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.

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 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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.