![]() ![]() We want to represent and amplify the best voices of the culture that can help us move forward.” “We’re searching for and curating the dopest entertainers and artists that we could find, people who have large audiences that can help us build a portfolio where we are representing Black people across the spectrum - men and women, younger and older, LGBTQ, etc. It’s similar to the way things work in the music business, he says. “Where most people in TV tried to go find stories that they like and then they go find talent and try to plug that in, we do the opposite.” “Our strategy for content development is relatively simple,” Samuels says. One key factor in growing this audience has been Revolt’s ability to develop talent-first content partnerships with Yung Miami (“Caresha Please”), Killer Mike (“Love & Respect With Killer Mike”), Soulja Boy (“Soulja Boy Presents: The Life of Draco”) and more. At its inception in 2013, Revolt reached roughly 25 million households today that number is roughly 80 million, with its digital reach exponentially greater.(Between January 2020 and November 2022, the digital audience has grown from 500,000 unique views per month to 5 million.) This year, Revolt also launched a podcast network with a roster of more than 30 series, as well as Revolt Mixtape, a new FAST channel for library programs and exclusives. Jakes” producing about 40 episodes a year. Since joining the company as CEO in 2020, Revolt has expanded their slate - increasing their original series offerings from 26 to 42 in two years, with weekly programs like “Revolt Black News,” “Drink Champs” and “Kingdom Culture With T.D. “It looked fresh and new and young and exciting,” he remembers. ![]() Samuels wasn’t involved in the company from day one, but he distinctly remembers being intrigued by Combs’ initiative. It’s been nearly 10 years since Sean “Diddy” Combs launched Revolt, a network rooted in hip-hop culture, which has since developed into a multimedia company that produces linear and digital long-form series and multi-platform short-form programming. “Black women are such a critical piece to the fabric of Black culture - to all culture - so it’s beautiful to be able to facilitate those conversations and have them happen on our platform,” says Revolt CEO Detavio Samuels. The Michelle Obama special puts an exclamation point on Revolt’s 2022 mission to create more content aimed at Black women. “It’s something that will be one of the most valuable things in our archives,” Chenault says. By congregating in the “living room” set, it’s like getting your girlfriends, aunties, mamas and grandmas all in one space. ![]() That’s why it was so important to engage Obama with a multi-generational group of women to discuss the evolution of Black womanhood. “We realized in real time, not in hindsight, what she was doing is going to change how people see us.” ![]() “I know that she’s a national treasure, just in being herself, living in her own truth, but what she represents to Black women and women of culture is is exponentially more heartfelt,” Chenault says. “Our visit hits different,” the Revolt special’s opening narration proclaims.Īnd the conversation lived up to the hype, with plenty of free-flowing tears and laughter as Obama dropped gems about learning to conquer self-doubt and “ride that wave of fear,” the importance and power of Black fatherhood and her relationship with her own dad, among other topics. The round table interview marked a special spot on Obama’s national book tour where she was interviewed by an A-list lineup of journalists, talk show hosts, entrepreneurs and entertainers, including Tyler Perry, Gayle King, David Letterman, Tracee Ellis Ross and Oprah Winfrey. The two-hour special, which aired Wednesday night on Revolt TV and its digital platforms (including the Revolt app and Youtube channel), was billed as an “unfitted, uncut and completely unapologetic cross-generational” discussion. We’re just so honored that she decided to choose to sit down and have that conversation with us.” She knows we have unique challenges and different hurdles. “She knows the struggle of being a Black woman. This is what I want to tell y’all’ - is so representative of who she is,” Chenault tells Variety. “The fact that she thought it was so important to set aside some time to have this family talk with Black women in a safe space - where she could go, ‘Hey, this is what I’ve learned. ![]()
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