News

The African American Film Critics Association (Aafca) has named Amazon MGM Studios’ Nickel Boys, director RaMell Ross, and The Piano Lesson director Malcolm Washington among its upcoming honourees.

Ross will receive the Spotlight Award and Washington the Emerging Director Award at 16th annual Aafca Awards on February 19, 2025, at Beverly Wilshire hotel.

Nicole Avant, a political activist and producer on Netflix’s upcoming wartime feature The Six Triple Eight, will collect the Beacon Award, while Ray Fisher, who stars in Netflix’s The Piano Lesson, will receive the Breakout Performance Award.

Aafca will also recognise talents at its 2025 Special Achievement Awards...

The African American Film Critics Association has announced its honorees for the 16th annual Aafca Awards and the 2025 Aafca Special Achievement Awards. The two distinct ceremonies will honor the best cinematic achievements from the Black community in 2024, with “Nickel Boys” and “The Piano Lesson” leading the pack.

Held on Sunday, February 2 at the Los Angeles Athletic Club, the Special Achievement Awards will honor RaMell Ross’ “Nickel Boys” with the Karen & Stanley Kramer Social Justice Award, while stars Brandon Wilson and Ethan Herisse are set to receive the Gen Next Award. Amber Rasberry, who oversaw the film as a senior creative executive at Amazon MGM, will also be honored with the Horizon Award.

Seventeen days later, the Aafca Awards will keep the love for “Nickel Boys” rolling when Ross receives the Spotlight Award. “The Piano Lesson” director Malcolm Washington will also receive the Emerging Director Award while his star Ray Fischer...

The African American Film Critics Association (Aafca) will honor notable Black filmmakers and performers at two upcoming events in early 2025, recognizing their amazing achievements in film.

“Nickel Boys” is at the top of this year’s awards, receiving three major distinctions. RaMell Ross’ film will get the Karen & Stanley Kramer Social Justice Award, and its young performers, Brandon Wilson and Ethan Herisse, will receive the Gen Next Award. Ross will win the Spotlight Award.

The association will hold two ceremonies: the Special Achievement Awards on February 2 at the Los Angeles Athletic Club and the Aafca Awards on February 19 at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel.

Several more great artists will be recognized in a variety of categories. Malcolm Washington will get the Emerging Director Award for adapting August Wilson’s “The Piano Lesson,” while Ray Fisher will receive the Breakout Performance Award. Nicole Avant will get the Beacon Award for producing Tyler Perry...

The African American Film Critics Association (Aafca) announced today its 16th Annual Aafca Awards and 2025 Special Achievement honorees. The Special Achievement Awards takes place on Sunday, Feb. 2, at the Los Angeles Athletic Club, and the Annual Aafca Awards on Wednesday, Feb. 19, at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel. The recipients include actors and artisans from 2025 Oscars contenders “Nickel Boys,” “The Piano Lesson,” and “The Six Triple Eight.”

The 2025 Special Achievement Awards honorees include:

Lynn Whitfield, Legacy Award Brandon Wilson and Ethan Herisse, Next Gen Award “Nickel Boys,” Karen & Stanley Kramer Social Justice Award Amber Rasberry, Horizon Award

The 16th Annual Aafca Awards honorees include:

Nicole Avant, Beacon Award Malcolm Washington, Emerging Director Award Ray Fisher, Breakout Performance Award RaMell Ross, Spotlight Award

“Our honorees set a high standard of discipline, talent, and hard work that inspires others to strive for greatness,” said Aafca President and Co-Founder Gil Robertson in a press release.

“Nickel Boys,” director RaMell Ross’ dramatic adaptation of the Colson Whitehead novel about a brutal reform school for teenage boys in Florida, won three of the eight honorary awards announced by the African American Film Critics Association on Wednesday.

In the 2025 Special Achievement Awards, the film was named recipient of the Karen & Stanley Kramer Social Justice Award, while its two young stars, Brandon Wilson and Ethan Herisse, will receive the Gen Next Award. In special honors at the 16th Annual Aafca Awards, director Ross will receive the Spotlight Award.

Two awards went to the August Wilson adaptation “The Piano Lesson,” with director Malcolm Washington receiving the Emerging Director Award and costar Ray Fisher the Breakout Performance Award.

Other winners of the 2025 Special Achievement Awards are Lynn Whitfield, the Legacy Award for her decades-long body of work; and MGM executive Amber Rasberry, the Horizon Award for her work elevating Black stories in film.

The African American Film Critics Association on Wednesday revealed honorees for its 2025 Special Achievement Awards and 16th annual Aafca Awards, with the casts and creative teams behind Amazon MGM Studios’ Nickel Boys and Netflix’s The Piano Lesson leading the way.

