Holly Carter Inks First-Look Deal With OWN

Holly Carter

Holly Carter, a powerhouse producer of faith-based programming for mainstream audiences, is getting into business with OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network. Carter has signed a first-look deal with the network to create and produce unscripted series and specials via her Relevé Entertainment, an All3Media America company. The content will be targeted at the network’s audience of Black women viewers with programming that explores faith, love, sisterhood, relationships, and unity.

Under the pact, OWN has ordered two-holiday gospel music specials from Carter, the first-ever music specials for the network. Additionally, OWN has picked up two unscripted series to development: Back to the Altar (working title), about divorced couples working to mend their broken relationships, and Love & Faith (working title), following the women behind some of the faith community’s best-known pastors. Series details follow below the story.

The first project under the deal is Our OWN Christmas, an all-star holiday gospel music special, set to air December 1 at 9 p.m. on OWN. Hosted by Meagan Good and DeVon Franklin, the one-hour special will feature holiday moments, acts of giving as well as performances by Grammy-winning gospel singers Kierra Sheard, Erica Campbell, Tasha Cobbs-Leonard and Le’Andria Johnson, legendary award-winning gospel group The Clark Sisters, and more. You can watch a teaser trailer below. A second-holiday gospel music special currently in production will air on OWN for Easter 2021.

“Holly is a force in the industry with a deep connection to our audience,” said Tina Perry, president, OWN. “We are excited to premiere music specials on OWN for the first time and to create new original unscripted programming that will lift up the spirits of so many viewers through the power of storytelling.”

Carter is the founder of Relevé Entertainment, which specializes in television/film production focused on family and faith-based programming, along with talent partnerships and brand development. Most recently, Carter created and executive produced The Clark Sisters: First Ladies of Gospel, the highest-rated original TV movie of 2020.

“OWN’s mission to inspire and entertain, while empowering viewers to live their best lives is one that aligns perfectly with my own,” said Carter. “I’m looking forward to working with the OWN team to create engaging content that’s driven by faith, family, redemption, and the inspiration that compels us to live out our dreams.”

Unscripted Series in Development

Love & Faith (working title) follows a diverse group of women whose husbands are some of the faith community’s best known and most successful pastors. They are wives, mothers, and professionals who, despite their husbands’ larger than life personalities, are determined to live life on their own terms and are stepping into the limelight to pursue their dreams. The faith community is a tight-knit group, and these women are never short on opinions. Whether gathering for a First Ladies tea in Beverly Hills, working together on a ministry conference, or embarking on a shopping excursion, these ladies keep it very real with each other, and there is always plenty of advice – and drama – to go around.

Back to the Altar (working title), which is being produced in partnership with Kevin Bartel and Best Production Company, an All3Media America company, centers on divorced couples working to repair their broken relationships in order to determine if their love for one another is worth a second chance. It’s a voyage to self for couples to rediscover the love and passion that brought them together in the first place. Each episode will focus on the journey of one divorced couple and concludes with a dramatic decision at the altar – to remarry right now or walk away and call it quits forever.

**Story courtesy of Deadline

Alexander Zonjic's Is "Playing It Forward'

It’s been 11 years since contemporary jazz flutist Alexander Zonjic dropped a new album, making Friday’s release of his 13^th collection, “Playing It Forward,” an event album. A genuine multi-hyphenate, Zonjic is a longtime multimedia personality (he hosts television and radio shows) and artistic director for nearly a dozen music festivals and concert series throughout Detroit and the Michigan region in addition to being a recording artist, explaining the lengthy gap between albums. Finishing the new Hi-Falutin Music release produced by GRAMMY-winning keyboardist Jeff Lorber was made possible because COVID-19 forced the cancellation of most of the calendar of live music events that Zonjic produces.       

 

Whetting the appetite of both radio programmers and fans alike is the disc’s first single, “Motor City Sway,” a tune written and produced by Pieces of a Dream’s James Lloyd. A fun video shot on stage and on the streets of Detroit (the Canadian-born Zonjic’s adopted home), including at the Motown Museum, reveals a “Motor City Sway” dance to go along with the funky R&B instrumental track currently climbing the Billboard Top 25 (https://youtu.be/Cba0NStZM_M).

  

“Playing It Forward” is an energetic blend of jazz, funk, fusion, and soul comprised of five Lorber originals along with a handful of reimagined classics. The outing showcases the work of top-shelf musicians, including guitarists Chuck Loeb (one of his final recordings before his passing), Paul Jackson Jr. and Michael Thompson, drummer Gary Novak, horn player, and arranger David Mann, and 14-year-old South African keyboard phenom Justin-Lee Schultz, who can be seen performing a talkbox solo in the “Motor City Sway” video.   

 

The album title intentionally riffs on “paying it forward,” which is something the benevolent Zonjic does generously throughout metropolitan Detroit and the Michigan region. The award-winning musician is organizing and headlining a November 13 fundraiser for Mariners Inn, a shelter and treatment center for the homeless.   

