TV ONE Renews Docu-Series ‘RICKEY SMILEY FOR REAL’
Following its first season as the #2 Program on Cable in its time slot among Black P25-54 and reaching 8.2 million Unique P2+ Viewers, TV One renews ‘Rickey Smiley For Real’ for its second season. Featuring nationally syndicated radio personality, host and stand-up comedian Rickey Smiley, the hour-long series takes a humorous look at his life as he manages his career, single fatherhood and personal life. The second season, which finds Smiley concentrating more on the three F’s – Fun, Family, and Focus is slated to premiere Tuesday, May 10 at 8 p.m. A voyeuristic view into what makes Smiley a successful media mogul in radio, comedy and television, TV One’s ‘Rickey Smiley For Real,’ captures the syndicated host as he juggles two families, one at home and the other at work. He commits to enjoying the fruits of his labor. After many years struggling to balance the responsibilities of his large and unique family, along with growing and challenging himself in his career, he is determined to be more attuned to his own needs. Viewers will follow as Smiley steps back from his Dish Nation show, takes a trip to the Bahamas, tours with Mike Epps, collaborates with R&B icon Kelly Price and celebrates his 15th college fraternity anniversary. “Rickey’s unmatched sense of humor, business savvy and passion for his family resonated well with our audience,” said TV One President Brad Siegel. “We are thrilled to team up with Rickey and both his real family and radio show family for another season of real life turmoil and love.” “Season two of Rickey Smiley For Real is already showing signs of being even bigger and better than our stupendous season one,” said Smiley. “I am hugely thankful to the viewers for their support and excited about TV One’s dedication to bringing a quality second season to our viewers. Thank you all for allowing my family inside your homes every Tuesday night!”
Tatyana Ali Headlines TV One’s Original Thriller ‘SECOND SIGHT’
Former child star Tatyana Ali continues to grown as an actress, starring in TV Ones’ original thriller ‘Second Sight.’ Premiering Saturday, April 23 at 8 p.m., Ali plays Clara Randall, a young teacher plagued with visions. Her gift of “prophesy” leaves her haunted by premonitions of horrific kidnappings. Despite people’s unwillingness to believe her “second sight,” Clara takes it upon herself to search for one of her students who has gone missing. Living in a constant nightmare, Clara has trouble understanding her abilities as well as convincing others, specifically her boyfriend Tony Prescott played by Texas Battle (The Bold and The Beautiful) that the visions are not just a figment of her imagination. After “seeing” the abduction of a student from her school, she realizes she must take matters into her own hands by following the clues from her visions. Along her mission to save this innocent life, Clara discovers disturbing secrets and lies surrounding those she trusted most. Denise Boutte (Meet The Browns, For The Love Of Ruth) plays Tamara Johnson, Clara’s best friend. Rounding out the cast of stellar actors is Edwina Findley (Get Hard) as Donna Gray and Sharif Atkins (White Collar, Rizzoli & Isles) as Richard Gray, the parents of the kidnapped student Mary Ann, played by Jessica Pressley (For The Love of Ruth). “First with horror, and now suspense, Ms. Hughes (Radio One Founder) and Susan Banks (Executive Vice President of Special Projects) have once again ushered TV One into an entirely new genre for the network,” stated D’Angela Proctor, TV One’s Head of Original Programming and Production. “Driving the network into fresh and unexplored territory is exactly what our new brand promise represents – taking chances and defying expectations.” Encores of ‘Second Sight’ will also air on TV One on Saturday, April 23 at 10 p.m. and Sunday, April 24 at 8:30 p.m. For more information about TV One’s upcoming programming, including original movies, visit the network’s companion website at www.tvone.tv.
Comedic duo Key and Peele take their comedy to the big screen for film ‘KEANU’
Comedians Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele star in their first feature film, ‘Keanu,’ opening in theatres April 29. After five seasons, the sketch comedy Key & Peele came to an end, however that has not stopped the duo from bringing their comedic chemistry to the big screen. The film follows a recently dumped Rell (Peele) whose kitten, Keanu, goes missing. Rell teams up with his friend Clarence (Key) to hatch a plan to retrieve the stolen kitten by posing as drug dealers for a street gang. Directed by Peter Atencio and written by Jordan Peele and Alex Rubens, the film stars Method Man, Nia Long and Will Forte.
Tony Winner Anika Noni Rose lands new role in BET’s new pilot ‘THE YARD’
Anika Noni Rose has been cast as the lead actress for BET’s latest project ‘The Yard,’ a 2-hour scripted pilot. According to deadline.com, she stars with Peyton Alex Smith, as Eva, the newly elected President of the fictional college Georgia A&M. Upon her arrival, Eva finds a bold, brazen and diverse freshman class that promises to keep her hands full. The cast includes Ruben Santiago-Hudson (Billions, American Gangster), Sean Blakemore (General Hospital, Motives) and Jasmine Guy (The Vampire Diaries). Executive producers Felicia Henderson (Single Ladies, Soul Food) and Rob Hardy (The Vampire Diaries, Empire), who also directs, team up to bring their proven magic touch to a new setting. Rose plays Kizzy on the History Channel’s Roots remake, an adaptation of Alex Haley’s “Roots”, chronicling the history of an African slave sold to America and his descendants.
