How Steve Harvey became THE GOAT of Family Feud!!!
Steve Harvey was already known as an Emmy Award Winning Daytime Talk Show Host, the host of “Little Big Shots”, host of “Steve Harvey’s Big Time Challenge”, host of The Kings of Comedy Tour, co-host of the 1st & 2nd annual “BET Awards” alongside Cedric The Entertainer, host of the Steve Harvey Morning Radio Show, he starred as Mr. Steve Hightower in the hit WB sitcom “The Steve Harvey Show” & even before all of that, he had a standout set on HBO’s Def Comedy Jam, which led to him replacing Sinbad as the host of NBC’s “Showtime at The Apollo!” Yet, after that long laundry list of a resume after almost 20 years into the business, his ultimate generational crossover hit show moment came in 2010 when he became the host of arguably the most entertaining game show of all time, “Family Feud!”
Family Feud was already a household staple among the 49 & up demographic before Harvey became the host. However, in the decade of the 2010s, the boom of YouTube & the reaction videos by the younger demographic, clips from the show started to gain new life. So much so that whenever Steve sensed that a contestant presented a silly incorrect answer to the survey question, he would occasionally tease them by responding “Your answer might be #1 on YouTube but not on the board”, further playing into to the show’s growing popularity on the platform. Steve would go on to win 3 Daytime Emmys for Outstanding Game Show Host in 2014, 2017 & 2022.
In 2015, Harvey would further extend the Family Feud brand & legacy. After being defunct for 7 years due to the shows cancellation in 2008 after only 1 season, Harvey hosted Celebrity Family Feud on ABC following the NBA Finals at the end of June. The show featured appearances from Kanye & The Kardashians, Steph & Ayesha Curry’s family, Chris Paul’s family, Anthony Anderson, Niecy Nash’s family & many more. At its peak, the show drew over 8 Million viewers & has now been on the air for 9 seasons.
All in all, it begs the question: Did ABC executives expect that Celebrity Family Feud would become this HUGE SUCCESS? Again the show went from being on a 7 year hiatus to getting PRIME TIME real estate after the NBA Finals. One thing’s for certain, you can’t underestimate Steve Harvey’s drawing power, work ethic & LOYAL audience. On that note, “SHOW YOUR LOVE” & SALUTE “THE GOAT” of the Family Feud Franchise & The Hardest Working Man in The Business of Humor: STEEEEEEVE HARVEEEEEEEYYY!!!
The Impact of Ice Cube & Cube Vision
O’Shea Jackson better known as Ice Cube was 1st introduced to the world as an intimidating but well respected rapper from Compton, California. He started out in the Hip Hop super group called N.W.A. He would eventually go solo and craft hit songs such as “Today Was a Good Day” & “Check Yourself.” He would then become a Hip Hop talent scout, discovering a no-nonsense female rap star named Yo-Yo with producer Sir Jinx. With all his success in music, his true business savvy & impact took place in Hollywood.
Ice Cube Becomes the Coolest Cat in Hollywood
In 1991, Ice Cube made his big film debut as Darren “Doughboy” Baker in the classic film Boyz in the Hood, directed by John Singleton. Cube has referenced Singleton as a mentor, seeing as how, Singleton gave Cube his first opportunity in acting & showed him the ropes on how to produce a film. Ice Cube most certainly took notes from Singleton but first, he would proceed to build his acting resume, appearing in movies such as Trespass, The Glass Shield, & another Singleton film, Higher Learning.
In 1995, Ice Cube would make his debut behind the scenes, as he produced, co-wrote and starred in the film Friday, co-starring then, upstart comedian, Chris Tucker, John Witherspoon, Tiny Lister & his fellow Boyz in the Hood cast-mate Regina King. The movie would become a cult classic & a major success at the box office, grossing $27 Million on a $3.5 Million budget. This was the beginning of Ice Cube’s film company Cube Vision & it was also be the beginning of his 1st franchise, as he would go on to play the role of Executive Producer for the following films, Next Friday & Friday After Next, co-starring another rising star comedian Mike Epps. The Friday Franchise would go on to gross over $121 Million combined.
Cube would produce another franchise entitled Barbershop 1, 2 & 3. It would go on to gross $235 Million combined. It went on to produce a spinoff film, Beauty Shop starring Queen Latifah, which grossed $37 Million. His other franchises include Ride Along 1 & 2, co-starring Kevin Hart & Tika Sumpter would go on to gross $279 Million combined & his most family-friendly franchise Are We There Yet & Are We Done Yet co-starring his Boyz in the Hood cast-mate, Nia Long, which grossed over $155 Million combined.
