A Black woman is starring in a television show and she didn't have to sleep with a basketball star to do it....YYAAAAYYY!!!

Synopsis:  From the creator and executive producers of Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice comes a drama revolving around the life and work of a professional crisis manager and her dysfunctional staff.

A former media relations consultant to the President, Olivia Pope (Kerry Washington) dedicates her life to protecting and defending the public images of our nation's elite. After leaving the White House, the power consultant opened her own firm, hoping to start a new chapter -- both professionally and personally -- but she can't seem to completely cut ties with her past. Slowly it becomes apparent that her staff, who specialize in fixing the lives of other people, can't quite fix the ones closest at hand -- their own.

Starring:
Kerry Washington as Olivia Pope
Henry Ian Cusick as Stephen Finch
Columbus Short as Harrison Wright
Guillermo Diaz as Huck
Darby Stanchfield as Abby Whelan    
Katie Lowes as Quinn Perkins

There currently isn't an exact series premiere date.  But be on the lookout for this one.  As you can tell from watching the sneak peek, this show is a must-see.

Every Tuesday night in August, renowned documentarian Morgan Spurlock will be counting down the 50 Documentaries To See Before You Die, the most remarkable and moving documentaries released in the past 25 years. Join us each week as we explore how the documentary feature has evolved into an increasingly popular genre, becoming a major box office draw and impacting contemporary culture in ways never seen before.

Airs August 2nd @10pm on Current TV

Mos Def will be making an appearance in this coming season's Dexter on Showtime.  Mos Def will be playing a reformed criminal, Brother Sam, who owns a body shop.  Brother Sam claims to have found God and changed his ways.  When one of his employees comes under investigation by the police, he ends up running into our favorite serial killer Dexter played by Michael C. Hall.

New season beginning October 2nd.

Behind The Music

Air Time:  Sunday, July 24, 2011 @ 10pm

Are you an Alpha?

Malik Yoba will be starring in the new Sci Fi television show Alphas.  Alphas is an action-packed thriller from writers Zak Penn (The Avengers, X-Men: The Last Stand) and Michael Karnow.  In the series, five ordinary people are brought together to form one extraordinary team of Alphas -- people with the unique power to stretch the capabilities of the human mind giving them superhuman physical and mental abilities.

Operating within the Defense Criminal Investigation Service of the U.S. Department of Defense and led by preeminent neurologist and psychiatrist Dr. Lee Rosen (Emmy Award-winner and Academy Award-nominee David Strathairn), an expert in Alpha phenomena, the team investigates cases that point to others with Alpha abilities. As they work against the clock to solve this new brand of crime, they must prevent their own personality differences and disparate backgrounds from interfering with their ultimate mission to catch the enemy.

Malik Yoba is Bill Harken, a former FBI agent who strictly adheres to procedure and protocol. He is also a hyperadrenal Alpha -- an everyday person with a very special physical ability. Bill is able to summon amazing strength by consciously activating the "fight-or-flight" response. With a flood of adrenaline, pain receptors are subdued and for a short bursts of time, he experiences super human strength and a resistance to harm that borders on invulnerability.

Series Premiere:  Monday, July 11th

UNSUNG  on TV One

From the TV One website...

TV One's UnSung is back with ALL NEW episodes with the artists you've been dying to see!

TV One's signature music biography series sheds much-do light on some of the most influential, talented and yet, somehow forgotten R&B, Soul and Gospel artists of the last 30 years. While Aretha, Whitney, Diana, Stevie, Marvin and the Winans have been recognized over and over again-there are several artists like Phyllis Hyman and The Clark Sisters who haven't been as honored.

This season, we'll dig deep into the lives of Deniece Williams, Big Daddy Kane, The Spinners, The Ohio Players, Alexander O'Neal & Cherrelle and Evelyn "Champagne" King. Airing Monday nights, Unsung uncovers the hidden truth behind the fading of your favorite stars.

