NAACP+ Inside The Industry

What does it take to run a show in real time, in front of 3,000 people, with no second takes? In this episode of NAACP+ Inside the Industry, host Ariana Drummond sits down with Jeff Atlas, Emmy-nominated producer and founder of Backhand Productions. Jeff has produced Olympic ceremonies, NBA All-Star events, inaugurations, music festivals, and award shows including the NAACP Image Awards Creative Honors and After Party. He breaks down how live production actually works, from the first budget call to the moment the curtain goes up. Jeff gets into: → The secret phone call that put him behind Stevie Wonder's surprise performance at the Met Gala → The night a gospel tribute to Pastor Jamal Bryant turned the Image Awards Creative Honors into a full church moment → Starting as a runner at Dick Clark Productions with zero connections and a paper Thomas Guide → Watching Janet Jackson, Mariah Carey, and Kirk Franklin rehearse at the AMAs and getting hooked for life → How he picks projects, and the kinds of shows he'll never do → His Emmy nomination for three hours of live television on PBS → What really happens backstage when talent doesn't show up → Why staying calm in the eye of the storm is his superpower → What a producer actually does (think COO of the show) → Budgets, cost reports, and why money doesn't guarantee a good show → How to break in today, and why a handwritten thank-you note still works → The hardest lesson of owning a company: you never stop hustling → AI, short-form clips and the live events boom → Faith, integrity, and playing the long game This episode is for anyone who's ever watched an awards show and wondered who's making it all happen. ️ Host: Ariana Drummond, NAACP Director of Talent & Media Relations Guest: Jeff Atlas, Emmy-nominated Producer & Founder, Backhand Productions New episodes every Wednesday. Subscribe so you never miss one. Watch more Inside the Industry: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLaaTUaaxeh-IBd36D0P3FzFcu17Ij2S4T  Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3iny4YTd9NfUBB51aWOpYr?si=8657ebed5b5049ed&nd=1&dlsi=316fca0df52b4a1e Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/naacp-inside-the-industry/id1894940807  Learn more about NAACP+:  https://linktr.ee/NAACPPlus #InsideTheIndustry #NAACPPlus #JeffAtlas #LiveProduction #EventProducer #ImageAwards #BackstagePass #ArianaDrummond #BlackCreatives #TVProduction #MetGala #ProducerLife Chapters (00:00:00) - Why Money Doesn't Guarantee a Good Show(00:00:31) - Welcome & Introduction(00:01:40) - The Secret Stevie Wonder Met Gala Call(00:03:01) - The Creative Honors Church Moment(00:06:36) - What's Next: The National Urban League Conference(00:08:11) - Mentors, Dick Clark & Getting Hooked at the AMAs(00:11:53) - How He Picks Projects (and What He'll Never Do)(00:14:29) - The Emmy Nomination: 3 Hours Live on PBS(00:15:27) - When Talent Doesn't Show Up & Staying Calm Under Pressure(00:19:23) - The Rush of a Live Show and When Things Go Wrong(00:22:31) - What a Live Producer Actually Does(00:27:59) - Live Production vs. TV and Film(00:31:00) - Client Vision, Budgets & Cost Reports(00:34:35) - Breaking In With Zero Connections & the Handwritten Note(00:40:09) - The Hardest Lesson: You Never Stop Hustling(00:45:21) - AI, Short Form & the Live Events Boom(00:52:09) - Legacy, Integrity & Faith(00:54:45) - Inside Your Industry Bag (Game)

Every year, millions of people watch the NAACP Image Awards and celebrate Black excellence in entertainment. But have you ever wondered how it all actually comes together? In this episode of NAACP+ Inside the Industry, host Ariana Drummond sits down with Robin Harrison — Vice President of the NAACP Hollywood Bureau and the woman who has been producing the NAACP Image Awards for over 22 years — for an inside look at the Image Awards like never before. Robin breaks down: → How submissions actually work and what every filmmaker, creator, and label needs to know before the deadline → What the nominating committee is, who's on it, and how nominees are actually selected → Why there is absolutely no grace period on the submission deadline — and what happens in the two weeks after it closes → The full Image Awards Week calendar — from the nominees luncheon to the fashion show to the after-party — and why it's so much more than just one night → How the Hollywood Bureau operates with a team of 6 to produce one of the biggest nights in Black entertainment → Why the Image Awards was created in the early 60s and why it is more necessary now than ever → What makes the Image Awards different from every other award show — including the Oscars, the Emmys, and the Grammys → The resources the Hollywood Bureau offers to filmmakers and creators of color right now → The Viola Davis moment that Robin says she will never forget and why it captures exactly why she does this work → What she hopes the Image Awards looks like in another 60 years This episode is for every creator, filmmaker, and industry professional who has ever wanted to know what's really going on behind the curtain. ️ Host: Ariana Drummond, NAACP Director of Talent & Media Relations Guest: Robin Harrison — Vice President, NAACP Hollywood Bureau; 22-Year Producer, NAACP Image Awards New episodes every other Wednesday. Subscribe so you never miss one. Watch more Inside the Industry: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLaaTUaaxeh-IBd36D0P3FzFcu17Ij2S4T Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3iny4YTd9NfUBB51aWOpYr?si=8657ebed5b5049ed&nd=1&dlsi=316fca0df52b4a1e Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/naacp-inside-the-industry/id1894940807 Learn more about NAACP+: https://linktr.ee/NAACPPlus #InsideTheIndustry #NAACPPlus #RobinHarrison #NaacpImageAwards #ImageAwards #BlackExcellence #HollywoodBureau #ArianaDrummond #BlackCreatives #ImageAwards58 #BlackEntertainment #NaacpHollywood #AwardsSubmissions #BlackAwards #representationmatters Chapters (00:00:00) - Opening: Why the Image Awards Still Matters(00:00:24) - Welcome & Introduction(00:01:17) - Being a Producer Who's Now in Front of the Camera(00:01:41) - 22 Years at the Image Awards and What Has Changed the Most(00:03:29) - What Robin Harrison Actually Does: The Hollywood Bureau Explained(00:04:29) - How She Got Here: From D.C. Event Producer to NAACP Full Time(00:06:34) - Why the Image Awards Exists and What Makes It Different From Every Other Show(00:09:15) - Submissions: How It Works, Deadlines, and How to Make Your Project Stand Out(00:12:15) - From Nominations to Show Night: The Full Timeline Explained(00:13:55) - Image Awards Week: Every Event From Start to Finish(00:16:02) - What Is Actually Running Through Her Mind on Show Night(00:18:29) - Why the Image Awards Feels Like a Family Reunion(00:19:27) - The Resources the Hollywood Bureau Offers Creators Right Now(00:21:20) - Legacy, Growth & What 22 Years of This Work Has Built(00:23:06) - Advice for Creators Who Don't Think Their Project Can Compete(00:25:58) - The Moment She Will Never Forget and Why She Does This Work(00:28:04) - Inside Your Industry Bag (Game)

He wasn't trying to become famous. Juju Green was working in advertising, talking about movies to anyone who would listen. And one night, his TikTok about Tom Holland breaking character in Avengers: Endgame went viral. That was just the beginning. In this episode of NAACP+ Inside the Industry, host Ariana Drummond sits down with film critic, creator, podcaster, and voice actor Juju Green — better known as Straw Hat Goofy — for one of the most fun, honest, and genuinely insightful conversations in the series about what it actually takes to build a career out of pure passion in the digital age. Juju gets into: → his love for film starting in his childhood — and how that became the foundation of everything he’s built → How he decides which films are worth his time to watch and review → Conversations with Ryan Coogler and Steven Spielberg— and why their cosign is the credential he's most proud of → Landing a debut voice acting role in Ruby Gilman: Teenage Kraken → Why knowing what you're NOT is just as important as knowing what you ARE → Signing with CAA and the advice he gives every independent creator about building a team → The debate over creators vs. journalists on red carpets → How TikTok, iHeartMedia, and what he’s building is all part of a bigger plan → What keeps him going when the algorithm is not cooperating, and the numbers aren't there This episode is for every creator who's been told that what you've been building isn't enough to be a real career. ️ Host: Ariana Drummond, NAACP Director of Talent & Media Relations Guest: Juju Green (Straw Hat Goofy) — Film Critic, Content Creator, Podcaster, Voice Actor; iHeartMedia, CAA New episodes every Wednesday. Subscribe so you never miss one. Watch more Inside the Industry: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLaaTUaaxeh-IBd36D0P3FzFcu17Ij2S4T Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3iny4YTd9NfUBB51aWOpYr?si=8657ebed5b5049ed&nd=1&dlsi=316fca0df52b4a1e Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/naacp-inside-the-industry/id1894940807 Learn more about NAACP+: https://linktr.ee/NAACPPlus #InsideTheIndustry #NAACPPlus #JujuGreen #StrawHatGoofy #FilmCritic #contentcreatortips #BlackCreators #TikTokFilm #ArianaDrummond #BlackCreatives #GetReelPodcast #iHeartMedia #CAA #BlackExcellence #MovieCritic Chapters (00:00:00) - Opening: Chase Integrity, Not the Algorithm(00:00:30) - Welcome & Introduction(00:01:57) - The Origin of Straw Hat Goofy and Where the Name Actually Came From(00:03:24) - Half a Million Followers, Red Carpets & Ryan Coogler — Did He Ever See This Coming?