Small Screen: Precious Way Departs ‘Days Of Our Lives;’ ‘Grown-ish’ Releases Season Four Trailer; BET Unveils New Logo
Precious Way - Days of Our Lives/NBC
Broadcast: Days of Our Lives star Precious Way is officially done with the show. Known for her role as Chanel Dupree on the series, she took to Twitter to say her farewell. The post includes a photo with several of her other co-stars such as James Reynolds, Jackee Harry, Lamon Archey and Sal Stowers. Her post went as follows: "I was going to wait to post this but I'm emotional today... I'm really going to miss you all & this entire experience. Chanel was my very first TV role. I was scared, excited, nervous & unbelievably grateful all at the same time. I gained so much respect for everyone I had the absolute pleasure of working with on this show. Thank you all for being so welcoming & teaching me so much! It was such a pleasure."
Cable: Comedy Central’s hit Nora From Queens, starring Awkwafina, is returning for its sophomore effort on August 18th with a two-episode event. The second season will see B.D Wong, who plays Nora’s father on the show, in his directorial debut. Other directors include Andrew McCarthy, Bill Benz, Laura Murphy, Jordan Kim, and Steven Tsuchida. Created and written by Awkwafina, known for her role in Crazy Rich Asians, the 10-part 30min comedy was renewed back in January of 2020 before it even premiered. The series is inspired by her life growing up in Queens, NY. Raised by her father and Grandmother (Lori Tan Chinn) alongside her cousin (Bowen Yang), Nora Lin leans on her family as she navigates life and young adulthood in outer-borough NYC.
Freeform’s Black-ish spin-off series Grown-ish has released a trailer for its fourth season. The series was created by Kenya Barris and Larry Wilmore and stars Yara Shahidi. The trailer shows Shahidi’s character Zoey announcing she is ready for a fresh new start, a ‘clean slate’ coming to the conclusion that her slate is ‘already dirty.’ The series aims to view the world of higher education through a contemporary lens diving deeper into the problems both students and educators experience. Some of the moments teased in the trailer were a Mexican vacation, a possible wedding, Zoey doing something that could shatter the relationship with her father and a protest against systemic racism/police brutality happening on Zoey’s college campus. The single-camera comedy’s fourth season debuts on Freeform on July 8 and is produced by ABC Signature Studios, a part of Disney Television Studios. Its executive producers include Kenya Barris, Julie Bean, Jenifer Rice-Genzuk Henry, Craig Doyle, Anthony Anderson, Laurence Fishburne, Helen Sugland, and E. Brian Dobbins.
Veronica Falcón - USA Network
Streaming: Veronica Falcón, known for her role as Queen of the South, has been cast as the key role of Camila in the upcoming fourth season of Netflix’s Ozark. Camila is the sister of drug cartel leader Omar Navarro (Felix Solis) whose son “Javi Elizonndro” (Alfonso Herrera) is scheming to take over his uncle’s cartel. “Camila quietly works behind the scenes to become a formidable player in her family’s drug empire.” Falcón will recur as a guest star in the final season which is made up of 14 episodes and will be released in two parts. The premiere date has yet to be released however it is assumed the season will be rolling out around 2022.
Amazon’s one-hour romantic comedy series With Love, has cast Andre Royo in the recurring role as Santiago’s (Rome Flynn) father, Laz Zayas. He is a proud Afro-Cuban man. He runs a furniture building company with his son and is a master woodworker. He is hardworking, devoted to his family, but has been hiding a secret. With Love was created/written by Gloria Caldéron Kellett and is produced by her GloNation Studios and Amazon Studios. The show centers on siblings Lily and Jorge, played by Emeraude Toubia and Mark Indelicato, whose goal it is to find love and purpose.
Gissette Valentin has landed a recurring role on the Amazon The Walking Dead spinoff series The Walking Dead: World Beyond. She will play Corporal Diane Pierce, a smart, driven soldier who commands the respect of someone in a much higher position of authority. The spinoff series ‘delves into new TWD mythology to follow the first generation raised in a surviving civilization of the post-apocalyptic world. Two sisters along with two friends leave a place of safety and comfort to brave dangers on an important quest. Pursued by those who wish to protect them and those who wish to harm them, a tale of growing up and transformation unfurls across dangerous terrain, challenging everything they know about the world, themselves and each other.’
BET
Industry: As part of their rebranding BET has revealed a new logo for its platforms. EVP Chief Brand Officer at BET, Kim Paige released a statement discussing the logo: “The Black consumer has recently become one of the most coveted audience segments; we are thrilled for brands to begin to see what BET has known all throughout our 40-year history. It was time to leverage the brand equity we have built throughout the years to re-envision how we show up as the only brand that represents the fullness of the Black experience. For us, this is no standard brand evolution, it is a brand revolution, in solidarity with the cultural shifts driven by the Black community.” Paige went on further saying the inspiration for the new visual indicator was “Black Canvas” explaining how it makes BET the destination for all types of Black creative expression. The square logo is a metaphor while the motion logo morphs and grows to represent all forms of Black creative expression.
