The 2026 ESSENCE Festival of Culture will pay tribute to the enduring legacy of late R&B icon Aaliyah with a special performance curated by longtime collaborator and friend Missy Elliott. Set for Sunday, July 5, at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, the tribute will serve as the centerpiece of ESSENCE Flowers, the festival’s annual […]

A former writer on CBS’ breakout legal drama Matlock is taking the show to court. John Lowe, who served as an executive story editor on the Kathy Bates-led series from October 2023 through July 2025, filed a lawsuit Wednesday in Los Angeles Superior Court against CBS Television Studios, showrunner Jennie Snyder Urman, and executive producers […]

A new documentary from VPM and director Stacey L. Holman is shining a light on the often overlooked role Black Americans played in the fight for independence, using AI animated portraits to bring historical figures to life on screen. Declarations: Black Americans and the Revolutionary War had its world premiere June 20 in New York […]

Christina Richardson’s hit vertical series Besties is among the projects in a major slate expansion from Fox Entertainment’s creator studio, formed earlier this year. After two successful independently produced seasons, Fox Creator Studios will now produce Seasons 3 and 4 of the scripted series, which follows a group of friends navigating relationships, identity, ambition and […]

Morgan Freeman is adding record producer to his decades-long list of credits. The Oscar-winning actor announced Morgan Freeman’s Symphonic Blues Experience on Friday, June 19, a 12-track album described as a 100-year cinematic journey through the blues, set for release August 7 via Decca Records. Freeman serves as both producer and narrator on the project, […]

Lifetime is leaning into chaos this summer. The network’s Summer 2026 original movie slate features five films, three of them ripped from real headlines, covering everything from a secret baby born at prom to a creepy funeral director with a dangerous obsession to a killer clown. Here is what is coming. He Couldn’t Let Go […]

Paper Made, the upcoming martial arts feature directed by Ryan Watson, has released its first trailer and movie poster, timed to Juneteenth, offering fans their first look at the film. Principal photography wrapped March 20 on the film, which was shot at a fictional HBCU in Tampa, Florida. The story follows Tavon Watkins, played by […]

Saweetie is heading to boarding school. The rapper has joined the cast of Netflix’s teen psychological drama Bet alongside series star Miku Martineau, as the show’s second season begins production in Toronto. Bet follows students at an elite boarding school where underground gambling determines the social hierarchy. Martineau plays Yumeko, a mysterious transfer student whose […]