October 27, 2020 • No Comments • Entertainment News

Netflix (LOS ANGELES) — Colin in Black & White has landed its star. 

The Netflix series surrounding the life and career of civil rights activist and professional football player Colin Kaepernick has cast 17-year-old Jaden Michael in the title role as Kaepernick as a teen. Michael’s previous acting credits include Wonderstruck and the recently released Netflix comedy horror film Vampires vs. The Bronx. 

The limited series will feature six episodes focusing on Kaepernick’s young adult years growing up in a mixed-race household as a Black son adopted by a white family, chronicling the impactful moments that compelled him to become an athlete and activist.

The NFL player made headlines for his activism in 2016 when he, as quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, knelt during the national anthem before the games as a silent protest against systemic racism and police brutality.

“Too often we see race and Black stories portrayed through a white lens. We seek to give new perspective to the differing realities that Black people face,” Kaepernick says about the series. “We explore the racial conflicts I faced as an adopted Black man in a white community, during my high school years. It’s an honor to bring these stories to life in collaboration with Ava for the world to see.”

Kaeperick co-created the Netflix show with Selma and 13th director Ava DuVernay.  Kapernick will also serve as the series narrator. 

By Cillea Houghton 
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

October 27, 2020 • No Comments • Entertainment News

Courtesy of Starz(NEW YORK) — Omari Hardwick says he is “super proud” of Michael Rainey Jr., the young man who for six seasons played his hardheaded son Tariq on the widely popular Starz series Power.

This summer, Rainey Jr. followed in Hardwick’s footsteps when he became the lead of his own Power series, Power Book 2: Ghost. Hardwick tells ABC Audio that he was touched when he recently spoke to Rainey Jr. during his birthday because the actor acknowledged how inspirational Hardwick has been in his life.

“His text simply said, ‘I learned everything from you, Pop, you know so much,'” Hardwick says. “And he said, ‘I’ll never be able to put in words… what it meant to not only have your support as an actor, but also just as a young man.”

Hardwick reveals Rainey Jr.’s relationship with his own father wasn’t “great,” so it made sense for him to take on a paternal role on and off the camera.

“When he was acting out a bit and sometimes disrespectful on set then I had [to] lend a hand at being a disciplinarian,” Hardwick continues. “So there was so many components to me being not only the lead actor in that project, but also the father literally to that kid at times.”

Omari says he always wanted more for Rainey Jr., but what he’s been able to accomplish has exceeded his expectations.

“I constantly was in the ear of Courtney [Kemp] and Curtis [“50 Cent” Jackson] saying, ‘Hey, we got this kid here, we need to really use him. So obviously they found a steroid level of using in him,” he smiles. “He’s now the lead of the show. I never imagined that.”

“My hat goes off to what he’s been able to accomplish and continue in this legacy called Power,” Hardwick adds. “I’m super proud.”

By Candice Williams
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

October 27, 2020 • No Comments • Entertainment News

Peacock(LOS ANGELES) — Bayside High is back in all its glory in the new trailer for the upcoming Peacock revival of the beloved ’90s sitcom, Saved by the Bell.

The modern-day adaption finds original stars Mario Lopez and Elizabeth Berkley Lauren reprising their roles as A.C. Slater and Jessie Spano, respectively.  This time, the beloved characters are giving back to the school where they were once students, with Spano now a guidance counselor and Slater, fittingly, now the physical education teach and sports coach. 

Mark-Paul Gosselaar is also back as Zack Morris, now governor of California and facing backlash for shutting down a series of underfunded schools. He in turn sends the students from the closed schools to the privileged Bayside High, which his son Mack attends, setting the stage for the series to follow the journey as the students from differing backgrounds learn to come together. 

The trailer also promises an appearance by Max the magician, owner of The Max, and a reunion between original cast members Lopez, Berkley, Gosselaar and Tiffani Thiessen as Kelly Kapowski, taking the stage as a sequin-clad band performing at a school dance.  

The series also features John Michael Higgins as Principal Toddman, newcomers Mitchell Hoog as Mac and Haskiri Velazquez as Daisy, and more. 

Saved by the Bell premieres on Peacock November 25.

By Cillea Houghton 
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

October 27, 2020 • No Comments • Entertainment News

© 2020 The CW Network, LLC. All Rights Reserved.(LOS ANGELES) — The CW has released the first photos of Javicia Leslie as Batwoman. 

The two stills show Leslie clad a sleek, black leather costume with red trim and cape, with the bat logo also in red in the center of her breast, matching the red streaks in her hair.  

Leslie is the first Black woman to play a live-action Batwoman in film or TV.  She inherits the role of Ryan Wilder/Batwoman after Ruby Rose stepped down from her role of Kate Kane/Batwoman earlier this year after one season. 

“I love the fact that Ryan is becoming her own Batwoman — it’s her style, her swag, and her moment. I felt it was important that viewers could tell by the silhouette that Batwoman was a Black girl. With the form-fitting suit and beautiful Afro, we definitely nailed it!” Leslie says in a statement, according to Variety. 

Leslie will star alongside returning cast members Rachel Skarsten, Meagan Tandy, Nicole Kang, Camrus Johnson and Dougray Scott.

Season two of Batwoman is scheduled to premiere in January on the CW.

By Cillea Houghton 
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.