 

 

For more information, please visit http://www.zonjic.com.

 

Singer-Songwriter Selina Albright Is 'Holding On'

DALLAS - Like so many Black people, R&B-jazz singer-songwriter Selina Albright is tired and her fatigue has nothing to do with becoming a mother for the first time earlier this year, which was the subject of her latest single to hit the charts, “Discovering.” No, Albright’s exhaustion and discouragement stem from “seeing videos of my brothers and sisters dying in cold blood, their deaths rooted in misplaced fear, their murderers allowed to live freely.” She co-wrote and co-produced her forthcoming single, “Holding On,” to call out social injustice and the urgent need for reform. The single drops October 16 and will be promoted at urban adult contemporary and smooth jazz radio formats.

Musically, “Holding On” is an anthemic, multi-genre aural quilt sewn from soulful R&B heart, modern jazz progressions and tones, dramatic rock changes punctuated by drummer James “JRob” Roberson, and ethereal pop vocal harmonies. But it’s the song’s subject matter and lyrical content that is radically new and different for Albright, who has etched her place on the urban-jazz scene with intimate love songs and autobiographical confessions such as those contained on her 2017 debut album, “Conversations.” Her most piercing and provocative cry in “Holding On” is when she passionately repeats “Burn it all to the ground.”                   

 

“I frankly find it exhausting and infuriating to see ongoing evidence of oppression without much change. And because writing music is a therapeutic outlet for me, I couldn’t help putting pen to paper about my struggle to maintain hope for the freedom of my people - real freedom to pursue happiness, be our beautiful selves, and to live fully as is our inalienable right. Instead, our rights are seen as privileges by those who work to prevent the impending moment when Black people truly know our strength,” said Albright who wrote the song with her co-producer Chris “Big Dog Davis, David P. Stevens, and Kayta Matsuno.

 

Although “Holding On” is a song that captures present life for Black Americans, its origins date back to a November 2017 recording session between Albright and guitarist Stevens. Stevens awoke with the chord progression in his head and played it for Albright when she arrived in the studio.

 

“The lyrics were originally written to bring hope and consolation to people with emotional health disorders because at the time, suicides were hitting close to home. Something in my spirit told me not to release the song yet. Since then, the United States has been exposed around the world for its social injustice, the roots, and workings of which are so well hidden and indulged by a small fraction of our nation, but whose disadvantages are felt by multitudes,” said Albright, who plans to release an accompanying video for “Holding On.” 

 

As usual, Albright found a way to incorporate her own experiences into the lyrics. After having a series of discussions with friends about their similar experiences of being Black in America, she revisited the song’s lyrics in order to make them more specific to Black people and the fight for social justice.

 

“I remember the first time my parents told me that because I’m Black, I'd have to work twice as hard as my non-Black peers to accomplish the same result. They also taught me how to dress and behave when certain people were present so that the police wouldn’t be called, and I wouldn’t die. Wouldn’t die! They said my smile and ‘proper’ dialect would be my protection. I’m glad I was warned because the same has been true even in my adulthood. There’s really nowhere to run from it,” said Albright, the daughter of multi-time GRAMMY-nominated saxophonist Gerald Albright.  

 

Ultimately, Albright would like to see her message in “Holding On” become obsolete, a dark and distant memory of the past before “we started overusing our spirit of power, love and sound minds” to prevail over systematic racism.   

 

“Black people are being herded around the country like cattle, our culture and excellence exploited, rather than kept sacred. We are being poisoned by processed scraps of food, and then given the lowest quality of healthcare. I see many of us losing steam. We can’t afford to do that. We must continue to find the strength to keep holding on until the whole world knows that at the very least, we matter.”

 

Javon Johnson Set To Debut 'Still.' September 30

Javon Johnson is set to debut his newly commissioned work Still. on PlayhouseLive, the new digital theatrical hub created by Pasadena Playhouse. The production will launch online at PlayhouseLive on September 30, 2020, and is part of the Fall line-up of pay-per-view streaming theatrical events.

Still. is Javon’s very personal experience on the Black experience in America at a pivotal time in our history. Johnson blends powerful imagery, witty prose, and beautiful lyricism in this timely, unforgettable theatrical event. Johnson has appeared on HBO’s Def Poetry Jam, BET’s Lyric Café, TVOne’s Verses & Flow, The Steve Harvey Show, The Arsenio Hall Show, United Shades of America with Kamau Bell on CNN, and co-wrote a documentary titled Crossover, which aired on Showtime, in collaboration with the NBA and Nike. 