Ice Cube & Cube vision would produce other films like First Sunday, Janky Promoters, Lottery Ticket & The Players Club starring Lisaraye McCoy & the Late Great comedian Bernie Mac. Cube would go on to reunite with Mike Epps to create the action packed comedy All About the Benjamins. However, it would be in 2015, where he & his fellow NWA alum Dr. Dre would go and produce the biographical film on the life & times of the Hip Hop Super Group in the film entitled Straight Outta Compton starring his oldest son & rising star actor O’Shea Jackson Jr. The film was promptly named after the groups’ groundbreaking album that truly launched their careers. The film would have a MONSTER opening weekend, grossing $60 Million in the box office in the United States & Canada. The film would gross over $200 Million Worldwide. It became a shocking success in the film world, but a MASSIVE VICTORY for Hip Hop Culture.
Ice Cube would later go on to do more acting in Anaconda co-starring Jennifer Lopez, 21 Jump Street & 22 Jump Street starring Jonah Hill & Channing Tatum.
All in all, the point on this article was to shine the light on the creative brilliance & game changing success of Ice Cube & Cube Vision in Hollywood. While Black directors & producers like Tyler Perry, Jordan Peele, Lena Waithe & Ava Duvernay are receiving their flowers & accolades in Hollywood & rightfully so, Ice cube has seem to get overlooked for his contributions. Unlike the storytellers before him such as John Singleton & Spike Lee, who told much deeper & heartfelt stories about life in the urban community, Ice Cube really found a lane for a bit more humorous side of urban life, telling more relatable, everyday stories in his films & he turned those comical “Hood Films” into Cult Classic Franchises. For that, we salute Ice Cube & Cube Vision, for their vision & different perspective on everyday life in our communities. Ice Cube, thanks for the many years of great entertainment & I must say, whenever we went to see a Cube Vision film, That Day Was A Good Day!!!
AGING HITS-FULLY: Beyonce joins Tina Turner, Cher, Madonna & Mariah Carey as the main Pop Music Divas to have #1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 over the age of 40!
I wasn't born yet when Tina Turner went #1 with What's Love Got To Do With It, but I know that it is her biggest song & she was 44 years young when the song hit the top of the charts!
Cher did it TWICE! Her 1st #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 was the Diane Warren penned "If I Could Turn Back Time" at the age of 43 in 1989. She did it AGAIN at 53, in 1999 with her CLASSIC Dance/Pop Anthem "Believe!" Both songs are CLASSICS & remain Pop Culture Staples that have stood the test of time!
In the year 2000, as Hip Hop was becoming more prominent, Britney Spears "Did It Again", Christina Aguilera "Came On Over" Eminem was "The Real Slim Shady" & Destiny's Child was "Jumpin Jumpin", Madonna released her #1 hit "Music" at the age of 41. The song is a CLASSIC Dance Floor Banger Globally & it was another notch on Madonna's belt, having #1 hits in the 80s, 90s & 2000.
In 2019, after the anniversary of Mimi turning 49 years young, Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas Is You" went to #1 on the Hot 100, 25 years after it's release in November 1994. It became her 19th Number One & added to the Billboard Hot 100 Dominance & Legacy of Mimi! All I Want For Christmas is as much of a staple during the holiday season as The Rockettes are performing at Radio City Music Hall every year. It's Tradition & They Belong Together!!!
Beyonce can now be added to the list with Break My Soul, just weeks before her 41st birthday. Break My Soul has Top the Billboard Hot 100 for the past 2 weeks & we have yet to see a music video for it.
All in all, Disclaimer: I am not "age-shaming!" I am just putting some RESPECT on these ICONIC Hits & Accomplishments! A Hit Song is a Hit Song, whether it's a 13 year old Michael Jackson's "Ben" or a 71 year old Johnny Cash's "Hurt!" The only number that matters is where it ends up on the charts!
CHARLIE MURPHY'S True Hollywood Stories: The Greatest Spinoff In The History of Television.....That Never Happened!!!
