EXCLUSIVE: NAACP will launch the new original podcast Image Unscripted on February 10. The audio and visual series will be hosted by award-winning journalist Jemele Hill, who will amplify the journey of Black creatives and dive into why representation truly matters in boardrooms, on screens, and across digital spaces.
Guests participating in the candid conversations with Hill include SNL alum Ego Nwodim, comedian KevOnStage, actor/musician Miles Caton, actor Tyriq Withers, actress Jaz Sinclair, actor/rapper Khleo Thomas, actor/comedian Kalen Allen, TV personality Scott Evans, marketing exec Bozoma Saint John, founder/CEO of Black Girl Gamers Jay-Ann Lopez, TV personality/entrepreneur Tai Beauchamp, model Shantel Jackson, reality TV stars Chelley Bissainthe and Taylor Hale, and NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson.
New episodes will drop weekly on Tuesdays, via anywhere you listen to podcasts. A video version will be available in tandem via the NAACP Plus YouTube channel. Season 1 will be released leading up to the 57th NAACP Image Awards, airing live on BET and CBS on February 28. Each episode will be different in format, with some set-up for 1:1 conversations, like Hill's interview with Nwodim, while others will be grouped.
"The NAACP Image Awards and Image Unscripted reflect our commitment to creating platforms that honor the people using their talents to shape culture, community, and leadership," Derrick Johnson, NAACP President and CEO, shared.
Adding, "This podcast builds on the legacy of the NAACP Image Awards by creating space for dynamic, unfiltered conversations with the voices defining their generation. By centering creativity, storytelling, and cultural influence, Image Unscripted amplifies the power of Black excellence and ensures these stories are seen, heard, and celebrated."
Of her new gig, Hill expressed her joy and excitement during an interview last week with Deadline.
"The NAACP is an organization whose track record speaks for itself. So their branching off into entertainment is really smart, especially in the Image Awards period, because so many perceptions are formed through entertainment. This has often been the place where Black creativity and content are celebrated in a way that they are not in the mainstream."
Further, she views the podcast as "an opportunity for us to be a community with the people that are creating and amplifying entertainment across a bunch of different nuanced fields." As far as what people should expect from Imagine Unscripted, she teased, "some sticky and fun discussions" are ahead with "fun enlightenment, [where] maybe [listeners] can take away a couple nuggets."
"This is a place where Black people who don't want to be put in a box are celebrated. I think people need to understand that the Black community is not a monolithic community, that it is complicated and nuanced and beautiful. The NAACP is celebrating all these things," Hill said.
Adding, "What I think people on the outside have been trained to believe is that the validation of creativity and genius only comes from certain spaces. The NAACP is loudly sending the message that maybe the most important space of celebration for people who sometimes aren't celebrated is where there's a real cultural connection with the community that they represent."
Hill revealed that nearly all episodes have already been recorded, and she's already thinking about a potential second season. When asked if she had a dream guest in mind, without hesitating, she said former First Lady Michelle Obama.
"It's so easy for people to want to revisit the White House. But I would love to talk to her about pop culture, like she's into the Real Housewives, and so am I," Hill said.
Expanding further on what she'd discuss, "I would have a conversation with her about pop culture, and also about marriage. I would love to get some really smart, practical marriage advice. I just recently saw that she said that if there was a scenario in which [Barack] Obama could run for a third term, she would discourage him. That's interesting to me. And even though it's sort of beating a dead horse, people have said she'd never run for president, and I believe her. I don't think she has any interest in politics, but I am curious as to how much her experience being a First Lady has sort of ruined how she felt about our political culture."
Hill is repped by WME.
Image Unscripted is an NAACP+ production, produced by Robin Harrison, Danielle Jones-Wesley, and Cristian Colbert, who also serves as creative director. Fallon Jethroe executive produces the project.
