Viola Davis Premieres On OWN: Friday, April 16 • 9PM
4/16/2021, 12:22 p.m.
OWN announced today “OWN Spotlight: Viola Davis” to air Friday, April 16 at 10 pm ET/ PT on OWN. Continuing conversations surrounding issues impacting Black lives, Oprah talks to Oscar, Emmy and Tony Award-Winning actress Viola Da- vis about her role as fearless blues singer Ma Rainey in “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” available on Netflix now. In the film, tensions and temperatures rise at a Chicago music studio in 1927 when fiery blues singer Ma Rainey joins her band for a recording session.
Oprah talks to Viola Davis, the most nominated Black actress in Oscar history, about her new film “Ma Rain- ey’s Black Bottom.” In yet another crit- ically acclaimed performance which led to an Oscar nomination for Best Actress, Davis inhabits “the Mother of the Blues” in an adaptation of an August Wilson play. Davis reveals what Ma›s struggle says about today›s America and what it taught her about harnessing her own powers as a Black woman. She also shares her thoughts on working with the late Chadwick Boseman on his final film.
“OWN Spotlight: Viola Davis” will be available on the WatchOWN app, in addition to being available on discovery+ starting Saturday April 17 through the end of the month, as well as on the “Super Soul” podcast line-up starting April 19. “OWN Spotlight: Vi- ola Davis” is produced by OWN. The executive producers are Oprah Winfrey and Tara Montgomery.
Advance clips available with embed codes:
CLIP: Viola Davis Says She Still Struggles With “Impostor Syndrome”
https://youtu.be/FhA6yJdmDoQ
CLIP: Viola Davis on Chadwick
Boseman’s Legacy
About “OWN Spotlight”
“OWN Spotlight” presentations tackle issues and concerns facing Black lives. The programs feature candid and in-depth conversations that create real dialogue to inspire systematic change. Previous programs include a conversa- tion with singer/actress Andra Day; a special presentation on Ava DuVernay’s short film “August 28;” an inspirational special celebrating Black Fatherhood and the special bonds they have with their children “They Call Me Dad;” a two-night special “Where Do We Go From Here?” that simulcast across the Discovery family of networks featur- ing Oprah and Black thought leaders discussing the current state of racism America; “Oprah and 100 Black Fa- thers” sharing the urgency of having “the talk” with their children and the dreams they have for the future of their families; “COVID-19: The Deadly Impact on Black America” that inves- tigated the disproportionate impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Black communities; “Oprah At Home with Lupita Nyong’o and Cynthia Erivo,” which examined colorism in Holly- wood; “Oprah and Alicia Keys – The Interview” discussing Alicia Keys’ new memoir “More Myself;”
