Four years running, the most-watched films on streaming have been led by Women of Color. So why is Hollywood still treating diverse stories as a risk?

On this bonus episode of Sista Brunch, we sit down with Dr. Ana-Christina Ramón and Jade Abston, two of the researchers behind UCLA's Hollywood Diversity Report, to break down what the 2026 data actually shows about who gets to lead, direct, write, and who's actually watching.

Dr. Ramón runs UCLA's Entertainment and Media Research Initiative and has spent more than two decades studying equity in Hollywood. Jade Abston is a PhD candidate at UCLA and a co-author on the report, whose own dissertation research looks at Black women's innovation in music videos and visual albums.

We talk through the history of the report and why it had to be built independently of the studios, the numbers behind this year's findings for Black women in lead roles, directing, and writing, and the audience data that keeps proving the same point: Women of Color aren't just watching, they're driving the ratings.

This conversation also unpacks something the headline numbers don't always show: how streaming algorithms shape what gets seen in the first place, and why visibility and sustainability are two different problems.

Read the full UCLA Hollywood Diversity Report at socialsciences.ucla.edu

Hosted by Fanshen Cox (she/they) Guests: Dr. Ana-Christina Ramón, Jade Abston

Sista Brunch is brought to you by TruJuLo Productions. Watch on YouTube: youtube.com/trujulomedia Follow on Instagram: @SistaBrunchPodcast

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Show Notes

How does an "army brat" with no Hollywood connections become an Emmy-winning documentarian whose work sits at the center of one of the most urgent conversations in America? In this bonus brunch, filmmaker Luchina Fisher pulls up a chair to talk about the long, unexpected road from journalism to the director's chair—and the craft, ethics, and relationships that carry a story from the page to the screen to the front lines.

Luchina is an Emmy-winning filmmaker, educator, and 2026 North Carolina Media and Journalism Hall of Fame inductee. She's the director behind the new feature documentary The Dads—a follow-up to her Emmy-winning 2023 Netflix short of the same name, executive produced by Dwyane Wade—which follows fathers of trans and gender-expansive kids deciding whether to stay and fight or leave the country.

If you make things, fund things, or care about stories that move people toward action, this one's for you. Luchina shares the three questions every filmmaker should ask before any project, why "everything starts with the word" no matter how the technology changes, how an 11-minute short sparked a movement and a foundation, and an honest look at the money—including why the starving-artist myth has to go and what it actually took to pay her team.

Pull up a chair. Don't cry. Eat your chicken biscuit. (You'll understand by the end.)

In This Episode

[00:00] – Big news: Sista Brunch joins the 2026 AIR New Voices AMPLIFY cohort (supported by Apple Podcasts), plus shout-outs to cohort shows worth your follow

[02:30] – Welcome to the brunch table: meet Luchina Fisher

[04:00] – Her Journey: growing up an army brat, the '70s–'80s golden age of screen, and a big brother directing the neighborhood kids in backyard Star Trek

[06:00] – Childhood in Germany, learning the language, and watching reel after reel on the military base

[08:00] – UNC Chapel Hill, journalism, the Miami Herald, a lifelong friendship with Tananarive Due, and the leap to study film at the University of Bristol

[12:00] – The three questions every filmmaker must ask: Why this? Why now? Why me? On bias, ethics, and "can I sleep at night?"

[14:00] – Her brother's charge to "do something," her mother's story, and seeing firsthand the power and urgency of story

[16:00] – Becoming a mother, parenting a trans child, and how Gloria Allen became Mama Gloria

[18:00] – Why The Dads: the fathers who show up, and the narrative we don't hear enough

[19:30] – Let's Talk Tech: from journalist to documentarian, shooting on everything from 16mm to digital, and why the story—not the gear—is the thing

[24:30] – The short as poetry: getting it under 12 minutes, designing for middle America, and the Netflix call the day after the SXSW premiere

[28:00] – Filmmaking is relationships: how the retreat itself grew out of Luchina's idea to film these dads

