Tag Archives: Karin Gist

Melissa De Sousa to Appear on Fox’s Drama Series “Our Kind of People”

Posted on by
Reply

Melissa De Sousa has found her people…

The 54-year-old Panamanian American actress has landed a recurring role opposite Morris Chestnut and Yaya DaCosta in the Fox drama series Our Kind of People, from writer/executive producer Karin Gist and executive producer Lee Daniels.

Melissa De Sousa

The role reunites De Sousa with Chestnut, with whom she stars in The Best Man franchise. Joe Morton also stars in the series.

Inspired by Lawrence Otis Graham’s book Our Kind of People: Inside America’s Black Upper Class, the series written by Gist takes place in the aspirational world of Oak Bluffs on Martha’s Vineyard, a historical stronghold where the rich and powerful Black elite have come to play for more than 50 years.

Our Kind of People follows strong-willed single mom Angela Vaughn (DaCosta) as she sets out to reclaim her family’s name and make an impact with her revolutionary haircare line that highlights the innate, natural beauty of Black women. But she soon discovers a dark secret about her mother’s past that will turn her world upside-down and shake up this community forever.

De Sousa will play Alex Rivera. Attractive and savvy, Alex Rivera is an accomplished financial reporter and Raymond’s (Chestnut’s) ex-wife.

A co-production between 20th Century Fox Television and Fox Entertainment, Our Kind of People is executive produced by Gist and Claire Brown via The Gist of It Productions; Daniels and Marc Velez via Lee Daniels Entertainment; Pam Williams; Ben Silverman, Howard T. Owens and Rodney Ferrell via Propagate; and Montrel McKay.

De Sousa, best known for her performance as the infamous Shelby in the Universal franchise The Best Man and The Best Man Holiday, will next star opposite Chestnut in the Peacock limited series The Best Man: The Final Chapter.

She most recently recurred as Chief Ana Lopez on the CW’s Black Lightning and as the pill-popping journalist Mirta Herrera on Showtime’s On Becoming A God In Central Florida opposite Kirsten Dunst.

Fox Releases First Look Trailer for Yaya DaCosta’s Drama Series “Our Kind of People”

Posted on by
Reply

Yaya DaCosta isn’t Bluffin’…

Fox has released the first teaser trailer for its new drama Our Kind of People, starring the 38-year-old half-Brazilian American actress.

Yaya DaCosta

The clip shows DaCosta’s character Angela Vaughn isn’t playing around when it comes to what’s truly hers.

The series hails from writer/executive producer Karin Gist and executive producer Lee Daniels.

Inspired by Lawrence Otis Graham’s book Our Kind of People: Inside America’s Black Upper Class, the series written by Gist takes place in the aspirational world of Oak Bluffs on Martha’s Vineyard, a historical stronghold where the rich and powerful Black elite have come to play for more than 50 years.

Our Kind of People follows strong-willed single mom Angela Vaughn (DaCosta) as she sets out to reclaim her family’s name and make an impact with her revolutionary haircare line that highlights the innate, natural beauty of Black women. But she soon discovers a dark secret about her mother’s past that will turn her world upside-down and shake up this community forever.

“My mama worked for one of them, but I have a secret that will expose them all,” DaCosta’s Angela says about her family. “Little do they know I’m one of them. So whether they like it or not, I belong here.”

Our Kind of People premieres on Tuesday, September 21, and also features Morris Chestnut, Joe Morgan, Alana Bright, Rhyon Nicole Brown, Debbi Morgan, Kyle Bary, Lance Gross, Nadine Ellis and L. Scott Caldwell.

Our Kind of People was the first Fox drama series ordered for the 2021-22 season and the first series to come out of the network’s script-to-series model introduced last summer.

Tasha Smith will direct the series premiere.

Mariah Carey Writes & Performs Theme Song for ABC’s “black-ish” Spinoff “mixed-ish”

Posted on by
Reply

Mariah Carey is Mix’ingthings up…

The 49-year-old half-Venezuelan American five-time Grammy-winning singer has been tapped to write and perform the theme song for ABC’s new black-ish spinoff mixed-ish. 

Mariah Carey

Titled “In the Mix”, the track is written by Carey and produced by Carey and Daniel Moore. Sung by Carey, the new theme song will be heard when the series premieres on Tuesday, September 24 at 9:00 pm ET on ABC. 

“As a fan of Kenya Barris’ megahit shows, black-ish and grown-ish, I was inspired to connect with Kenya to find a way we could work together,” said Carey. “As a biracial woman in the entertainment industry, there was no way I did not want to be a part of mixed-ish, especially after seeing the pilot, which I loved. I could not be more honored and proud to be writing and performing ‘In the Mix’ for Kenya and the show.”

ABC’s mixed-ish will follow Rainbow Johnson as she recounts her experience growing up in a mixed-race family in the ‘80s and the dilemmas they face to acclimate in the suburbs while staying true to themselves. Bow’s parents, Paul and Alicia, decide to move from a hippie commune to the suburbs to better provide for their family. As her parents struggle with the challenges of their new life, Bow and her siblings navigate a mainstream school in which they’re perceived as neither black nor white. This family’s experiences illuminate the challenges of finding one’s own identity when the rest of the world can’t decide where you belong.

The series stars Mark-Paul Gosselaar as Paul Johnson, Tika Sumpter as Alicia Johnson, Christina Anthony as Denise, Arica Himmel as Bow Johnson, Ethan William Childress as Johan Johnson, Mykal-Michelle Harris as Santamonica Johnson and Gary Cole as Harrison.

Karin Gist, Peter Saji and Barris are writers and executive producers, along with Tracee Ellis Ross, Randall Winston, Artists First (Brian Dobbins), Cinema Gypsy (Laurence Fishburne and Helen Sugland) and Anthony Anderson. 

Anton Cropperdirected the pilot. The series is produced by ABC Studios, a part of Disney Television Studios, a collection of studios comprised of 20th Century Fox Television, ABC Studios and Fox 21 Television Studios.