Johnson is also a renowned spoken word poet -- a three-time national poetry slam champion and a four-time national finalist.  He is also Assistant Professor and Director of African American & African Diaspora Studies and holds an appointment in Gender & Sexuality Studies in the Interdisciplinary, Gender, and Ethnic Studies Department at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Still. is directed by Donny Jackson, who has been a staple of the poetry community for over 2 decades, and is also a doctor of clinical psychology, and a multiple Emmy-winning Producer and Director in unscripted television, including CNN’s United Shades of America with W. Kamau Bell, R&B Divas for TV One, The Bachelor for ABC, A&E’s Teach, and Inside the Label for BET. Dr. Donny is also an NAACP Image Award winner for his producing duties on TV One’s music documentary series, Unsung.

Indie Film 'Killian & The Comeback Kids' Opens In Theaters Nationwide September 25

New York, NY - Indie film Killian & the Comeback Kids opened exclusively in theaters on September 18, 2020 and is set to roll out across the country on September 25. The movie is being distributed by Hope Runs High, the distributor of the groundbreaking theatrical re-release of Academy Award winner Lee Grant's documentary films, and the acclaimed streaming premiere of Jonathan Caouette's Cannes favorite, indie smashTarnation. 

The movie is about a millienial (who is mixed race) coming back to his depressed rural hometown after an expensive college degree. It features an original folk/indie rock soundtrack and provides a hopeful message even more needed in 2020.  It is written and directed by Taylor A. Purdee. Taylor plays the son of his real life father NAACP Image Award Nominee Nathan Purdee (One Life to Live, Superfly) as well as Emmy nominee Kassie De Paiva (Days of Our Lives, One Life to Live). Youtuber Maddi Jane has a cameo in it as does Oscarwinner Lee Grant.

It is produced by Karmic Release, Ltd. which produced Wallowitch & Ross THIS MOMENT (Oscar Shortlist) and Baghdad ER (Emmy winner). The movie is executive produced by Suzanne Ordas Curry (Equity, A Case of Blue) and Liam Higgins.

The movie also stars Broadway mainstay Shannon O'Boyle (Once, Kinky Boots), Emily Mest  (Spring Awakening Nat'l Tour, American Horror Story, Ratchet), Shane Andries (Tomorrow Ever After, Blue Man Group) Andrew O'Shanick (Pitch Perfect) and newcomers John Donchak, and Yael Elisheva.

CODE 404 Set To Launch on Peacock on October 1

 CODE 404, a new buddy detective comedy set in London in the near future, will launch on Peacock on Thursday, October 1.  We are excited to share all six episodes of this Peacock Original with you, which offers a hilarious and refreshing spin on the classic crime-fighting duo.

Synopsis: DI John Major (Daniel Mays, “White Lines”) and DI Roy Carver (Stephen Graham, “Boardwalk Empire”) are the best of the best as an elite police unit in London. After Major’s cover is blown and he is met with his untimely death, he is brought back to life with some glitch AI technology. Now, he’s better than ever – or so he thinks.

CODE 404  is produced by Kudos and Water & Power Productions, in association with Sky Studios, distributed by NBCUniversal Global Distribution.

CODE 404 stars Daniel Mays, Stephen Graham, and Anna Maxwell Martin.

 

'Noughts + Crosses' Set For September 4 Debut

 

 

Timely and thought-provoking young adult drama series NOUGHTS + CROSSES is set to launch on Peacock on Friday, Sept. 4. This six-episode Peacock Original flips the racial power structure in an alternate world, following the love story of two star-crossed young adults who are divided by their color but united in their love for one another.   Adapted from the first book in celebrated British author Malorie Blackman’s award-winning breakthrough YA series, NOUGHTS + CROSSES  imagines an alternate universe in which history happened in racial reverse. In this world, Africa – or “Aprica” – invaded Europe centuries ago, enslaving its people. In present-day London, “Albion,” slavery is an institution of the past, but Jim Crow-esque segregation laws maintain the power dynamic: a ruling class of Black “Crosses” control the country’s politics, wealth and culture over an oppressed, impoverished underclass of white “Noughts” who are at the brink of revolt.  Against this backdrop, a forbidden love story unfolds.     In NOUGHTS + CROSSES, Callum McGregor (Jack Rowan) is a Nought, and Sephy Hadley (Masali Baduza) is a Cross and the daughter of a prominent politician. Destiny crosses their divergent paths, and they’re swept away in a romance that seems doomed from the start.      The series stars Jack Rowan, Masali Baduza, Jonathan Ajayi, Helen Baxendale, Paterson Joseph, Josh Dylan, Shaun Dingwall, Jonathan Ajayi, Kike Brimah, Rakie Ayola, Bonnie Mbuli and Ian Hart.   NOUGHTS + CROSSES is produced by Mammoth Screen, Participant and Roc Nation and is distributed internationally by ITV Studios. Lydia Adetunji writes alongside Nathaniel Price and Rachel Le-Lahay. The series is directed by Julian Holmes and Koby Adom and produced by Johann Knobel. Jeff Skoll and Miura Kite executive produce for Participant; Kibwe Tavares, Preethi Mavahalli and Damien Timmer executive produce for Mammoth Screen.