On February 11th 2004, Dave Chappelle & Comedy Central would stumble upon an unexpected new addition to his hit sketch comedy show "The Chappelle Show" in the form of an already familiar face in comedy by the name of Charlie Murphy, the big brother of iconic rock-star comedian & actor, Eddie Murphy. In the sketch, Charlie Murphy details his wild & crazy encounters in the 80's with the Phenom of Funk-Rock, Rick James(played by Dave Chappelle), where they would randomly, verbally & physically attack each other. Not only did it re-introduce Charlie Murphy to the Chappelle Show audience, especially after appearing in season 1's "Mad Real World" sketch, but it would also introduce Rick James to a brand new generation & spun off the hilarious catchphrase, "I'm Rick James, Bitch!!!" This episode would become a fan favorite & arguably the biggest episode in the history of the entire short-lived show.
Later in the season, Murphy would return for an encore, as he would tell the story of meeting the musical genius known as Prince(also played by Chappelle), where he details an interesting night in the 80's, when Prince, his band The Revolution & Shalamar member Mickey Free, challenged Charlie & his friends to a game of basketball. According to Murphy, Prince & his team would defeat Charlie & his friends by a landside victory. Years later in an interview with the VladTV YouTube channel, Mickey Free would confirm this story to be true, which makes the sketch that much funnier when viewers re-watch it today. The show would come to an abrupt end art the start of the 3rd season, when Chappelle & the Comedy Central executives would clash after offering Chappelle a $50 Million deal.
All in all: the question is, did Dave, Charlie & the network executives know the brilliance & potential hit spinoff show they had on their hands? A spinoff in sketch comedy is extremely rare: Mama's Family from The Carol Barnett Show & The Simpsons from The Tracey Ulman are the only ones that come to mind. Sadly, we could only imagine what could've been, as The Charlie Murphy True Hollywood Stories, remain a couple of iconic sketches that displayed Charlie Murphy's genius in his raw & authentic style of storytelling. Rest In Peace Charlie Murphy, your impact on comedy will forever be celebrated.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4trBQseIkkc
The Impact of Chris Rock!!!
Chris Rock is a comedian, an actor, a writer & producer. He made his debut on the scene in the mid-80s, scoring roles in Keenan Ivory Wayans’ I’m Gonna Git You Sucka & the hit buddy cop drama TV show Miami Vice. However, it was when he met his idol and mentor, rock star comic and mega movie star Eddie Murphy, who gave Chris his first role as a parking attendant in the massive box office franchise Beverly Hills Cop II.
In the 90s, Chris would become a cast member on Saturday Night Live, alongside Adam Sandler and David Spade. He would also continue to do movies like New Jack City with Ice-T and Wesley Snipes and a bit role in Boomerang working once again with Eddie Murphy. He also made his debut behind the scenes as a writer of the cult classic Hip Hop spoof film CB4. He even was the voice of the Little Penny action figure doll in Nike commercials for NBA All Star Penny Hardaway. In 1997, he would finally get his own show on HBO, entitled The Chris Rock Show, where he would do monologues, sketches and interview guests. One could say he was the edgier version of Arsenio Hall. He went on to win an Emmy in the first season of the show.
In the 2000s, he went to star, write, direct and produce more movies such as the cult classic Pootie Tang, Down To Earth & the marital romantic comedy I Think I Love My Wife starring alongside. In 2005, he reunited with his SNL cast mate Adam Sandler in the prison yard football comedy The Longest Yard. He also voiced a zebra named Marty in the animated franchise Madagascar. In 2005, he executive produced the UPN sitcom loosely based on his teenage years entitled Everybody Hates Chris.
In 2010, he joined an All Star cast of SNL alums Adam Sandler, David Spade, Rob Schneider, Tim Meadows & Maya Rudolph in the hit comedic film Grown Ups. He also teamed up with other comedic giants such as Martin Lawrence, Tracy Morgan and Kevin Hart in the film “Death at a Funeral.” He even tried his hand on Broadway, in the play “The MFer with the Hat.”