For Nickel Boys, RaMell Ross’ adaptation of the Colson Whitehead novel, the drama will be recognized with the Karen & Stanley Kramer Social Justice Award, while stars Brandon Wilson and Ethan Herisse will receive the Gen Next Award. Amazon MGM executive Amber Rasberry will receive the Horizon Award.

Those three honors, along with Lynn Whitfield (Legacy Award), will be feted during the Aafca’s Special Achievement Awards on February 2, 2025 at the Los Angeles Athletic Club to kick off Black History Month.

At the Aafca Awards, set for February 19 at the Beverly Wilshire, Nickel Boys director/co-screenwriter Ross will receive the Spotlight Award, while Piano Lesson director Malcom Washington will receive the Emerging Director Award,...

The African American Film Critics Association (Aafca) has revealed the honorees for the 16th annual Aafca Awards as well as the honorees for its 2025 Special Achievement Awards.

Nicole Avant, Malcolm Washington, Ray Fisher and RaMell Ross are set to be honored at the Aafca Awards on Feb. 19, 2025, which will be held at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Los Angeles.

Avant, a producer, former U.S. ambassador to the Bahamas and the wife of Netflix co-ceo Ted Sarandos, will receive the Beacon Award for producing Tyler Perry’s upcoming Netflix historical drama series The Six Triple Eight and the documentary The Black Godfather, about her late father Clarence Avant, the legendary music executive.

Washington, a filmmaker who made his feature debut with an adaptation of August Wilson Pulitzer Prize-winning play The Piano Lesson, will receive the Aafca’s Emerging Director Award. The Piano Lesson, which stars John David Washington, Samuel L. Jackson,...

Marvel Studios is focusing more on animated shows, and fans can look forward to several new releases soon. Recently, Marvel Studios released a teaser with the release dates for upcoming shows in 2024 and 2025. One of the shows is Eyes of Wakanda, which was confirmed nearly a year ago.

The series follows Wakandan warriors as they travel the world to find dangerous vibranium artifacts. Announced in December 2023, the show is produced with help from Ryan Coogler’s company, Proximity Media, which also worked on the Black Panther films.

The official synopsis for the show has been released, and it looks like we’ll follow a thrilling quest by the Hatut Zeraze to find Vibranium, racing against Wakanda’s enemies.

In this globe-trotting adventure, the heroes must carry-out dangerous missions to retrieve Vibranium artifacts from the enemies of Wakanda. They are the Hatut Zeraze and this is their story.

The Hatut Zeraze,...

It seems that Marvel Studios is focusing more on animated content, and fans can expect several new shows soon. Recently, Marvel Studios released a teaser revealing the release dates for upcoming shows in 2024 and 2025. One of the shows on the slate is ‘Eyes of Wakanda,’ which was confirmed to be in development almost a year ago.

The series follows Wakandan warriors who travel the world to find dangerous vibranium artifacts. Announced by Marvel Studios Animation in December 2023, the show is produced with help from Ryan Coogler’s company, Proximity Media, which also worked on the ‘Black Panther’ films.

The show’s official synopsis has been revealed and it seems we will follow a dangerous Hatut Zeraze’s quest for Vibranium racing against enemies of Wakanda.

In this globe-trotting adventure, the heroes must carry-out dangerous missions to retrieve Vibranium artifacts from the enemies of Wakanda. They are the Hatut Zeraze and this is their story.

Marvel Animation has shared new details and stills for two of its most highly anticipated TV shows, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man and Eyes of Wakanda.

The former, according to the official plot synopsis, "is an animated series that follows Peter Parker on his way to becoming a hero, with a journey unlike we've ever seen and a style that celebrates the character’s early comic book roots."

We also have a confirmed cast list: Hudson Thames, Colman Domingo, Eugene Byrd, Grace Song, Zeno Robinson, Hugh Dancy, and Charlie Cox. No character details are provided, though we've heard that Thames is Spider-Man, Domingo is Norman Osborn and, well, Cox is obviously returning as Daredevil.

As for Dancy, rumour has it the Hannibal star is playing Doctor Octopus. That's a fantastic casting decision and one we're sure many of you would like to see carry over into live-action.

More has been revealed about Eyes of Wakanda,...

Exclusive: Victoria Monét and DJ D-Nice will join a lineup of other celebrities at a get-out-the-vote rally in Atlanta on Tuesday for When We All Vote, the organization founded by former First Lady Michelle Obama.

The former First Lady will headline the rally, which will also feature performances by Ari Lennox and a local drumline.

Monét will join other speakers including When We All Vote co-chairs Kerry Washington, Shonda Rhimes, Rita Wilson and Liza Koshy, along with ambassadors Kelly Rowland, Marsai Martin and Ciara. Kalen Allen and Lynae Vanee will co-host.

The rally, which will be live-streamed, will promote first-time and early voting in particular in the state. Early voting ends on Nov. 1.