[31:30] – Financials: paying your team a livable wage, the post–George Floyd commission wave, her 2024 Daytime Emmy, the lean stretch after, and teaching at Yale and Fairfield

[36:30] – Building the feature: Stephen Chukumba's "let's keep filming," house-party fundraising, Dwyane Wade, and Elevate Studios

[42:00] – Support Sista Brunch + a peek at this summer's Sista Sessions

[42:50] – Where and how to see The Dads: festival run, Pride Month screenings, and community screenings you can bring to your own town

[44:30] – Sista Brunch: Luchina sits down with her 19-year-old self in Chapel Hill—a chicken biscuit, and the words she needed to hear

[46:30] – Closing love and gratitude

Resource Stack

Luchina Fisher & her work

• Director's site: luchinafisher.com
• Production company: Little Light Productions
• The Dads (feature): thedadsfilm.com
• The Dads Foundation: thedadsfoundation.org
• The Dads (2023 Emmy-winning short) — on Netflix
• Mama Gloria — Luchina's documentary on Black trans elder activist Gloria Allen
• Team Dream — short documentary

People & partners mentioned

• Dwyane Wade (executive producer) and Elevate Studios
• Stephen Chukumba, producer and Dads Foundation co-founder
• Tananarive Due, novelist, screenwriter, and director
• Human Rights Campaign / Parents for Transgender Equality Council

AIR New Voices AMPLIFY cohort shows mentioned (links in the episode description)

• Consider This For Comfort — Eteng Ettah
• Reality Blurred — Andy Dehnart (President, Television Critics Association)
• Femme and Furious — Julia Rose Portela
• Super Sorry — Amber Janke
• Out of the Ashes — Vince Comegys-Davis
• With thanks to AIR (Association of Independents in Radio), Captain TK Dutes, and Lynn Casper

Support Sista Brunch

• Donate: givebutter.com/SistaBrunch
• Patreon (including this summer's Sista Sessions): patreon.com/SistaBrunch

Guest: Marie Douglas

Titles: Composer; arranger; educator; musical director; conductor; freelance creative

Episode Theme: What it takes to build a career as a Black woman composer and why preparation, musical range, and real relationships matter in film, TV, and beyond.

Why this matters right now: Composers shape how stories feel, but they are still one of the least visible roles in entertainment. In this episode, Marie Douglas breaks down how she found her way into composition, what filmmakers should understand before hiring a composer, and why Black women need to be seen, supported, and heard in every part of the industry, including the score.

Marie Douglas is an award-winning composer and educator whose work blends classical, hip-hop, trap, spoken word, and electronic influences. Raised in Atlanta after being born in Buffalo, she came up through church, marching band, and a deeply creative household before stepping into leadership at FAMU and later earning a doctorate in composition. In this episode, Marie talks about learning trumpet, becoming a drum major, navigating music as a Black woman without many visible role models, and building a freelance career through preparation and in-person relationship building. She also shares real talk on contracts, pricing, DAWs, and the difference between digital and live music-making in screen work.

• Growing up in Atlanta and early musical roots (00:02:20)

• Band, trumpet, and finding leadership (00:05:29)

• FAMU, leadership, and musical discipline (00:08:47)

• Contracts, composer rates, and protecting your work (00:19:28)

• DAWs, composing, and Marie’s creative process (00:26:38)

• How a composer career can start from band and church (00:03:04)

• How filmmakers should approach and budget for composers (00:22:20)

• DAWs and the basics of modern music production (00:27:48)

• Freelancing and advocating for your value (00:25:27)

• “You were right, keep going.” (00:33:28)

Marie Douglas is a composer, arranger, educator, and musical director whose work spans live performance, freelance composition, and screen-based storytelling. Raised in Atlanta and rooted in a musical culture shaped by church, marching bands, and Black Southern traditions, she developed a sound that moves across genres while staying grounded in craft. She has contributed to a Grammy-nominated album, worked with Live Nation’s Big Femme Energy live experience, and continues to create music for artists, projects, and collaborators looking for bold, fusion-driven sound.