This new and exciting season will reveal the business and personal struggles that kept these artists from achieving the iconic commercial status they deserved.  Don't miss Unsung when it returns!

Returns June 6 @10pm (ET)

Bounce TV

Bounce TV is the new African American owned broadcast television network that will be launching this fall.  The network is based in Atlanta, GA and its impressive ownership and leadership team consist of Martin Luther King III, former U.N. ambassador and Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young, and former Turner Broadcasting executive Ryan Glover.  Bounce's founders also include Jonathan Katz and creators of Rainforest
Films ("Stomp the Yard," "Takers") Rob Hardy and Will Packer.  Bounce will be somewhat competing against Lanham, Md.-based Radio One, which operates TV One; and New York-based Viacom, which owns BET and Centric though these are cable networks.

The broadcast channel will aim at audience ages 25-54.  The programming will initially consists of movies such as "The Wiz" and "Car Wash"; several Spike Lee productions such as "Jungle Fever," "Mo' Better Blues" and "Do the Right Thing"; and films featuring Oscar winner Denzel Washington, such as "The Hurricane," the Civil War epic "Glory" and "Philadelphia."  Bounce also has a a multi-year rights agreement with Urban Sports Entertainment Group to televise football and basketball games from the country's largest black athletic conference, the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association, including the CIAA championship football game and select quarter- and semi-final CIAA tournament basketball games.

DirecTV has been in negotiations with four big movie studios to release feature length films just 60 days after they release in theaters.  At the industry's annual convention CinemaCon held in Las Vegas, an all out brawl nearly broke out when this news was leaked out.  The four major film studios in talks with DirecTV are Universal Studios, Warner Bros., 20th Century Fox, and Sony.   This news couldn't come at a worse time for movie theater owners who have watched their revenues plummet as movie goers are opting to stay at home or wait for the DVD release. 

DirecTV is planning to offer these movies as part of their Video On Demand (VOD) service.  The movies would be able to be viewed on your television at a cost of $30.  Typically movies aren't available on DVD until three to four months after their theatrical release.  And movie theater owners see this deal as a direct assault on their businesses.  However they already have two allies, directors James Cameron and Todd Phillips, who each voiced their opposition to the situation.

Just Me

Taraji P. Henson in Person of Interest

Insanely talented and outspoken actress Taraji P. Henson has been tapped to star as a female lead in J.J. Abrams' new TV series, Person of Interest.  According to New York magazine, the series tells the story of an ex-CIA agent who is recruited by a crazy billionaire to help fight crime in New York City.

J.J. Abrams is the man behind another prime time show starring an all Black cast called Undercovers.  Do you remember it?  It starred Boris Kodjoe and Gugu Mbatha-Raw as spies who happened to be married.  The show was canceled in 2010 after low ratings. Only 11 of 13 episodes were aired.  I don't blame them for canceling the show.  I couldn't even watch all of the first episode.  The story and plot of the show were so original but the script fell short --- very short.

I'm hoping J.J. will do better with this show.  But considering I've never seen Taraji Henson be any less than phenomenal in any role that she has taken on, I have a good feeling about this show.

Identity - A new television series on ABC

From Deadline.com....

Angela Bassett is set as a lead in ABC's drama pilot Identity. The project, from ABC Studios, Mark Gordon Co. and writer John Glenn, is an action procedural based on a British  format, which centers on an elite police unit formed to combat the explosion of identity-related crime. Bassett will play Martha, the Special Agent in charge of the FBI's new Identity Crimes Unit. Bronx-tough Vassar graduate from Greenwich, Martha is determined to make a go of this division, using sophisticated technology combined with good old fashioned investigative methods. The casting extends Bassett's relationship with ABC, ABC Studios and producer Mark Gordon. Earlier this pilot season, she was attached to ABC's drama project One Police Plaza, which was developed for her through ABC Studios and studio-based Mark Gordon Co. In it, she was slated to play another top New York law enforcement officer, the city's first female commissioner. Bassett, repped by Gersh and Lighthouse, will next be seen in Jumping the Broom and Green Lantern. On TV, she most recently co-starred on the final season of ER.