Others scheduled to attend and speak at the event include Kate Capshaw, EarthGang, Nneka Ogwumike, Reyna Roberts, Patti Scialfa, Lynae Vanee and Lynn Whitfield.

Obama and others have campaigned for Kamala Harris, but When We All Vote...

Exclusive: Outer Banks actress Carlacia Grant has signed with Anonymous Content for representation in all areas.

Grant recently reprised her breakout role as Cleo in Season 4 of Netflix’s Outer Banks, which debuted on October 10. She stars alongside Chase Stokes, Madelyn Cline, Madison Bailey, Jonathan Daviss, Rudy Pankow, and Charles Esten.

Prior to that role, Grant also had a recurring role in the Oprah Winfrey Network’s drama series Greenleaf, opposite Keith David, Lynn Whitfield, and Merle Dandridge. Her other television credits include her debut role in the History Channel’s remake of Roots, as well as a recurring role on NBC’s Game of Silence.

Grant, a Haitian-Jamaican-American actress who found her passion for the craft at a young age, currently resides in Los Angeles.

She continues to be represented by TalentWorks, Tmp Artists, imPRint,and Johnson, Shapiro, Slewett and Kole.

How many actors can say they have over 100 credits on their resume? Lynn Whitfield can. The Emmy winner has a lengthy resume filled with classics across genres. The latest addition to her decades-long career is The Chi, on which she’s been a recurring guest star but will now be a series regular in the upcoming season. Whitfield joined us for a trip down memory lane in the TV Insider studio for our Career Rewind video series. In the interview above, she shares anecdotes from some of her most memorable projects, starting with Hill Street Blues in 1981 and leading all the way up to The Chi in 2024. Whitfield’s Emmy-winning turn came in HBO’s The Josephine Baker Story in 1991. She reflects on that Emmys night with us. It would be a hard night to forget, as Whitfield reminds us that she had just given birth to her daughter just...

It’s September 2024, and Beyond the Gates is becoming increasingly real. The title transitioned from The Gates to Beyond the Gates. Three members of the cast were announced, two of whom Soap Hub placed on its Dream Casting Wish List for the first new soap created in 25 years. And Karla Mosley — who will play Dani Dupree on the one-hour CBS soap — posted from Atlanta and is excited about being a part of this journey.

Excitement is Building

CBS originally announced its plans to create the first soap opera in 25 years back in April. And there’s more news to come as the highly anticipated production builds up steam to its premiere in early 2025.

The Dream Casting List: The Actors

If you recall, we already dream-cast a list of the female actors we’d love to see when populating the residents of Btg. Many great male actors are out there whose impact would instantly be felt.

Renée Elise Goldsberry and Lynn Whitfield are forced to put their differences aside during a pivotal road trip in the trailer for the drama feature Albany Road.

The film from writer-director Christine Swanson is set to hit select AMC Theatres and Malco Theatres locations on Nov. 15, with those cinema chains handling the distribution. Albany Road centers on Celeste (Goldsberry), who is preparing for an important work trip and is dismayed that she has to share a car with her ex-fiancé’s mother, Paula (Whitfield). Celeste soon learns that Paula is keeping a big secret from her, with the movie exploring challenging family dynamics and the power of personal growth.

“We come face-to-face with what we fear the most or what we want the most, and sometimes you win — and sometimes you lose,” Whitfield says in the trailer.

Later, while seated in the car next to Whitfield, Goldsberry exclaims, “I hate being powerless!

Adrian Bailey, the singer, actor and dancer whose long career in Broadway musicals ended when he fell through a trap door and suffered serious injuries before a production of The Little Mermaid, has died. He was 67.

Bailey died Sunday at a rehabilitation facility in New York on the day before his birthday, his brother Karl Bailey told The Hollywood Reporter. He had recently fallen in his New York apartment.

A native of Detroit, Bailey made his Broadway debut in 1976 in Your Arms Too Short to Box With God.

He then appeared in Sophisticated Ladies, My One and Only, Legs Diamond and Prince of Central Park in the 1980s; in Black and Blue, Jelly’s Last Jam, The Who’s Tommy, Kiss of the Spider Woman and Smokey Joe’s Café in the 1990s; and in The Wild Party, La Cage aux Folles and Hot Feet in the 2000s.

Bailey was an...

So many stars stepped out to attend The BAFTA TV Tea Party presented by Delta Air Lines, Virgin Atlantic, BBC Studios Los Angeles Productions and Fiji Water on Saturday (September 14) in Beverly Hills, Calif.

The event was hosted at The Maybourne Beverly Hills and was attended by more than 70 celebrities.

Since it was such a star-studded event, we pulled together photos so that you could easily scroll to see who was there and what they were wearing!

Head inside to see all the pictures…

Keep scrolling to see photos of all of the attendees…

John Bradley

Mychal-Bella Bowman

Tracy Ifeachor

Mayan Lopez

Bowen Yang

Emily Hampshire

Walton Goggins

Nava Mau

Fyi: Nava is wearing Roberto Cavalli.

