
Crying Real Tears: An 'Insecure' Documentary Is Coming Soon

It’s really happening! After five seasons, Insecure is coming to an end. And to make the ending of the culture-shifting series more emotional, Issa Rae and her team are giving us a documentary. Appropriately titled Insecure: The End, the documentary will give viewers an inside look into the making of the popular HBO series and interviews with cast members such as Issa Rae, who plays Issa Dee, Jay Ellis who plays Lawrence, and Natasha Rothwell who plays Kelli (and also doubles as a writer and supervising producer on the series).
Issa first announced the documentary on her social media pages. “The End, okay?! Produced by the incredible @msdeniese & directed by the phenomenal @jrbland— the documentary special Insecure: The End, streams Sunday, December 26th on @HBOMax.”
The End, okay?! Celebrate the journey of #InsecureHBO with our documentary special, streaming December 26th on HBOMax. Produced by @MsDeniese & Directed by @jrbland! pic.twitter.com/Lokakoxhq6
— Issa Rae (@IssaRae) December 13, 2021
Many fans of the show responded emotionally to the tweet.
I’m not ready pic.twitter.com/tDn0TiTNKQ
— JamCan Liz 🇯🇲🇨🇦 (@_nadelizabeth) December 13, 2021
Damn, this really the end huh? 🥲 pic.twitter.com/0N0mJBVSHB
— Soph 💋 (@marinadmami) December 13, 2021
Damn, this really the end huh? 🥲 pic.twitter.com/0N0mJBVSHB
— Soph 💋 (@marinadmami) December 13, 2021
I love that you guys took us on a hell of a journey and were able to end it how you wanted to. So many shows have been taken away with no closure 🥂salute! Thank you
— Nesha vs. Lena James (@NeNesha) December 13, 2021
Insecure has two episodes left and fans have no idea how it’s going to end due to what seems like a (spoiler alert) love triangle between Issa, Lawrence, and Nathan. The star and creator of the show revealed in October that she even changed the ending two weeks before shooting the finale.
"Thank God I had a burst of inspiration of what I wanted it to be, and that's what we ended up shooting," Issa toldEntertainment Weekly. "I stand by it, I like it."
"The other one was good, too, but it just didn't feel like the most [satisfying]. It didn't feel like our show. I can't wait to talk about it when it airs to see if I made the wrong decision."
Uh, the anticipation!
Insecure first premiered in October 2016 and immediately struck a chord with predominantly Black audiences due to its authenticity and the writers and actors' devotion to portraying us in a real way.
The Insecure “Season Byeve” finale is set to air on December 26.
Insecure: The End (2021) | Official Trailer | HBO
Featured image by Emma McIntyre/WireImage/Getty Images
Eva Marcille On Starring In 'Jason’s Lyric Live' & Being An Audacious Black Woman
Eva Marcille has taken her talents to the stage. The model-turned-actress is starring in her first play, Jason’s Lyric Live alongside Allen Payne, K. Michelle, Treach, and others.
The play, produced by Je’Caryous Johnson, is an adaptation of the film, which starred Allen Payne as Jason and Jada Pinkett Smith as Lyric. Allen reprised his role as Jason for the play and Eva plays Lyric.
While speaking to xoNecole, Eva shares that she’s a lot like the beloved 1994 character in many ways. “Lyric is so me. She's the odd flower. A flower nonetheless, but definitely not a peony,” she tells us.
“She's not the average flower you see presented, and so she reminds me of myself. I'm a sunflower, beautiful, but different. And what I loved about her character then, and even more so now, is that she was very sure of herself.
"Sure of what she wanted in life and okay to sacrifice her moments right now, to get what she knew she deserved later. And that is me. I'm not an instant gratification kind of a person. I am a long game. I'm not a sprinter, I'm a marathon.
America first fell in love with Eva when she graced our screens on cycle 3 of America’s Next Top Model in 2004, which she emerged as the winner. Since then, she's ventured into different avenues, from acting on various TV series like House of Payne to starring on Real Housewives of Atlanta.
Je-Caryous Johnson Entertainment
Eva praises her castmates and the play’s producer, Je’Caryous for her positive experience. “You know what? Je’Caryous fuels my audacity car daily, ‘cause I consider myself an extremely audacious woman, and I believe in what I know, even if no one else knows it, because God gave it to me. So I know what I know. That is who Je’Caryous is.”
But the mom of three isn’t the only one in the family who enjoys acting. Eva reveals her daughter Marley has also caught the acting bug.
“It is the most adorable thing you can ever see. She’s got a part in her school play. She's in her chorus, and she loves it,” she says. “I don't know if she loves it, because it's like, mommy does it, so maybe I should do it, but there is something about her.”
Overall, Eva hopes that her contribution to the role and the play as a whole serves as motivation for others to reach for the stars.
“I want them to walk out with hope. I want them to re-vision their dreams. Whatever they were. Whatever they are. To re-see them and then have that thing inside of them say, ‘You know what? I'm going to do that. Whatever dream you put on the back burner, go pick it up.
"Whatever dream you've accomplished, make a new dream, but continue to reach for the stars. Continue to reach for what is beyond what people say we can do, especially as [a] Black collective but especially as Black women. When it comes to us and who we are and what we accept and what we're worth, it's not about having seen it before. It's about knowing that I deserve it.”
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
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Feature image by Leon Bennett/WireImage
A Celebration Of Black Voices: What You Missed At The 3rd Annual Black Effect Podcast Festival
Over the weekend, iHeart Radio held its third annual Black Effect Podcast Festival in Atlanta, attracting a star-studded lineup of personalities and shows. Charlamagne tha God, founder of the Black Effect podcast network was in attendance along with other notable personalities like Mandii B and Weezy WTF, the hosts of the popular Decisions, Decisions podcast, who also served as the festival's hosts.
Sarah Jakes Roberts, the esteemed pastor and host of Woman Evolve podcast, singers and co-hosts of the R&B Money podcast, Tank and J. Valentine, former NFL star and Funky Friday host Cam Newton and many more further rounded out the festivals' lineup.
The festival hosted panels that focused on mental health and the future of podcasting as well as many live shows. Good Moms, Bad Choices hosts, Erica and Milah, welcomed Dreka Gates and held a live dating show that was nothing short of hilarious. Naked Sports host Cari Champion sat down with Iman Shumpert and they discussed sports and dating.
Tank and J. Valentine surprised the audience with Jacquees, Cam had a live conversation with Real Housewives of Atlanta star Porsha Williams, and Sarah closed out the festival with reality star Toya Johnson. Check out photos from the festival below:
(L-R) Shawn Bethea, Jay Barnett, Devi Brown, Charlamagne tha God and Amber Grimes
Photo by Derek White/Getty Images for iHeartMedia and The Black Effect Podcast Network
Jamilah Mapp, Dreka Gates and Erica Dickerson
Photo by Derek White/Getty Images for iHeartMedia and The Black Effect Podcast Network
Mandii B and Weezy WTF
Photo by Derek White/Getty Images for iHeartMedia and The Black Effect Podcast Network
Porsha Williams and Cam Newton
Photo by Derek White/Getty Images for iHeartMedia and The Black Effect Podcast Network
Iman Shumpert and Cari Champion
Photo by Derek White/Getty Images for iHeartMedia and The Black Effect Podcast Network
Tank, Jacquees and J. Valentine
Photo by Derek White/Getty Images for iHeartMedia and The Black Effect Podcast Network
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Feature image by Derek White/Getty Images for iHeartMedia and The Black Effect Podcast Network