We are very happy to finally share our next Producer to Producer interview with the creator and executive producer of Marvel's Luke Cage, Cheo Hodari Coker. The interview was conducted at the Producers Guild Produced By Conference in New York City on October 29th.
Whether you're a fan of Luke Cage or think that Misty Knight is a bad weather pattern - this is a MUST LISTEN. Cheo has been in the game for years and has worked on a variety of popular and critically acclaimed shows including - Southland, Almost Human and Ray Donovan.
He has imbued Luke Cage with a creativity and thoughtfulness that has resulted in a 'superhero' show that sits firmly within our current golden age of television. Tune into the show for the bullet proof Black man who can punch through walls but you'll also get an education on African American crime writers; a celebration of 90's Hip Hop; some of the most layered female characters on television; Mahershala Ali's star turn; a new definition of 'getting coffee'; an Alfre Woodard master class in how to play a conflicted (but not really conflicted) villain; a love letter to Harlem; Mike Colter owning the title role; and one of the most gorgeously shot shows you'll see all year.
Coker's eloquent and insightful conversation touches on:
Plus, there's nothing better than getting a pop culture suggestion from one of our great pop culture creators. Make sure you listen to the end of the episode to hear Cheo Hodari Coker Big Sell us three things he's loving.
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File this episode under "Life Goes On". Yes brothers and sisters, we're still coming to terms with last week's election, so we begin this week's show with a discussion of the pop culture we consumed over the past week as a means of escape, comfort and inspiration. We watched everything from Westworld to Moana; listened to Nina Simone and attended the Maxwell and Mary J. Blige show at MSG in an effort to soothe our hearts and minds.
Then, we discuss the album that was a tiny light amidst the gloom - A Tribe Called Quest's new release, We got it from Here... Thank You 4 Your service. We review the album, talk about Tribe's place in the Hip Hop canon, rate favorite tracks and celebrate their triumphant performance on Saturday Night Live. We also talk about highlights from what we think will go down as one of the most important episodes in SNL history thanks to Kate McKinnon's incredible cold open performance and Dave Chappelle's brilliant turn as host.
We also preview the highly anticipated Hamilton Mixtape, a collection of re-recordings of the songs from Lin-Manuel Miranda's hit musical, Hamilton. Sean is a Hamilton obsessive (remember the House of Hyperbole?) and Amita has yet to see the musical or listen to the cast album. Listen to hear their reviews from two very different perspectives.
We're also excited to bring you the first in our Producer to Producer series in which we interview a producer about their latest work. We launch the series with Joel Bach, co-creator of the Emmy Award-winning series, Years of Living Dangerously. The show explores the effects of climate change in the world through the eyes of high-profile celebrities. We find out how producers sent Arnold Schwarzenegger to the Middle East, Gisele Bundchen to the Amazon and also learn what YOU can do to join the battle to save our planet.
And we cap the show off with The Big Sell. Find out what Amita thinks of Sean's Valerie June Big Sell. And discover the new music video Amita has to share with Sean.
So...That happened.
But here at Inside Pop we're going to take Luke Cage's mentor, Pop's advice, and move "FORWARD!" And believe it or not, we do have something to celebrate. Inside Pop turns 1 year old this week and we honor this momentous event in the best way we know how - with a super sized episode filled with the week's top film, television & music.
First, we review new albums by Alicia Keys (Here) and Common (Black America Again) and discuss how these works are two more examples of how 2016 is turning into one of the greatest years for music with a message.
Next, Marvel proves themselves to be unstoppable with the release of Doctor Strange, another record breaking film in the MCU canon. But are the special effects and the great cast enough for us to recommend the film to you?
Then, we honor one year of Inside Pop by looking back at our very first episode and looking forward to our plans to take our podcast to the next level!
Plus - Sean tells you why The Exorcist is new Fall Television show you should definitely NOT be sleeping on!
And of course we conclude with the informative, inspiring, 'reach one teach one' segment - The Big Sell.
So - take a break from the reality of the election results and escape with us for an hour.
Links:
Download a free MP3 of "Seriously" here.
Watch the trailer for The Exorcist here.
We are witnessing history with this latest episode of Inside Pop! This is the last episode we'll release before our country elects a new president. In honor of this historic moment, we each countdown our top 3 favorite FICTIONAL pop culture presidents; from President Whitmore of Independence Day to President Palmer of 24 to President Shepherd of The American President and many more.
We also share our experience attending the Producers Guild of America's Produced By NY conference. The event was a who's who of producers in film, television and digital programming. We'll give you the inside scoop of on everything from what Chris Rock thinks of Donald Glover's Atlanta to our exclusive interview with the creator and showrunner of Marvel's Luke Cage, Cheo Hodari Coker.
We also take a moment to wrap up the biggest project Inside Pop has ever tackled - The Big Sell 30 Day Challenge! We discuss the highlights, shout out all of our collaborators and let you know where to go to find all of the Big Sells in one place.
And we return to our regular Big Sell format allowing Amita to sell Sean on a song he's never heard of, written by one of her favorite singer/songwriters and sung by one of his favorite vocalists.
All of that plus Sean performs one of the worst Morgan Freeman impressions ever recorded!
Pop Culture Presidential MOMENTS
Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me
Additional Links
Nathaniel Zablan of The Tone Podcast Writes About Ben Folds
Leslie Odom, Jr. Sings President Obama's imagined thoughts written by Sara Bareilles