D’Pharaoh Woon-a-Tai

Jessica Gunning

Katie Aselton

Mark Duplass

Jonathan Pryce

Sherry Cola

Fyi: Sherry is wearing Harbison Studio.

Jodie Foster with wife Alexandra Hedison

Carrie Coon

Chris Perfetti

Jimmy Akingbola

Joshua Jackson

Da’Vine...

While the all-star casts of The Supremes at Earl’s All-You-Can-Eat and Fight Night will have their glitzy premieres in Hollywood and New York, respectively, in the upcoming weeks, when it came time to screen those films to audiences for the first time, that took place far from the typical red carpet venues — a performing arts center in Martha’s Vineyard.

That’s where actors like Sanaa Lathan, Uzo Aduba, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor and Mekhi Phifer — the stars of The Supremes — along with Fight Night’s Taraji P. Henson and Abbott Elementary’s Sheryl Lee Ralph and more flocked for the Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival earlier this month, signalling the prominence and importance of the film festival as it completed its 22nd year.

The Mvaaf has become a key destination for Black projects of all types — from documentaries like Netflix’s Daughters and CNN Films’ Luther to Natasha Rothwell...

Exciting news for fans of Lynn Whitfield and The Chi!

The Emmy award-winning actress was just announced this week to being promoted to series regular on the Showtime drama for the upcoming seventh season, according to Deadline.

The series was renewed earlier this summer just days before part two of season six premiered.

Keep reading to find out more…

Lynn joined the cast in season six in a heavily recurring role as Alicia, “an intimidating, fearless and powerful matriarch who is laser-focused on avenging her brother’s murder.”

Season six, according to Deadline, set a new record for the series, notching it’s most-streamed season yet!

The Chi was created by Lena Waithe, and is a “timely coming-of-age story centering on a group of residents on the South Side of Chicago who become linked by coincidence but bonded by the need for connection and redemption.”

If you missed it, get the latest Showtime news here!

Nuck better watch out: The Chi just promoted Lynn Whitfield to series regular for Season 7, TVLine has confirmed.

Whitfield’s character, Alicia, likely will be on the hunt for vengeance when the Paramount+ With Showtime series returns: Her son, Rob (played by Iman Shumpert), was killed in the Season 6 finale by Nuck (Cortez Smith). Nuck also killed the finale’s other huge casualty, Otis “Douda” Perry (Curtiss Cook).

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Exclusive: Lynn Whitfield will have an expanded role in The Chi moving forward, as the actress has been upped from guest star to series regular for Season 7.

Whitfield stars as Alicia, an intimidating, fearless and powerful matriarch who is laser-focused on avenging her brother’s murder. Last season, she squared off with rival villain Douda (Curtiss Cook), ultimately losing her son (guest star Iman Shumpert) to gun violence in the process.

Season 6 wrapped in June and set a new record for the series as the most-streamed season The Chi has ever seen, Deadline can also reveal exclusively, meaning that the season held onto momentum that began when the second half premiered in May.

The May 12 episode scored nearly 2M viewers across platforms in its first seven days, up 4% versus the last premiere episode (for the first half of Season 6).

The Chi is created and executive produced by Lena Waithe under...

Colman Domingo’s prison drama Sing Sing is set to open the 22nd Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival (Mvaaff).

This year’s lineup also includes Christine Swanson’s road drama Albany Road, starring Renée Elise Goldsberry and Lynn Whitfield; Dawn Porter’s Luther Vandross documentary Luther: Never too Much; the doc short The Rebel Girls; and Harvard historian Vincent Brown’s doc How Do You Remember the Days of Slavery?

Mvaaff, which commits itself to promoting diversity in the film industry and providing a platform for Black and Brown filmmakers, runs from Aug. 2 through Aug. 10.

Screening on Aug. 2, A24’s Sing Sing, directed by Greg Kwedar, tells the story of a group of prisoners at Sing Sing Correctional Facility who attempt to stage their own original stage production. The film is notable for its cast featuring many real-life former inmates who took part in the prison theater program,...

[This story contains major spoilers from the season six finale of The Chi.]

To say that Otis “Douda” Perry, played by Curtiss Cook, had a target on his back by numerous people on The Chi would be a major understatement.

For five seasons on the Paramount+ with Showtime series Douda has served as the ultimate, suave gangster terror. Yet he also had a period where he was admired as a top businessman in the city’s Southside, and even served a short stint as Chicago’s mayor. Still, over the years, something went wrong with Douda, and The Chi viewers watched the charismatic businessman and politician choose to settle disagreements with more of his street side than with his newfound diplomacy.

So it came to little surprise that in the beginning of the finale of season six, the opening scene was of police in Douda’s club surrounding a body on the floor in a pool of blood. When the camera...