Listen now on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Watch the full episode on YouTube @TruJuLoMedia.

If this conversation resonates, subscribe, leave a review, and share it with a creative who needs to hear it.

Follow @SistaBrunchPodcast for clips, community, and resources.

Support the show and help keep these conversations accessible at Patreon.com/SistaBrunch  or GiveButter.com/SistaBrunch.

Keywords: Marie Douglas, Sista Brunch Podcast, Black women composers, composer for film, TV composer, freelance composer, women in music, Black women in Hollywood, music for film and television, DAW, digital audio workstation, Logic Pro, FAMU Marching 100, music educator, Grammy-nominated album

Guest: Kai Bowe

Titles:Titles: Director of Current Programming, Unscripted, at OWN; showrunner; story producer; documentarian; screenwriter; former attorney

Episode Theme: How a nonlinear path through law, writing, and unscripted television can turn into real creative authority and why career longevity requires both craft and inner work.

Why this matters right now: At a time when so many creatives are chasing unstable pipelines, Kai Bowe offers a blueprint with range. This episode breaks down the real mechanicsof unscripted TV, the money behind it, the difference between freelancing and network life, and why learning how to hold success matters just as much as getting the opportunity.

Kai Bowe’s path into the industry was anythingbut standard. She got her start as a teenager on set, interning on Do the Right Thing through her sister, but spent years convinced Hollywood was not her destination. She earned a psychology degree from UCLA, went to law school at Howard, and only fully claimed writing after doing The Artist’s Wayand realizing creativity was not a hobby for her, it was a calling. From there, she wrote screenplays, learned hard lessons about timing and self-sabotage, then made a strategic pivot into reality television just as unscripted programming was taking off.

●  Getting started on iconic film sets(00:02:15)

●  Leaving law behind to pursue writing(00:03:53)

●  Turning early success into a hard lesson(00:07:12)

● How unscripted story producing reallyworks (00:10:27)

● Freelancing, stability, and OWNleadership (00:19:44)

●  How Kai built a nontraditional TVcareer (00:01:55)

●  “Success is something that is alearned practice.” (00:08:29)

● Why freelancing needs a mindsetshift (00:27:23)

● What unscripted jobs actually pay(00:30:10)

● How ethical editing works inunscripted TV (00:37:46)

Kai Bowe is a veteran television producerand executive who has worked across scripted and unscripted television for decades. Her credits include America’s Next Top Model, Project Runway, Red Table Talk, and Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath. She has worked as a story producer, showrunner, and documentarian, and now serves as Director of Current Programming, Unscripted, at OWN. With abackground that spans psychology, law, writing, and production, Kai brings both strategic insight and creative depth to the way she builds stories and leads teams.

Listen now on Apple Podcasts andSpotify.

Watch the full episode on YouTube@TruJuLoMedia.

If this conversation resonates,subscribe, leave a review, and share it with a creative who needs to hear it.

Follow @SistaBrunchPodcast for clips, community, and resources.

Support the show and help keep theseconversations accessible at Patreon.com/SistaBrunch  or GiveButter.com/SistaBrunch.

Keywords: Kai Bowe, Sista Brunch Podcast, OWN Network, unscripted television, reality TV, showrunner, story producer, documentary storytelling, Black women in Hollywood,TV executive, America’s Next Top Model, Project Runway, Red Table Talk, Leah Remini Scientology and the Aftermath, entertainment careers, freelance producer, network executive salaries.

Sista Brunch takes a look back at some of the show's most memorable interviews of 2021. Actress, model and disability rights activist Tatiana Lee talks to Sista Brunch about how she uses her experience breaking into the entertainment industry to further disability inclusion in film and media. Susan Lewis, senior vice president and head of drama development for ABC Signature, which is a part of Disney Television Studios spoke to Sista Brunch about her role in bringing Twilight to the big screen and the challenges and benefits of being a woman in the industry.