(00:05:10) - From Advertising Copywriter to Viral TikToker: How It Actually Happened(00:07:31) - Building a Team, Signing With CAA & Advice for Independent Black Creators(00:15:32) - Algorithm vs. Passion: Why He Walked Away From Spider-Verse Virality(00:20:56) - The Real Work Behind Making Content and Managing the Comment Section(00:22:42) - Creators vs. Journalists on Red Carpets: Where He Actually Stands(00:27:00) - His First Film Role: Ruby Gilman, One Line, 45 Minutes in a Booth & Jane Fonda(00:32:28) - Future-Proofing Your Career When Platforms Can Disappear Overnight(00:34:13) - The Press Trip Story: What She Said, What He Said, and the Hyena(00:38:25) - The Economics of Influencer Pay and Why It's More Complicated Than You Think(00:41:38) - Get Reel Podcast, His Favorite Guest & What Hosting Taught Him About Himself(00:46:38) - What Keeps Him Going When Nothing Is Working(00:47:49) - Inside Your Industry Bag (Game)

For over 25 years, there was no Black daytime soap opera on television. Sheila Ducksworth decided that was going to change.  In this episode of NAACP+ Inside the Industry, host Ariana Drummond sits down with Sheila Ducksworth — president of the CBS Studios NAACP venture, executive producer of Beyond the Gates, and influential architect in Black television — for a conversation about what it actually took to bring the first Black-led daytime soap opera in over 25 years from a childhood dream to network television. Sheila gets into:  → How a conversation at her 5th college reunion changed the entire trajectory of her career — and led her to buy a one-way ticket to Los Angeles → What her father told her in the early 90s about work that she had never heard before and never forgot  → How she spent three and a half years getting Beyond the Gates greenlit before a single camera rolled  → The two-month sprint to build 27 sets from scratch — and how she snuck into country clubs in the DMV to get the look exactly right  → Why she called her key team members years before they had a green light and asked them to trust her  → What makes Beyond the Gates different from every other soap opera in the history of the genre  → The cotillion episode, the HBCU storyline, and why cultural specificity is central to the show's mission  → The Young and the Restless crossover that drew 1.8 million viewers — and what's coming next  → What an executive producer actually does — and why the successful ones know how to do everything  → What she wants television historians to write about Beyond the Gates 100 years from now → Her message to the Black girl watching right now who thinks her dream might be too big  This episode is for every creative who has been sitting on a dream for decades and wondering if it's finally time.  ️ Host: Ariana Drummond, NAACP Director of Talent & Media Relations  Guest: Sheila Ducksworth — Executive Producer, Beyond the Gates; President, CBS Studios NAACP Venture; Soul Food, Will Packer Media New episodes every other Wednesday. Subscribe so you never miss one. Watch more Inside the Industry: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLaaTUaaxeh-IBd36D0P3FzFcu17Ij2S4T  Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3iny4YTd9NfUBB51aWOpYr?si=8657ebed5b5049ed&nd=1&dlsi=316fca0df52b4a1e Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/naacp-inside-the-industry/id1894940807  Follow NAACP+: https://www.instagram.com/naacpplus/ https://linktr.ee/NAACPPlus Chapters (00:00:00) - Opening: Do Something You'd Do Even If You Weren't Getting Paid(00:00:35) - Welcome & Introduction(00:02:24) - What 10-Year-Old Sheila Would Think About the Life She Built(00:03:30) - From Yale and Banking to Hollywood: The Origin Story(00:06:24) - Working Every Side of the Industry and What Each Side Taught Her(00:08:37) - What Owning Her Own Production Company Taught Her About Leading With Intention(00:11:16) - What an Executive Producer Actually Does — The Full Breakdown(00:12:43) - The CBS Studios NAACP Venture and the Conversation That Started Everything(00:14:54) - Three and a Half Years to a Green Light: The Beyond the Gates Origin Story(00:18:02) - Building the Show: The Team She Called Before Anyone Had Permission(00:23:03) - The Country Club Set and the DMV Research Trip Nobody Knew About(00:26:48) - Why Cultural Specificity Is Central to the Mission of the Show(00:29:35) - The Cotillion Episode, the HBCU Storyline & Modernizing Black Tradition(00:33:46) - The Young and the Restless Crossover,1.8 Million Viewers & What's Coming Next(00:37:19) - What Having a Black Woman at the Helm Changes About What Makes It to Screen(00:39:27) - Advice for Anyone Who Wants to Become a TV Producer Right Now(00:43:17) - Legacy: What She Wants Historians to Write About Beyond the Gates in 100 Years(00:44:46) - Her Message to the Black Girl Watching Right Now(00:47:37) - Inside Your Industry Bag (Game)