The vicars of Grantchester always know how to make a first impression.

On the June 30 episode of the long-running PBS Masterpiece Mystery series, the charming Rev. Alphy Kotteram (played by series newcomer Rishi Nair) drove into town in a head-turning red convertible. Spying him trying to enter the locked vicarage in street clothes, Mrs. C reported a “swarthy gentleman” to Geordie, who interrupted the detective’s pints (and reluctant poetry reading) with Leonard to investigate.

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As OWN’s superlative Greenleaf was coming to an end in the summer of 2020, creator Craig Wright was already planning a spinoff. (In fact, he discussed it at lengths with TVLine; read that interview here.) Almost a year later, leading lady Lynn Whitfield shared what she knew about the drama that was to be centered around her estimable matriarch Lady Mae. But since then… nothing.

10 Rising Black TV Stars to WatchView List

So when TVLine recently spoke with the actress, we had to ask: Is the offshoot still on? “You know, I really don’t know what happened with it,...

Lynn Whitfield was only supposed to appear in three episodes of The Chi at first. What started as a guest star role evolved into a major presence in the Showtime series, which concludes its sixth season on Sunday, June 30 on the cable network. The logline for the episode says, “Thanksgiving marks a time for reunions and revelations as families gather to celebrate. As jaw-dropping events unfold, loyalties will be tested, bonds will be broken, tears will be shed, and some lives will be forever changed.” Whitfield joined TV Insider at our in-office studio in New York City to discuss her time on The Chi and preview what’s to come in the finale, and she warns of “tumultuous change” in the video interview above. Whitfield plays Alicia, the ferociously independent woman whom the actor describes as a mob boss type above. The mother of Rob (Iman Shumpert), Alicia suffers no...

Warning: This post contains spoilers from The Chi‘s Season 6 finale.

The South Side of Chicago just got a little less populated.

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The Chi‘s Season 6 episode saw the exit of three cast members, via two deaths and a long-time-coming departure from the city. (You’ll recall the show’s executive producers teased...

On Wednesday, June 26, 2024, Good Morning America welcomes actor Lynn Whitfield, actor Taye Diggs, and ABC News correspondent Ashan Singh. Lynn Whitfield, an Emmy Award-winning actor, joins the show to discuss her recurring role in the sixth season of Showtime’s “The Chi.” Whitfield plays Alicia, an intimidating, old-money matriarch who will stop at nothing […]

Good Morning America: Lynn Whitfield, Taye Diggs, Ashan Singh...

On Monday, June 24, GMA3: What You Need to Know welcomes SiriusXM host and ABC News contributor Mike Muse, financial expert Haley Sacks, and actress Lynn Whitfield to the show. Mike Muse joins the show to share the latest news from Hollywood. Haley Sacks, also known as MrsDowJones, is an American entrepreneur and one of […]

GMA3: What You Need to Know: Mike Muse, Haley Sacks, Lynn Whitfield...

It’s been about 35 years since a one-name actor known as Leon generated some controversial chemistry with Madonna in her classic “Like a Prayer” video in 1989.

Now, while on a Zoom interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the 6-foot-3-inch actor whose full name is Leon Preston Robinson — and who walks with the same swagger throughout the interview — lets on to more of his persona, one that has boded well for him in film roles like Derice Bannock in the hit Disney movie Cool Runnings (about the first Jamaican U.S. Olympics bobsled team); suave lead singer David Ruffin for the NBC miniseries The Temptations; and J.T. Matthews in The Five Heartbeats, among others. It still blows his mind that whenever he encounters a fan or fellow celebrity, there’s a good chance one of his own movie lines will be quoted back to him.

“The leader of the pack...

Ahead of the highly anticipated season six premiere, Paramount+ with Showtime today announced that it has already given the green light to The Chi Season 7. The first half of season six was record-breaking for The Chi, with the drama series delivering its most-watched season yet on streaming, surging nearly 25 percent over season five.

The second half of season six of The Chi returns on Friday, May 10, on-demand and on streaming for Paramount+ subscribers with the Paramount+ with Showtime plan before making its on-air debut on Sunday, May 12, at 9 p.m. Et/Pt. The seventh season will start production later this month in Chicago.

“Lena Waithe is a generational storyteller, whose authentic and unflinching narratives in The Chi resonate deeply, offering a powerful lens into both the complexities of life in Chicago as well as the Black experience in America,” said Nina L. Diaz, President of Content and Chief Creative Officer,...

“The Chi” has been renewed for Season 7 at Paramount+ with Showtime.

The news comes ahead of the series’ return for the second half of its sixth season, which will debut on Paramount+ with Showtime on May 10 before its linear debut on Showtime on May 12 at 9 p.m.Et/Pt. Like the first half, the second will consist of eight episodes. The seventh season will begin production in Chicago later this month.