We’re taking a look back at some of Sista Brunch’s most memorable interviews over the past two seasons. In this episode, we revisit our conversation with Amazon Studios Global Head of Diversity Latasha Gillespie and Head of Good Robot at Bad Robot Miki Woodard. They talked about how their work as DEI and social impact leaders has evolved following 2020’s Black Lives Matter movement. We also spoke to TV Writer Felischa Marye. She’s also the creator and co-executive producer of “Bigger,” the hit comedy series on BET plus. She shared her motivation for leaving a secure job for an uncertain future in entertainment.

Guest: April Reign

Titles: Creator of #OscarsSoWhite; media futurist; strategist; speaker; consultant; former attorney

Episode Theme: What happens when sharp cultural critique becomes industry impact and why real equity requires more than optics.

Why this matters right now: As awards season keeps asking who gets recognized, April Reign reminds us that representation is not a trend, it is infrastructure. This episode digs into the origin of #OscarsSoWhite, the work of changing systems from the inside, and why Black communities cannot afford to sit out conversations about AI, access, and the future of media.

April Reign did not come into Hollywood through the traditional pipeline. She was a lawyer, an Oscars superfan, and a lifelong advocate before one tweet in January 2015 changed the industry conversation around race, recognition, and access. In this episode, April talks about the advocacy roots that began in college, the research behind #OscarsSoWhite, and how that moment helped open Academy membership to artists and craftspeople who had long been excluded. She also gets real about consulting, credibility, AI, self-care, and what it means to think like a media futurist while keeping artists and community at the center.

• How Academy membership changed and why that matters (00:10:29)

• Breaking the cycle of industry gatekeeping and union access (00:12:21)

• Media futurism and thinking about the next era of storytelling (00:14:08)

• Creative work, strategic communications, and what may come next (00:25:54)

• Self-care, travel, and staying grounded while doing advocacy work (00:27:49)

• The real origin of #OscarsSoWhite and the strategy behind it (00:03:26)

• Why diversity talk without action is just optics (00:15:27)

• How access works behind the scenes in Hollywood (00:10:29)

• AI in entertainment: real stakes and real opportunity (00:19:59)

• “What you do today is a day of your life exchanged.” (00:30:23)

April Reign is a strategist, speaker, consultant, and the creator of the global movement #OscarsSoWhite, which sparked an industry-wide reckoning around race, representation, and access in Hollywood. A former attorney turned cultural critic and change agent, she works across media, communications, and equity strategy, helping organizations tell better stories and build more accountable systems. April describes herself as a media futurist, with a focus on where culture, technology, and justice intersect.

If this conversation resonates, subscribe, leave a review, and share it with a creative who needs to hear it.

Follow @SistaBrunchPodcast for clips, community, and resources.

Support the show and help keep these conversations accessible at Patreon.com/SistaBrunch  or GiveButter.com/SistaBrunch.

News about actresses fighting the Hollywood power imbalance have dominated the headlines for years, but how are women behind the camera protected?

In part 2 of our series with TIME'S UP, veteran stunt choreographer La Faye Baker and 1st AD/Director Shawn Pipkin join hosts Fanshen Cox and Anya Adams to talk about improving safety for women behind the camera, navigating (and dismantling) toxic workplace environments, bullying and verbal/emotional harassment on set, colorism and the power of speaking up for fellow crew.

Sista Brunch has partnered up with the TIME’S UP Foundation for a special, 5-part series focusing on safety, equity, and power in Hollywood. We'll talk to Black women+ in the industry about the impact of these imbalances and what's being done to address them.

In part 1 of the series, we speak to TIME'S UP Foundation COO Monifa Bandele about the worldwide impact of Black women's art, our voices, and holding Hollywood powerbrokers accountable for change. She also tells hosts Fanshen Cox and Anya Adams about the importance of disrupting unequal power systems to create "a new normal."

Rraine Hanson is a Jamaican transdisciplinary artist and experimental filmmaker exploring queer identity, mixed media storytelling, and worldbuilding across film and art department craft.