Before she was one of the most powerful showrunners in Black television, Nkechi Okoro Caroll was stabilizing banking systems at the Federal Reserve by day, and writing plays in New York by night. In this episode of NAACP+ Inside the Industry, host Ariana Drummond sits down with Nkechi Okoro Carroll — the showrunner and creator behind All American, All American: Homecoming, and Found, and one of the few Black women in history to have three shows running simultaneously on one network — for one of the most candid conversations about what it actually takes to run a show, protect your creative vision, and build something that lasts. Nkechi gets into: → How she went from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York  to her first day in a TV writers' room without ever working as an assistant → Why she spent her vacation days doing background work on sets just to learn how a camera crew operates → What her mentor Gina Prince-Bythewood told her before her first day in a writers' room that changed everything → How Black Women Who Brunch went from 12 writers in her living room to 270 members and a Hollywood Reporter photo shoot → The origin story of Found — the anger that sparked it, the risk of putting a Black woman's kidnapper in her basement in the pilot, and why she never looked back → Why the All American franchise exists — and how her sons inspired every frame of it → What it felt like to be blindsided by Found's cancellation — and how she's still processing it → The collaborative pitch that became All American's most groundbreaking moment — and why it didn't come from her → How her background in economics and corporate America made her a better showrunner → What motherhood taught her about patience, leadership and grace under pressure → The project she created because she never got to attend an HBCU — and why she still wears the Brinkston swag everywhere she goes → What she's developing next — including a project with Onyx inspired by Governor Wes Moore's story This episode is for every creative who ever took the unconventional path and wondered if it would work out. ️ Host: Ariana Drummond, NAACP Director of Talent & Media Relations Guest: Nkechi Okoro Carroll — Showrunner & Creator, All American, All American: Homecoming, Found; Rock My Soul Productions New episodes every Wednesday. Subscribe so you never miss one. Watch more Inside the Industry: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLaaTUaaxeh-IBd36D0P3FzFcu17Ij2S4T  Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3iny4YTd9NfUBB51aWOpYr?si=8657ebed5b5049ed&nd=1&dlsi=316fca0df52b4a1e Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/naacp-inside-the-industry/id1894940807  Follow NAACP+: https://www.instagram.com/naacpplus/ Chapters (00:00:00) - Opening: Mentorship, Collaboration & Creating Your Own Path(00:00:32) - Welcome & Introduction(00:01:33) - From the Federal Reserve to Hollywood:The Origin Story(00:03:36) - How Corporate America Made Her a Better Showrunner(00:04:32) - Creating Her Own Masterclass: Background Work, Short Films & Breaking In Without the Traditional Path(00:06:58) - What Theater Taught Her About Writing, Rewriting & Living in the Moment(00:08:51) - First TV Credits and Walking Into a Writers Room for the First Time(00:10:45) - What Gina Prince-Bythewood Told Her Before Day One That Changed Everything(00:13:35) - Advice for Anyone Who Can't Find an Entry Point Right Now(00:16:12) - Black Women Who Brunch: 12 Writers, One Living Room, 270 Members(00:18:49) - On Mentorship, Representation & Why She Does It From the Heart(00:20:21) - What the Industry Still Needs to Do for Black Women Behind the Camera(00:23:03) - What Calls Her to a Project: Found All American & Writing From Anger(00:25:28) - The Found Pilot: The Risk, the Testing & the Response That Blew Her Hair Back(00:30:42) - Joining All American and Saying Yes Before She Was Ready(00:34:52) - Why She Created All American: Homecoming and Built Her Own HBCU(00:37:34) - Eight Seasons Later: Pride, Grief & Gratitude(00:39:35) - What She Is Most Proud of Behind the Scenes(00:41:45) - The Spencer Gets Shot Pitch and Why the Best Idea Didn't Come From Her(00:44:27) - The Found Cancellation and What Came After(00:46:18) - What's Coming Next: New Projects and Rock My Soul Productions(00:47:51) - What She Wishes Someone Had Told Her and Why She's Glad They Didn't(00:50:55) - Motherhood, Balance & the Village That Holds the Faith When You Can't(00:54:46) - Legacy: Of Course You Can(00:56:02) - Inside Your Industry Bag (Game)