Most people have watched the NAACP Image Awards for years without knowing his name. Tony McCuin is the director who makes it all happen — and in this episode, he finally steps out from behind the camera.
In this episode of NAACP+ Inside the Industry, host Ariana Drummond sits down with an award-winning live television director, Tony McCuin — the man behind the NAACP Image Awards, Password with Keke Palmer, Big Brother, the Super Bowl, BET's Celebration of Gospel, Soul Train Awards, and over 50 major productions — for one of the most behind-the-scenes conversations we've ever had.
Tony breaks down:
→ What a live TV director actually does during a telecast while the show is happening in real time
→ Why the NAACP Image Awards "just hit different" and how he shoots it almost entirely in the round
→ The night Whitney Houston walked out, and he couldn't take the camera off her — not for a single reaction shot
→ What it felt like to be the first Black man directing Password — TV history in real time
→ How Big Brother taught him to let the audience pick the shots they wanted to see
→ The Deon Cole and Leslie Jones moment that went viral — and how he set it up in advance
→ His philosophy on protecting your talent – no matter what
→ Why he treats every act like its own separate little show
→ How he went from South Central to public access cable to the Super Bowl without ever going to college
→ "Pray Rich" — his spiritual philosophy that has carried him through 40+ years in television
→ The team of angels around him that keeps him going
This is the episode for every aspiring director, camera operator, and behind-the-camera creative who has ever wondered what it really looks like to command a live set.
️ Host: Ariana Drummond, NAACP Director of Talent & Media Relations
Guest: Tony McCuin — NAACP Image Awards, Password, Big Brother, Super Bowl, BET Celebration of Gospel, Soul Train Awards
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️ Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3iny4YTd9NfUBB51aWOpYr?si=a5a8e1df47ba4084
Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/naacp-inside-the-industry/id1894940807
Watch the full playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLaaTUaaxeh-IBd36D0P3FzFcu17Ij2S4T&si=nge5yZhBmU8SIZ9D
Learn more about NAACP+: https://linktr.ee/NAACPPlus
Follow Tony McCuin: https://www.instagram.com/tonymccuin/
Follow Ariana Drummond: https://www.instagram.com/arianad_pr/
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Chapters
- (00:00:00) - Rule number one: protect the talent
- (00:00:31) - Welcome to Inside the Industry
- (00:01:26) - What it feels like to be powerful and invisible
- (00:02:05) - Why the Image Awards shoot in the round
- (00:03:17) - How you build a reputation behind the camera
- (00:04:46) - How Tony got hired for the NAACP Image Awards
- (00:05:55) - Directing Password with Keke Palmer and Jimmy Fallon
- (00:08:32) - The overwhelming feeling of seeing your name on screen
- (00:09:44) - Imposter syndrome? His answer might surprise you
- (00:11:41) - Decompressing after a live show — and thanking God first
- (00:12:44) - Advice for creatives dealing with burnout
- (00:13:28) - What happens when your confidence starts to wane on set
- (00:15:15) - What a director is actually doing during a live telecast
- (00:16:12) - The most chaotic moments he's ever had to direct live
- (00:17:22) - How to read and react when comedians go off script
- (00:18:55) - How he surveys the room before every show
- (00:20:26) - When things fall apart on live TV — and how to stay calm
- (00:21:53) - How does someone become a live television director?
- (00:23:12) - Why there is no simulation for live directing
- (00:24:13) - Trust your heart — his message to Black creatives
- (00:25:04) - Password vs Big Brother — which show he loves most
- (00:26:23) - How Big Brother changed his directing style forever
- (00:28:08) - Why being a Black director in these spaces matters
- (00:29:44) - Gospel shoots differently — and why Black camera operators knew not to put the camera down
- (00:30:50) - Mastering every genre of television without film school
- (00:32:01) - His mentor Pamela Fryman and the sitcom training that changed everything
- (00:33:34) - How 80s music videos live in his directing brain
- (00:34:53) - Directing Whitney Houston's last performance
- (00:38:05) - The moment he couldn't take the camera off her
- (00:39:43) - The year after — directing Kelly Price's Whitney Houston tribute
- (00:41:45) - Harry Belafonte, Sidney Poitier, and why he puts on headsets
- (00:43:08) - How live TV has changed and how he's evolved with it
- (00:44:48) - Cutting everything tight from the first show
- (00:45:37) - Black directors behind the camera — what's changed and what hasn't
- (00:46:36) - Inviting young Black PAs into the director's booth
- (00:47:03) - What legacy means to him
- (00:48:41) - Pray Rich — his secret to 40+ years in this business
- (00:49:37) - Inside Your Industry Bag (Game)
