This is an archived page from 2021. Find out more
Lemonada Media announced their latest podcast Written Off, a co-production in partnership with Insecure star Jay Ellis’ production company Black Bar Mitzvah. The 13-episode series profiles the writing of formerly incarcerated young writers and is hosted by Walter Thompson-Hernández.
Starting with actor Randall Park in the premiere, each episode opens with a well-known creative reading from one of the young authors’ work.
“I believe this series will help to drastically erase the stigma surrounding formerly incarcerated people,” says host Walter Thompson-Hernández. “As a former youth offender, hearing the stories, poems and art that our interviewees have shared speaks volumes to the idea that a criminal record shouldn’t erase any person’s humanity. For me, “Written Off” means going back to my early teenage self and reminding him that I was always more than what society perceived me to be.”
“Our commitment to creating platforms for the unheard drives us every day,” shares CEO and executive producer Jessica Cordova Kramer. “I nurtured young writers as a teacher,” shares Chief Creative Officer Stephanie Wittels Wachs, “and these authors are some of the most talented individuals. It’s an honor to bring their voices to the forefront through this podcast.”
“So many times I hear folks say they’re looking for new storytellers and don’t know where to find them. Storytellers are all around us, and in this case, we are bringing stories from voices who have been impacted by the system and are often overlooked because of their past," said co-creator and executive producer Jay Ellis. “It is an honor, a privilege, and a joy to be able to bring their beautiful writing to everyone in the world and have some of my friends be the voices that read their work. I’ve been a fan of Walter Thompson-Hernández’s work for years, and the minute we met, I was like, ‘Yo, we’re gonna be best friends and we’re going to work together every single day.’ We couldn’t have asked for a more perfect host, voice, point of view, and connection to our writers.”
The series launches July 14th and a trailer is available here.