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.
Feb 04, 2022•35 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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.
Jan 28, 2022•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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.’
Jan 21, 2022•26 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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.
Jan 14, 2022•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 ...
Jan 07, 2022•38 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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.
Dec 31, 2021•33 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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.
Dec 24, 2021•33 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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.
Dec 17, 2021•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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...
Dec 10, 2021•33 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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.
Dec 03, 2021•25 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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.
Nov 26, 2021•35 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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.
Nov 19, 2021•26 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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.
Nov 12, 2021•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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.
Nov 05, 2021•26 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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.
Oct 29, 2021•36 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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.
Oct 22, 2021•32 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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.
Oct 15, 2021•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 in...
Oct 08, 2021•30 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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.
Oct 01, 2021•30 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 M...
Sep 24, 2021•35 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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.
Jul 15, 2021•14 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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”.
Jul 08, 2021•25 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 Messag...
Jul 01, 2021•45 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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".
Jun 24, 2021•49 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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!
Jun 17, 2021•55 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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.
Jun 10, 2021•45 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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.
Jun 03, 2021•35 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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.”
May 27, 2021•34 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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.
May 20, 2021•32 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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’.
May 13, 2021•35 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