“Lena Waithe is a generational storyteller, whose authentic and unflinching narratives in ‘The Chi’ resonate deeply, offering a powerful lens into both the complexities of life in Chicago as well as the Black experience in America,” said Nina L. Diaz, president of content and chief creative officer for Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios and Paramount Media Networks. “On the heels of a record-breaking season and ahead of this week’s return, we’re excited to provide fans with the promise...

The American Black Film Festival (ABFF) has set its lineup of narrative and documentary features for its 28th edition, including Jussie Smollett’s return to acting in “The Lost Holliday,” filmmaker Christine Swanson’s latest drama “Albany Road” and the acclaimed Luther Vandross doc “Never Too Much.”

This year’s festival takes place June 12-16 in Miami Beach, Fla., followed by a virtual segment June 17-24 on ABFF Play. Winners of film festival competition will be announced on June 15, during the “Best of ABFF Awards” hosted by Emmy-nominee Dondré Whitfield.

The 2024 narrative lineup includes “Albany Road,” directed and written by Swanson, starring Renée Elise Goldsberry, Lynn Whitfield and J. Alphonse Nicholson; “The Lost Holliday” directed by, co-written and starring Smollett alongside Vivica A. Fox, produced by Mona Scott-Young; “The Waterboyz,” directed by Coke Daniels and produced by Ben Crump, starring Akil McDowell, Alani “La La” Anthony and Quavo; and “Black Heat,...

Paramount+ with Showtime today released the official trailer and key art for the upcoming second half of season six of The Chi series. The series will return on Friday, May 10, on streaming and on-demand for Paramount+ subscribers with the Paramount+ with Showtime plan before making its on-air debut on Sunday, May 12, at 9 p.m. Et/Pt.

The Chi series recently wrapped production in Chicago on the remaining eight episodes of the supersized 16-episode season. Produced entirely in its namesake city, the show is produced by 20th Television.

Created and executive produced by Emmy winner Lena Waithe under her Hillman Grad banner and executive produced by Academy Award and Emmy winner Common (Selma), The Chi is a timely coming-of-age story centering on a group of residents on the South Side of Chicago who become linked by coincidence but bonded by the need for connection and redemption.

The record-breaking season-six premiere, which...

Douda, you might want to start running.

Showtime released a trailer for The Chi‘s upcoming Season 6 continuation on Thursday. And if there’s one takeaway from the preview video, it’s this: Don’t mess with Alicia… especially if your name is Otis “Douda” Perry.

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As we learned in the first half of the season, Alicia (played...

Paramount+ with Showtime has released the trailer and key art for the upcoming second half of season six of The Chi, which will return May 10.

The series recently wrapped production in Chicago on the remaining eight episodes of the supersized 16-episode season.

The season-six premiere, which ranks among the top Showtime premieres ever in streaming viewership, picked up with Emmett (Jacob Latimore) and Kiesha’s (Birgundi Baker) blended union tested by his perilous partnership with Douda, (Curtiss Cook), who is dealing with the fallout of Q’s murder and its effect on the shifting loyalty of his inner circle. Victor’s (Luke James) tangled past impacts his new role as city councilman. Newlyweds Jada (Yolonda Ross) and Darnell (Rolando Boyce) fear for son Emmett after he makes a desperate, life-threatening move. Rob (Iman Shumpert) and Tiff’s (Hannaha Hall) cannabis business and Jake’s (Michael V. Epps) apparel line take off,...

Four new guest stars will make their way to The Chi.

Kadeem Hardison (Teenage Bounty Hunters, A Different World), Leon (Swarm, The Temptations), Brett Gray (On My Block, I’m A Virgo) and Daniel J. Watts (The Last O.G.) are set to recur in the second half of Season 6, premiering Friday, May 10 on Showtime, Deadline reports.

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Exclusive: Showtime’s The Chi will feature four additional new actors in recurring guest star roles when Part 2 of Season 6 premieres on May 10. They are Kadeem Hardison (A Different World), Leon (Swarm), Brett Gray (I’m A Virgo) and Daniel J. Watts (Werewolf By Night).

Hardison plays Professor Gardner, a college literature professor; Leon plays Alonzo, a charming, street-savvy attorney with old ties to Alicia (guest star Lynn Whitfield); Gray plays Damien, a whip-smart young man who will impact Emmett’s (Jacob Latimore) life in more ways than one; Watts plays Pastor Ezekiel, a charismatic pastor of a megachurch.

Created and executive produced by Lena Waithe under her Hillman Grad banner and executive produced by Common, The Chi is a timely coming-of-age story centering on a group of residents on the South Side of Chicago who become linked by coincidence but bonded by the need for connection and redemption.

In Season...

The fifth episode of “True Detective: Night Country” will be available to stream early on Max beginning Feb. 9 at 9 p.m. Et/ 6 p.m. Pt, in order to avoid the Sunday night streamroller that is the Super Bowl. The show will still get its HBO linear premiere on Feb. 11 at 9 p.m. Et/Pt, opposite the Big Game.