Chris ROCKS The Stage
Coming from the era of Eddie Murphy Mania in the 1980s and into the Martin Lawrence & Def Comedy Jam Dominance of the 1990s, Chris was literally a Rock in a Hard Place! In the mist of sitcoms such as Martin, The Wayans Bros., Malcolm & Eddie(co-starring red hot comedian Eddie Griffin) & The Jamie Foxx Show, Chris Rock will then find his lane on stage within his standup comedy. He had a solid HBO Comedy Half Hour Special called Big Ass Jokes in 1994. However, in 1996, it was his follow up special on HBO entitled Bring The Pain, that will eventually make Chris Rock, the superstar that his mentors & his peers believed he always had the potential to be. The special will go on to win 2 Emmy awards for Outstanding Comedy Special & Outstanding Writing for his hard hitting controversial bits that tackled topics such as race, drug, government & domestic violence & would win his first Grammy for the audio of the special called “Roll With the New”. That would lead to Chris getting his own show on HBO. In 1999, he will follow up with another classic special boldly entitled “BIGGER & BLACKER!!!” That special will also win a Grammy for Best Comedy Album. In 2004, he will release another classic special entitled “Never Scared”, where he again tackles race, relationships, government, Rap music & Pop Culture. He would win another Grammy for Best Comedy Album. In 2008, Chris would release another hit special entitled “Kill the Messenger”, where he would discuss Barack Obama running for President, interracial dating & “Jobs vs. Careers.” It will go on to win Rock 2 more Emmys. In 2018, he would leave his home base network HBO for a massive $40 Million payday at the streaming giant Netflix, and release his latest special Tambourine. It’s not his most popular special among fans but critics still gave him a solid review.
Chris also hosted award shows such as, the 1997, 99 & 2003 MTV Video Music Awards, the 2004 & 2018 Academy Awards & the 2014 BET Awards. He also hosted Saturday Night Live in 1996, 2014 & 2020.
The Brand of Chris Rock is greatly displayed in the Power of His Standup Comedy! There will always be mixed reactions when it comes to his movie choices but there is no debating or denying his IMPACT in the art of Stand-Up Comedy, his influence on comedians such as Dave Chappelle, Kevin Hart & Jerrod Carmichael & in that respect, he is THEE STAND UP GUY of HIS GENERATION!!!
ROCK ON, CHRIS!!!!!
The Brand & Impact of Ayesha Curry
Ayesha Curry was born Ayesha Disa Alexander in Markham Ontario, Canada in 1989. She made her acting debut in a music video. She was the leading little lady in Suga Prince’s “Too Young for Love” video. After graduating high school, Ayesha moved to Los Angeles to pursue more acting in movies like Underground Street Flippers, Dan’s Detour of Life & Love for Sale. She also appeared in roles for TV shows like 10 Items Or Less & Whittaker Bay. She then moved up to the big time for young actresses, The Disney Channel, where she had bit roles in hit shows such as Hannah Montana & Good Luck Charlie. Not bad for a girl who was fresh out of high school & found her way to Disney in a 2 year span.
Chef Curry with the Cookbooks:
After moving to Charlotte, North Carolina with her family at the age of 14, it was in a Church Youth Group where she would meet a kid by the name of Wardell Stephen Curry II. The two reconnected in Los Angeles when Ayesha was an actress & Stephen was a point guard at Davidson College.
The couple married in July 2011, then gave birth to their first child, Riley. It was at that point where Ayesha decided it was time for a career change. She started to get back into her passion, which was cooking. She started a YouTube channel called Little Lights of Mine(now just goes by Ayesha Curry), where she did cooking videos. She also did her own remix version to Drake ‘s 0 to 100 song, the popular husband tag video with her husband Steph, as well as chronicling him as he made his 1st NBA All Star appearance in 2014, where he represented the Golden State Warriors. All were huge hits for her YouTube channel & she also had a cooking segment with ABC Bay Area called Cooking with the Curry’s. All of these activities led to her booking segments on The Rachel Ray Show on ABC.
Ayesha released her 2 cookbooks entitled The Seasoned Life & The Full Plate, both would go on to become back-to-back entries on the New York Times Best Sellers list. She was a guest judge on shows such as Guy’s Grocery Games & Chopped Junior. She then booked her own cooking show on the Food Network called Ayesha’s Homemade. She also must have impressed the executives at the ABC network because she has hosted the Great American Baking Show & the Family Food Fight, a culinary competition show that Ayesha also serves as an Executive Producer. In 2019, Ayesha collaborated with Michael Mina & opened up a restaurant franchise called International Smoke in San Diego, Houston, Texas & Las Vegas, Nevada. She also launched a cookware line. She also collaborated with her sister-in-law Sydel Curry-Lee & created their own wine called Domaine Curry.