Tagline:  Being a part of the hip-hop world can be a glamorous life -- but this world comes with a high price.

From the VH1 website...

Love & Hip Hop follows four women who share one common bond: their connection to the hip-hop world...through their men and their careers. This 8-part series captures the struggles of Chrissy and Emily, who both date rappers and must navigate their relationships while still maintaining a sense of self. Somaya and Olivia are both recording artists trying to break through in the male-dominated hip-hop industry. These four women struggle against shifting loyalties, family drama and the pressures of trying to make it in the hip hop game.

Through Chrissy's POV we experience the world of a rap star's significant other. Chrissy's been there during the past six years of Jim Jones' tumultuous life. She's been his rock. Now where's hers? Things are touch and go, as she must also contend with the other woman in Jim's life... Mama Jones! How will Chrissy navigate these minefields? Chrissy is a hustler at heart and though she wants to stick it out with Jim, her time is running out. She'll be the Bonnie to another Clyde if it's not going to be Jim. Jim better wake up soon because Chrissy will get hers one way or another.

Somaya is the new girl in town and she plans to take NYC by storm! The West Coast chic is full of ambition and is striving for the opportunity to showcase her rapping skills. Will this real life Jessica Rabbit compromise her ideals and use her sexuality to get put on? Her grind is bound to get her attention, but can she handle the cruel gaze of the haters?

The 42nd NAACP Image Awards

The 42nd NAACP Image Awards will air this Friday, March 4th on FOX TV at 8 p.m.  Here are some of the nominees...

Outstanding Motion Picture
For Colored Girls
Lionsgate/34th Street Films

Just Wright
Fox Searchlight Pictures

The Book of Eli
Warner Bros. Pictures

The Kids Are All Right
Focus Features

Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married Too?
Lionsgate

Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture
Anthony Mackie
Night Catches Us
Magnolia Pictures

Common
Just Wright
Fox Searchlight Pictures

Denzel Washington
The Book of Eli
Warner Bros. Pictures

Jaden Smith
The Karate Kid
Columbia Pictures

Morgan Freeman
Red
Summit Entertainment

Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture
Halle Berry
Frankie & Alice
Freestyle Releasing

Janet Jackson
Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married Too?
Lionsgate

Kerry Washington
Night Catches Us
Magnolia Pictures

Queen Latifah
Just Wright

There is Something On Your Mind - Big Jay McNeely

So I was watching Southland on Tuesday and heard this bluesy, melodic song begin to play as Detective Sammy Bryant (Shawn Hatosy) sneaks up on the young man he believes shot his partner.  It caught my ear primarily just because I love songs from the 50's and 60's era.  And considering my vast collection of Stevie Wonder, Donnie Hathaway, and Motown hits; I was in shock I had never heard this song before.  But even besides that I liked how this song was strategically placed in the right scene of the show as well to convey what Detective Sammy was feeling.

A little bit about the artists on the song...

What's Beef?

The movie Beef was a documentary released in 2003 with rare footage and interviews with well-known hip hop superstars and music industry insiders.  Narrated by Ving Rhanes, Beef provided the details of various untold stories that hadn't been seen in mainstream media.  Some of the artists seen on this film were 50 Cent, Ice Cube, Damon Dash, and Bone Thugs n Harmony. 

The movie was later spun off into an original documentary television series on FuseTV with shows Beef: The MC Battle, Beef: Respect, and Beef: Verbal Warfare.  And now FuseTV has a new season premiering in February titled Beef: Behind the Bullet. 

Synopsis:  From the MC Battles to the battles that often rage behind the scenes in the music business, Beef has brought you from the streets to the boardroom and back as the definitive guide on hip hop culture. This all-new special features the most memorable moments from the show plus never-before-seen footage and the new beefs that define modern hip hop.

Air Time: February 9 at 11:00 p.m.