Jodie Foster, Kali Reis, Finn Bennett and Fiona Shaw star in the series, with Christopher Eccleston, Isabella Star Lablanc and John Hawkes rounding out the cast. Anna Lambe, Aka Niviâna and Joel D. Montgrand are guest stars.

Issa López serves as showrunner, writer and director. Foster executive produces alongside Mari Jo Winkler, Barry Jenkins, Adele Romanski and Mark Ceryak for Pastel. Chris Mundy, Alan Page Arriaga, Steve Golin, Richard Brown, Matthew McConaughey, Woody Harrelson, Cary Joji Fukunaga and Nic Pizzolatto also executive produce.

First Looks

Hulu has unveiled the trailer for the...

Was it because of the spirit of Martin Luther King Jr., or simply a sign of the times, that the 2023 Emmys was its most diverse ever?

As the awards show celebrated its 75th anniversary, five of the 12 acting Emmys handed out on Monday night — pushed four months to MLK Day as a result of the 2023 strikes — went to performers of color, tying the record set at the 1991 ceremony, when Lynn Whitfield, Madge Sinclair and Ruby Dee took home statuettes (and James Earl Jones took home two).

The show made history with its first two awards of the night, with wins for The Bear’s Ayo Edebiri and Abbott Elementary’s Quinta Brunson marking the first time that the supporting and lead comedy actress Emmys both went to Black women in the same year. (The feat was previously accomplished in the drama races with Viola Davis and Uzo Aduba in 2015.) Brunson...

The new crime thriller comedy feature “The Retirement Plan”, written and directed by Tim Brown, stars Nicolas Cage, Ashley Greene, Jackie Earl Haley, Grace Byers, Ernie Hudson, Lynn Whitfield, Joel David Moore and Thalia Campbell, now streaming on Amazon Prime Video:

‘…’Ashley’and her young daughter ‘Sarah’ must seek out Ashley's estranged widowed father, ‘Matt’, for help when they wind up in the middle of a criminal enterprise that threatens their lives.

‘He is living the life of a retired beach bum in the Cayman Islands when they track him down but are soon found by crime boss ‘Donnie’ and his lieutenant ‘Bobo’.

“And the more time Ashley spends with Matt, she realizes he has a secret past she knew nothing about…”

Click the images to enlarge…...

Do you see her? The Black mother wiping her son’s inner eye on a Harlem corner? It’s the late ’90s and she’s piecing her life back together after a prison stint. What about the mother positioning an infant for a photo? She works at a studio, tucked in a Bay Area mall, trying to make ends meet before the birth of her third child. Or the Black mother lounging in her living room during a party? Guests, drunk on liquor and a good time, buzz around her as a young girl plays at her feet.

These women are the central figures of three revelatory dramas released this year. In A.V. Rockwell’s A Thousand and One, Savanah Leaf’s Earth Mama and Raven Jackson’s All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt, which opens in limited release Nov. 3, Black mothers assume more complex roles than the ones Hollywood usually affords them.

Angelica Ross, known for her work in “Pose” and “American Horror Story,” said Ryan Murphy left her “on read” about a seemingly scrapped season of “AHS” that would feature a cast led by Black women.

Ross posted screenshots of emails sent between herself and the prolific producer dating back to July 2020 on Monday, in which Murphy seemed to confirm the existence of the season and asked Ross for guidance on which other women should lead the installment.

“Remember your idea about a Horror seasons starring Black women? Well I’m doing it,” Murphy wrote in an email to Ross on July 3, 2020, according to the screenshot. “Not sure of the story yet, but we will start a writers room in the fall. Along with you, who are the four women I should get? I think you, Keke Palmer, Gabby … not sure of the fourth?”

The rest of the screenshot displays Ross’ response to Murphy’s email,...

After a series high in streaming numbers last season, “The Chi” is back and bigger than ever. The hit Showtime series returns with its sixth season this Friday, Aug. 4 on Paramount+ With Showtime in an expanded 16-episode, two-part season packed with new highs, lows, partnerships, declarations of love, political ambitions, businesses, questions of faith, and more threads that further tie the tight-knit community together. “The Chi” Season 6 will be available to watch on Paramount+ With Showtime on Aug. 4 with a linear TV premiere on Sunday, Aug. 6 at 9 p.m. Et on Showtime. You can watch with a 30-Day Free Trial of Paramount Plus.

How to Watch ‘The Chi’ Season 6 Premiere When: Friday, August 4, 2023 Where: Paramount Plus Stream: Watch with a 30-Day Free Trial of Paramount Plus. 30-Day Free Trial$5.99+ / month paramountplus.com

For a Limited Time, Get 1 Month of Paramount+ With Code: Lioness

About ‘The Chi’ Season 6 Premiere

Created by Lena Waithe,...

