TV ONE HOSTS BI-COASTAL PREMIERE SCREENINGS OFORIGINAL MOVIE, MEDIA,
EXECUTIVE PRODUCED BY RADIO ONE FOUNDER AND CHAIRPERSON CATHY HUGHES
Based loosely on the life of media mogul Cathy Hughes and her family, "Media" premieres on February 25. Viewers will not be left hanging on the cliff as the film was turned into a series.
SILVER SPRING, MD. - Feb. 24, 2017 - TV One's new original film, MEDIA was debuted in a series of exclusive screenings in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., for journalists, industry-insiders, fans and influencers at the Pacific Design Center Silver Screen Theater in LA, the Baldwin Hills Cinemark Theater during the Pan African Film Festival and the AFI Silver Theater in Silver Spring, MD.
The red carpet events and Q&As featured Radio One Founder and Chairperson Cathy Hughes, who executive produced the film, along with cast members Brian White, Pooch Hall, Penny Johnson Jerald, Stephen Bishop, Denise Boutte, Blue Kimble, Chrystee Pharris, Jillian Reeves, Stelio Savante and Jeff Sprauve, as well as members of the creative team. Q&A sessions following each screening were moderated by Kevin Frazier and Nischelle Turner of Entertainment Tonight in Los Angeles, as well as Radio One
host Donnie Simpson in D.C.
The dramatic film premieres Saturday, Feb. 25 at 8 p.m. ET on TV One.
"MEDIA is a positively motivating story about families and the problems that they go through, but also the love that bonds them together," said Hughes. "This has been one of the greatest blessings of my career and I am hopeful that our audience will find it as exciting to watch as I found it exciting to make."
Passion, intrigue and murder become a lethal recipe for powerful matriarch Jackie Jones and her children in this captivating drama. Portrayed by Jerald (Castle, 24), Jackie is the founder of Jones Universal Media Properties, known as JUMP, the world's premier urban media conglomerate. A family tragedy forces her son, prominent lead city attorney and prosecutor Michael Jones, played by White(Scandal, Chicago Fire, Stomp the Yard), to abandon his political aspirations and take over the company just as a ruthless rival challenges JUMP's longtime domination of this lucrative industry.
When Michael Jones (White) steps up to run the company, he is confronted by the sins of the past, and the dangers of the present when Gary Dourdan (CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Jumping the Broom, Love Under New Management: The Miki Howard Story) as Jabbar Randolph, CEO of JUMP's biggest competitor, is released from prison. Grabbing back the reigns from his brother, Will, played by Stephen Bishop (Being Mary Jane, Moneyball, Battleship), he embarks on a mission of revenge, betrayal and corporate intrigue.
The Jones family, rounded out by the eldest son, Clay Jones portrayed by Pooch Hall (The Game, Ray Donovan) as the mercurial head of the family business;Chrystee Pharris (Passions, Scrubs) as the only daughter, Crystal Jones, JUMP's CFO, and hard-partying youngest brother Anthony Jones portrayed by Blue Kimble (Devious Maids, Fast Five) are caught in a deadly game of espionage, deception and survival.
TV One's MEDIA also features Finesse Mitchell (Roadies, SNL, Brothers in Atlanta) as DJ Drive, JUMP's most valuable asset; Denise Boutte (Meet the Browns, For the Love of Ruth) as Danielle Jones, Michael's elegant, neglected wife; Jimmy Gonzales (Taken 3, Sin City: A Dame to Kill For) as Silvan Testa, a corrupt TV producer willing to resort to any means necessary to succeed; Stelio Savante (The Making of the Mob: New York, Ugly Betty) as Harold Boston, an underworld powerbroker sent to prison; Jillian Reeves de Ortiz (Let's Talk, The 12th Night) as Gisele Marks, a resourceful and aggressive businesswoman whose personal life is undermining her professional accomplishments; Jasmine Kaur as Sofia Perez, JUMP'S General Counsel and longtime family friend, and Diane Kirby (Returned) as Steph, DJ Drive's quick-witted on-air sidekick.
MEDIA is executive produced by Radio One Founder and Chairperson Cathy Hughes and her production partner Susan Banks (Fright Night Files, Fear Files, Second Sight), Kevin Arkadie (New York Undercover, Soul Food, The Shield), who also served as writer, Sheila Ducksworth (With This Ring, Why We Laugh: Funny Women) and was produced for TV One by Ducksworth Productions. Tracy "Twinkie" Byrd, CSA, served as casting director. MEDIA is directed by Craig Ross, Jr. (Rise Again, NCIS, Bones, Motives).