In 2020, she launched a lifestyle magazine, a store and line of products, all entitled Sweet July. She also launched Sweet July Productions, a film & TV production company where she will continue to Executive Produce more projects in the future. Ayesha also became the first Non-Actress or Musician to become one of the faces & spokes-model for the cosmetic brand CoverGirl, showing the direction that the brand is shifting in & how Ayesha has found her audience in an untapped market that women her age probably doesn’t even know exists.
All in all, what is the most intriguing about Ayesha & her brand is that, AT THE PEAK of the Basketball Wives, Real Housewives, Reality TV franchise frenzy, she went a completely different direction & it has became somewhat of a trailblazer in grand scheme of things & truly built her own brand that compliments her husband’s. Stephen Curry is arguably the Most Entertaining Athlete in the World but with the addition of Ayesha & his children, it further adds to his brand, marketing, charisma & appeal, off the court.
With saying all of this, all of these activities & accolades that Ayesha Curry has cooked up, is most certainly a recipe for an EMPIRE! Salute to Ayesha Curry, The Cooking Canadian Sensation!!!
The Brand & Impact of Robin Givens
Robin Simone Givens is an actress & model who was born on November 27th, 1964 in New York City, New York. Before she fully committed to be an actress, she was pre-Med & graduated from Sarah Lawrence College. She made her film debut in the movie The Wiz in 1978. She also appeared in The Cosby Show as Suzanne, playing the role of a friend of Denise Huxtable who her younger brother, Theo, had a major crush on. She would get her breakthrough role as Darlene Merriman in the hit show Head of the Class in 1986 & would co-star alongside Oprah Winfrey as Melanie "Kiswana" Browne in the Emmy Award winning dramatic miniseries, The Women of Brewster’s Place in 1989. However, Robin’s most polarizing role would take place in 1992.
Robin Givens Assumes The Position of Power as Jacqueline Broyer in Boomerang:
Eddie Murphy created an idea for a movie called Boomerang. A film about an advertising executive bachelor named Marcus Graham, who was searching for Miss Right but was killing time with the wrong ones, even the figurehead of the company Lady Eloise (played by Eartha Kitt), who was well over 60 years old. Then, one day on his way to work, a woman catches his eye in the building lobby, her name, Jacqueline Broyer played by Givens. Marcus began to fall in love with Jacqueline, even going as far as telling his friends that she was “the future Mrs. Graham” but she didn’t feel the same about him. Marcus would later discover that she was the female version of him. In fact, you could argue that she was a better & smarter version of him. She had a higher position at the company, she was making more money than him & in an interesting turn of events, she shifted the balance of power to the women in the office, who got a big kick out of Marcus getting played by Jacqueline. It wasn’t until Marcus started to gain affection for another creative talent at the company named Angela Lewis (played by Halle Berry) that Marcus seemed to find “the perfect woman” he’s been looking for. Eventually, that would get under Jacqueline’s skin & she decides to give Marcus another chance but he realizes that he’s in love with Angela. The movie ends with Marcus basically walking off into the sunset with Angela.
In the 90’s, after the success of this classic romantic comedy, Robin Givens’ performance was severely overlooked & criminally underrated, due to the fact that fans of the movie just wanted Eddie & Halle to live happily ever after. However, in a few hit television shows of the 2000s, you can clearly see Robin’s impact as Jacqueline Broyer in Kim Cattrall’s “Samantha Jones” character in HBO’s Sex & the City, Eve Longoria’s “Gabrielle Solis” & Nicolette Sheridan’s “Edie Britt” character in ABC’s Desperate Housewives, Jill Marie Jones’ “Toni Childs” character in UPN’s Girlfriends & Yvonne Orji’s “Molly Carter” character in HBO’s Insecure. In an interview on BET’s Black Coffee, she briefly discussed the impact of her character & the longevity of Boomerang in general time goes on.
All in all, this was Robin Givens’ greatest performance ever. One can make a case that Robin was ahead of her time as Jacqueline & if Boomerang were to be released today, Robin Givens would probably have a Golden Globe & even an Academy Award on her trophy case. Jacqueline Broyer just might be the representative of women in a position of power, who go after what they want & is no nonsense, in the Boardroom & the Bedroom. Salute to Robin Givens, she showed that Black women can handle being in a position of power, business wise & in their personal life & over time, women have showed her love for her performance. She hit them with inspiration & they hit her back with her flowers that were long overdue…like a Boomerang.