“The Chi” dropped its first trailer for Season 6 Tuesday, teasing how the Showtime series will put Emmett and Keisha’s blissful union to the test while spotlighting Douda’s shifting loyalties in the fallout of Q’s murder, Kiesha’s burgeoning career aspirations, the high schoolers’ graduation and more.

“I’m forever grateful to Chicago. It made me who I am,” Kevin (Alex R. Hibbert) says in the trailer, which shows him and his friends enjoying their senior prom.

“The city is all we got. We’re going to stumble sometimes, but we’ve got to help each other get back up again,” Emmett (Jacob Latimore) adds.

But on the flip side, a new character Darnell (Rolando Boyce) indicates that “The Chi” won’t be all fun and laughs: “And we all need to be mindful of the company we keep,” he says.

While there’s new beginnings and new friendships,...

Nicolas Cage plays a retired Caribbean beach bum-turned-assassin in the trailer for The Retirement Plan, an action comedy thriller from writer/director Tim Brown and Falling Forward Films that’s set to hit theaters on Aug. 25.

Cage is Matt, the estranged father of Ashley (Ashley Greene) and her young daughter Sarah (Thalia Campbell), who get entangled in a criminal gang that threatens their lives. Matt, coming to their rescue, is chased down by gang leader Donnie, played by Jackie Earle Haley, and his lieutenant Bobo (Ron Perlman).

To save his family, Matt has to kill a slew of bad guys in a dangerous game of cat and mouse with the criminal gang in hot pursuit. “The old guy. He keeps killing everybody. Everybody!” Bobo exclaims at one point in the trailer.

Soon, Ashley learns her father has a secret past now revealed as he looks to get back to the...

Vital information about Paramount+’s Good Burger sequel: Original cast members Lori Beth Denberg (who played Connie Muldoon), Carmen Electra (aka Roxanne) and Josh Server (Fizz) will reprise their roles in the upcoming movie, releasing later this year exclusively on the streamer.

The first Good Burger film, based on the sketch from the Nickelodeon comedy series All That, was released in 1997. The sequel “follows Dexter Reed (Kenan Thompson) and original cashier Ed (Kel Mitchell) as they reunite in the present day at fast-food restaurant Good Burger with a hilarious new group of employees,” per the official synopsis.

More from TVLine'More...

Exclusive: Emmy winner Lynn Whitfield (The Josephine Baker Story) is set for a key recurring role on the upcoming sixth season of Showtime’s The Chi, from 20th Television.

Created and executive produced by Lena Waithe and her Hillman Grad banner and executive produced by Common (Selma), The Chi is a coming-of-age story centering on a group of residents on the South Side of Chicago who become linked by coincidence but bonded by the need for connection and redemption.

Whitfield will play Alicia, an intimidating, old-money matriarch who will spare no expense to get what she wants.

In Season 6, big dreams are finally realized but at a cost and everyone will be tested in unimaginable ways as they calculate the risks and rewards of their next big move. Emmett (Jacob Latimore) and Kiesha’s (Birgundi Baker) blissful blended union is tested by his insatiable drive to...

In the three decades since School Daze and the equally influential TV series A Different World were released, HBCUs, or historically Black colleges and universities, have seen a resurgence of much-needed attention. In 2019, Beyoncé’s Homecoming docufilm celebrated Black marching band and dance team culture, a pinnacle of any Hbcu football game. The 2021 inauguration of Vice President Kamala Harris put her undergraduate university Howard in the national spotlight; that same year, the Washington institution would rename its College of Fine Arts in honor of the late Chadwick Boseman, who graduated there in 2000, with Phylicia Rashad as dean.

For Hbcu alums working in Hollywood, there’s a connective thread of deep pride for their educational foundations. THR spoke with nearly 30 executives, producers, directors, actors and writers who collectively acknowledged how their collegiate experience best prepared them for the multifaceted demands of careers in entertainment. While some have built formal alumni networks...

The Hollywood Reporter’s Blackfamous Roundtable has won a Webby Award.

THR was honored with the award in the diversity, equity and inclusion, social video category.

The roundtable featured a conversation with Loretta Devine, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Wendy Raquel Robinson, Larenz Tate and Lynn Whitfield, moderated by THR editorial director Nekesa Mumbi Moody. The group opened up about the power and privilege of being legends among Black fans and how the new Hollywood landscape is making entertainment both less segmented and less intimate.

The Webbys ceremony, honoring the best of the Internet, will take place May 15 at Cipriani Wall Street in New York, with Roy Wood Jr. returning as host. The show is known for limiting winners to five-word acceptance speeches.

Nominees were announced April 4, with the winners being revealed April 25. Apple, Rihanna, Discord, Serena Williams, Selena Gomez, BTS, former President Barack Obama, Doja Cat, Steph Curry, Nike, Lizzo and...