The Sunday Stream

Last year I produced an entire ceremony celebrating Black entertainment, including the best in television, books, music and film. I called it The BIG WILLIES, and we had voiceover artists, real categories, and a sponsor! Being locked down for the majority of the year gave me the space and time to put together an epic production, and for that time and space I’m thankful. 2021 has been one of those years that might go into the history books as being one of the most unexplainable. The world opened back up due to vaccines, which meant Broadway and movie theaters and television sets were back in business, and with it came a false sense of security that everything was back to normal. It was not.

There were personal highs (turning 50!) and lows (losing my best friend) for me, even as the creativity and brilliance of art and artistry continued to reach new levels. So while there will be no post-production butterflies for me, like is often said in Hollywood, the show must go on. To say it will be downscaled is an understatement (read: no voting, no high level production, no voiceovers OR sponsors), I still want to shout out some of the peak Blackness in television, film, podcasts, music and books for the year. Below are just a few of my favorite things from the year that can’t end soon enough. Also, if I’m being honest I really wish I could’ve kept the voiceovers.