"I'm Mary Jane Paul. Thank You For Listening."

05/30/19 • 57 min

In July 2013, BET took a major gamble in premiering their first ever hour long drama, 'Being Mary Jane'. Led by Gabrielle Union, the show follows news anchor, Mary Jane Paul, through her rising broadcasting career, complicated familial situations, and messy love life. It was refreshing at a time when there was only one other show led by a Black woman protagonist. (Olivia Carolyn Pope was just starting to storm through the White House.) The show lasted four seasons and was able to wrap up with a series finale despite Mara Brock Akil's departure, a change in pace and setting from Atlanta to New York, and behind the scenes drama between Union and BET over compensation disputes. Things got messy up until the very end (that finale...)and HTMR looks back on the series which resonated with us.

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The Black Elephant In The Room

The 91st Academy Awards may have happened months ago, but we're still talking about the high highs and the low lows of the ceremony. There were plenty of wonderful moments, Regina King, Ruth E. Carter, Hannah Beechler, all won statues solidifying themselves as forces to still be reckoned with. Then, there was the same old overwhelming whiteness of it all and...that Best Picture win. The ladies of HMTR chat about what it means for white savior films to still be winning big in 2019 and how their very existence underscores ongoing conversations about diversity (ugh) in Hollywood.