In this Season 7 conversation, we discuss growing up in Kingston, studying film at Emerson College, working in production design and art department, and creating Transcend — a short film about a Jamaican father raising a trans child with care and intention. We also talk about fundraising as an independent filmmaker, queer representation in Caribbean cinema, and what “experimental” filmmaking actually means.

Sista Brunch is a Webby-nominated podcast centering Black women and Black gender-expansive creatives working in film, TV, and media.

Want to know how to break into Hollywood?

Anya Adams the NAACP Image award-winning director and Fanshen Cox, the co-author of the Hollywood Inclusion rider are here to help you. Through honest and engaging conversations, they're addressing myths about breaking into the industry while showcasing black women+ who are making a difference in an industry that continues to struggle with inclusion.

Discover insider tips from our guests, as their share their personal journeys, a few laughs and yes -- their favorite brunch . And yes - even their favorite brunch item!

Hear Anya and Fanshen discuss how the concept came together, and what you can expect from the team.

Guest: Kelly Harris

Titles: Supervising Location Manager; Locations & Production Logistics Leader

Episode Theme: Locations aren’t just “where you shoot”—they’re how production actually happens. Kelly breaks down the creative + logistical power of the locations department, from scouting to permits to managing entire neighborhoods.

Why this matters right now: With tighter budgets, shorter seasons, and new formats like verticals, productions need smarter location strategy more than ever—and Black women need visibility in the roles that quietly run the industry.

Kelly Harris is the kind of industry pro who makes the impossible look effortless because she’s doing the work nobody sees. From getting her start in Cincinnati on Rage in Harlem to building a career in Los Angeles, Kelly shows how relationships, preparation, and leadership make locations the backbone of production. This is a masterclass in how the location department touches every department.

• Relationships as Currency: The Call That Changed Her Career (00:04:29)

• A day in the life of a location manager: scouting, strategy, and service (00:09:41)

• Let’s Talk Tech: “Area of Use” and why it’s everything (00:16:37)

• Let’s Talk Finance: FilmLA, permits, union wages, and location budgets (00:19:34)

• Verticals + the future: why this format could be a win for locations (00:33:58)

A crystal-clear breakdown of what locations actually does (00:09:41)

Real talk about FilmLA fees and what they do and don’t control (00:20:13)

Practical career money: union wage ballparks + negotiation mindset (00:23:59)

Future-proofing: how vertical storytelling changes production strategy (00:33:58)

The leadership gem: protect your health, reputation, time, and finances (00:42:18)

Kelly Harris is a Supervising Location Manager whose career spans film and television across major studios and networks. Known for her strategic scouting, production diplomacy, and deep logistical expertise, she’s helped productions secure and manage complex locations from neighborhoods and private properties to major institutions while supporting every department on set.

Listen now on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Watch the full episode on YouTube @TruJuLoMedia.

If this conversation resonates, subscribe, leave a review, and share it with a creative who needs to hear it.

Follow @SistaBrunchPodcast for clips, community, and resources.

Support the show and help keep these conversations accessible at Patreon.com/SistaBrunch  or GiveButter.com/SistaBrunch.

Keywords: Kelly Harris, Sista Brunch Podcast, location manager, supervising location manager, Teamsters Local 399, FilmLA permits, area of use, filming in Los Angeles, production logistics, locations department, vertical series, Black women in entertainment, Hollywood crew careers, production budgets, scouting locations

Guest: Asha Chai-Chang

Titles: Filmmaker; Director; Producer; Accessibility Advocate; Founder, Funding Your Foundation

Episode Theme: What happens when a filmmaker learns to fund their own path using finance, community, and strategy as creative tools.

Why this matters right now: As traditional pathways shrink and industry access tightens, creatives are being forced to understand money, infrastructure, and ownership. Asha breaks down how financial literacy, accessibility, and self-investment create real leverage, not just opportunity.

Asha Chai-Chang didn’t enter the industry through one door, she built several. From political science at Yale to finance and supplier diversity work, to directing award-winning projects and advocating for disabled filmmakers, her journey reframes what a “creative career” actually requires. This conversation connects the dots between art, money, and access and why knowing how systems work can be as powerful as talent.

