer Prize- winning writer and show runner, Suzan-Lori Parks and actor Courtney B. Vance, who portrays Aretha’s father, Reverend CL Franklin in the limited series due out March 21.

]]> Thu, 18 Mar 2021 09:00:00 +0000 dan@thegrio.com (theGrio) https://thegrio.com/podcasts/acting-up/ Cortney Wills offers her take on the 2021 Oscar nominations and reveals the year’s biggest snubs and surprises. She’ll invite listeners to examine what happens when Hollywood highlights musical icons like Billie Holiday and Aretha Franklin. She’ll take a deep dive into Nat Geo’s upcoming series ‘Genius: Aretha’ featuring candid conversations with Pulitzer Prize- winning writer and show runner, Suzan-Lori Parks and actor Courtney B. Vance, who portrays Aretha’s father, Reverend CL Franklin in the limited series due out March 21.

]]> Music Icons Onscreen: Inside ‘Genius Aretha’ theGrio 00:35:26 Cortney Wills offers her take on the 2021 Oscar nominations and reveals the year’s biggest snubs and surprises. She’ll invite listeners to examine what happens when Hollywood highlights musical icons like Billie Holiday and Aretha Franklin. She’ll take a deep dive into Nat Geo’s upcoming series ‘Genius: Aretha’ featuring candid conversations with Pulitzer Prize- winning writer and show runner, Suzan-Lori Parks and actor Courtney B. Vance, who portrays Aretha’s father, Reverend CL Franklin in the limited series due out March 21. Cortney Wills offers her take on the 2021 Oscar nominations and reveals the year’s biggest snubs and surprises. She’ll invite listeners to examine what happens when Hollywood highlights musical icons like Billie Holiday and Aretha Franklin. She’ll take a deep dive into Nat Geo’s upcoming series ‘Genius: Aretha’ featuring candid conversations with Pulitzer Prize- winning writer and show runner, Suzan-Lori Parks and actor Courtney B. Vance, who portrays Aretha’s father, Reverend CL Franklin in the limited series due out March 21. false full 2 fe12b543-63dc-47e1-8dc5-ace9004a2c53 Give Kelly Rowland Her “Flowers” & Grammy Preview The first episode of Acting Up features an intimate conversation with Kelly Rowland, who has added executive producer to her long list of talents. The longtime friends will discuss how the superstar managed to birth a new baby, a new movie, and a new album during such a tumultuous time and fans will hear how the women in Kelly's life continue to inspire her journey.

]]> Fri, 12 Mar 2021 10:00:00 +0000 dan@thegrio.com (theGrio) https://thegrio.com/podcasts/acting-up/ The first episode of Acting Up features an intimate conversation with Kelly Rowland, who has added executive producer to her long list of talents. The longtime friends will discuss how the superstar managed to birth a new baby, a new movie, and a new album during such a tumultuous time and fans will hear how the women in Kelly's life continue to inspire her journey.

]]> Give Kelly Rowland Her “Flowers” & Grammy Preview theGrio 00:24:33 The first episode of Acting Up features an intimate conversation with Kelly Rowland, who has added executive producer to her long list of talents. The longtime friends will discuss how the superstar managed to birth a new baby, a new movie, and a new album during such a tumultuous time and fans will hear how the women in Kelly's life continue to inspire her journey. The first episode of Acting Up features an intimate conversation with Kelly Rowland, who has added executive producer to her long list of talents. The longtime friends will discuss how the superstar managed to birth a new baby, a new movie, and a new album during such a tumultuous time and fans will hear how the women in Kelly's life continue to inspire her journey. false full 1 23296a31-bd96-47c3-9286-ace900475da0 Intro: What Is the Acting Up Podcast? Acting Up takes a close look at what Hollywood looks like with TheGrio’s Entertainment Director Cortney Wills. Covering music, TV and film since 2005, pop culture junkie, Cortney Wills guides listeners through a primary source experience with icons, celebrities, actors, producers, directors, and more— all people who are helping to shape how our community is represented on and off the screen. Acting up is smart, relevant and dedicated to Black Excellence in Entertainment.

]]> Fri, 12 Mar 2021 05:39:00 +0000 dan@thegrio.com (theGrio) https://thegrio.com/podcasts/acting-up/ Acting Up takes a close look at what Hollywood looks like with TheGrio’s Entertainment Director Cortney Wills. Covering music, TV and film since 2005, pop culture junkie, Cortney Wills guides listeners through a primary source experience with icons, celebrities, actors, producers, directors, and more— all people who are helping to shape how our community is represented on and off the screen. Acting up is smart, relevant and dedicated to Black Excellence in Entertainment.

]]> Intro: What Is the Acting Up Podcast? theGrio 00:04:53 Acting Up takes a close look at what Hollywood looks like with TheGrio’s Entertainment Director Cortney Wills. Covering music, TV and film since 2005, pop culture junkie, Cortney Wills guides listeners through a primary source experience with icons, celebrities, actors, producers, directors, and more— all people who are helping to shape how our community is represented on and off the screen. Acting up is smart, relevant and dedicated to Black Excellence in Entertainment. Acting Up takes a close look at what Hollywood looks like with TheGrio’s Entertainment Director Cortney Wills. Covering music, TV and film since 2005, pop culture junkie, Cortney Wills guides listeners through a primary source experience with icons, celebrities, actors, producers, directors, and more— all people who are helping to shape how our community is represented on and off the screen. Acting up is smart, relevant and dedicated to Black Excellence in Entertainment. false full 0