• Oscar Festival Win to LA Career Leap (00:16:14)

• Funding the Creative Life Strategy Blueprint (00:21:05)

• Access and Advocacy for Disabled Filmmakers Everywhere (00:24:10)

• 48-Hour Writer’s Room Reality Check Experience (00:09:28)

• Invest in Yourself First Always (00:32:13)

A real blueprint for funding your creative work without waiting for permission (00:21:32)

How community partnerships and local businesses can sustain productions (00:10:18)

A reframing of “failure” as a leadership and directing tool (00:12:21)

Accessibility as a creative and production standard not an afterthought (00:24:38)

Practical editing and captioning insights filmmakers can use immediately (00:30:23)

A reminder to prioritize yourself while building a career that serves others (00:34:49)

Asha Chai-Chang is a filmmaker, director, and accessibility advocate whose work blends storytelling, financial strategy, and industry equity. With a background in political science and finance, she has produced and directed projects that have screened at major festivals, including Oscar-qualifying platforms. She is the founder of Funding Your Foundation, a framework helping creatives understand credit and financial pathways to fund their work, and a leading advocate for disabled filmmakers expanding accessibility across production and exhibition.

Listen now on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Watch the full episode on YouTube @TruJuLoMedia.

If this conversation resonates, subscribe, leave a review, and share it with a creative who needs to hear it.

Follow @SistaBrunchPodcast for clips, community, and resources.

Support the show and help keep these conversations accessible at Patreon.com/SistaBrunch  or GiveButter.com/SistaBrunch.

What does it really take to survive — and shape — Hollywood as a Black woman executive?

In this intimate, mentorship-driven conversation, Karen Horne reflects on motherhood, leadership, money, and the invisible labor Black women carry while building entire ecosystems inside the film and television industry.

From running major studio diversity and talent pipelines to being laid off during industry “restructuring,” Karen speaks candidly about power, pay inequity, coalition-building, and why Hollywood’s progressive image has never guaranteed real equity. She also shares how nurturing writers, executives, and creatives shaped her leadership style — and why stepping away from corporate Hollywood forced a deep reckoning with worth, rest, and reinvention.

This episode is a masterclass in longevity, impact, and believing you’ve earned your seat — especially for Black women and Black gender-expansive creatives navigating entertainment, media, and executive pathways right now.

What We Talk About

• Motherhood and executive leadership in Hollywood

• Pay gaps, bonuses, and knowing your worth

• Why diversity programs don’t fail — studios do

• Coalition-building across marginalized communities

• Leaving corporate power and redefining success

• Mentorship, legacy, and making real impact

Sista Brunch is a Webby-nominated podcast centering Black women and Black gender-expansive people working in film, TV, and media. Each episode blends honest conversation, career insight, and cultural context — like brunch with mentors who tell the truth.

Listen, subscribe, review and share on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube.

On IG follow @sistabrunchpodcast for clips, updates, and community.

Support the work via Patreon or Givebutter to help sustain independent Black media.

Felicia D. Henderson has built a career most writers only dream of — and she’s still expanding.

In this episode of Sista Brunch, the Emmy-nominated writer, director, and showrunner joins us for a grounded, honest conversation about what it really takes to build longevity in television without letting the industry box you in. From navigating power rooms as a Black woman to making the leap from showrunning into directing, Felicia shares what she’s learned — and what she wishes more creatives were told earlier.

We talk about her directorial debut, The Rebel Girls, a short film that has screened and won at festivals across the country, and the significance of being honored with the Best Live Action Shor Award by the African American Film Critics Association. But this conversation goes deeper than accolades. It’s about creative agency, timing, and trusting yourself when the path forward isn’t linear.

This episode is for Black women and Black gender expansive creatives building careers in film and television — especially those thinking about expansion, reinvention, or simply staying in the game long enough to tell the stories that matter.

If you’ve ever asked how to grow without shrinking, how to pivot without starting over, or how to claim authority on your own terms, this one’s for you.

Save this episode. Sit with it. And come back to it when you need clarity.