Bill Burr & Serena Williams v.s. Other Female Athletes
This article is inspired by the joke of comedian Bill Burr from his latest Netflix comedy special, where he had a bit about how "Women Failed The WNBA" & discussed women's sports in it's entirety. This specific bit has already made its way to YouTube & has gained massive traction in such a short period of time. However, the part that struck me the most, was when he highlighted that he's not downing all female athletes & within the 1st minute of the bit, he eludes to Serena Williams drawing power in her sport of Tennis & women in the UFC in comparison to other female athletes.
As someone who once worked at The US Open from 2014-2017, I can confirm this part of Burr's bit. Not just because of the name of Serena Williams, but because I can personally breakdown her drawing power for the US Open Tournament to a certain extent. See, Serena Williams was not just "The Biggest Female Tennis Player" Of All Time in terms of the $94.589 Million she's won in Prize Money her career so far, more than doubling her sister Venus, who is in 2nd place with $42.285 Million but also, Serena is "The Biggest American Tennis Player" of her era, Male or Female! That puts Serena in an ENTIRELY DIFFERENT LEAGUE compared to her fellow female athletes. Furthermore, when Serena went on Maternity Leave in 2017, giving birth to her daughter Olympia, the US Open Tournament slash the admission prices for the Female Singles Tournament & many people who worked the tournament were laid off & replaced by younger people & computers. That shows you the economic impact of Serena Williams AT LARGE at The US Open.
All in all, I am not here to bash or belittle female athletes but I have to point out the accuracy in Bill Burr's bit. Also in the bit, he highlights the success of reality TV shows like the Kardashians & The Real Housewives franchises raking in Millions, while the WNBA struggles. I actually remember when the WNBA started & I remember the New York Liberty's glory days in the mid-late 90's/early 2000s when Teresa Weatherspoon & Rebecca Lobo were the MUST SEE stars of the team. It begs the question, do people not care about Women's Sports or does Women's Sports just need better marketing & promotion in this day & age?
Bill Burr: "Women failed the WNBA" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QY9Gz_IMn_k
How BANKABLE is Tyra Banks?
Tyra Banks was born on December 4th 1973, in Inglewood, California. She started modeling at the age of 15. She is most known for being the 1st Black woman on the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue cover in 1997. She has done runway shows for major fashion brands such as, Chanel, Fendi, Yves Saint Laurent, Christian Dior & countless others. She also appeared in music videos from Michael Jackson’s Black & White & most recently Drake’s Child’s Play & movies such as Higher Learning, Coyote Ugly, Love & Basketball, Life Size 1 & 2 & Hannah Montana: The Movie. Yet, even though this would already be considered an ICONIC resume, it’s just a tip of the iceberg to display how BANKABLE & VALUABLE Tyra Banks truly is.
Tyra’s Takeover is Televised
In 1993, Tyra Banks made her acting debut alongside Will Smith in the iconic sitcom, The Fresh Prince of Bel Air as Jackie Ames. A childhood friend from Philadelphia turned on & off girlfriend to Will Smith’s character. She was so convincing that you would’ve guessed that either she was a solid veteran actress or she has known Will for a very long time, because they had great on-screen chemistry, as if they were a real-life married couple. In fact, the best actresses to play opposite Will Smith on the show were Banks & then rising star actress Nia Long.(who played Will’s fiancé, Lisa Wilkes)
Next, Tyra would go on to create, host & serve as executive producer of the competition show America’s Next Top Model. It would be the first show under Tyra’s production company, Bankable Productions. Although the show has garnered mixed reactions over the years, there was a point where, Tyra stepped down as the host & face of the show & was replaced by singer Rita Ora. Something seemed off but then Tyra returned to her show & sent it off in style. The show lasted from 2003-2018.
In 2005, Tyra would take a huge risk & tackle the world of Daytime Television with her own talk show. The show was originally picked up by Fox Television & some of the executives at the network thought the show wasn’t going to last beyond 2 weeks, seeing as how maybe Tyra was new to this style of Daytime TV, saying that she was “No Oprah Winfrey” & seeing as how people such as Magic Johnson & Keenan Ivory Wayans didn’t translate over to the talk show format very well. However, Tyra would not only prove critics wrong, but she would go on to accomplish what was deemed THEE IMPOSSIBLE. She would go on to win 2 Daytime Emmys in an Oprah Winfrey DOMINATED World of Daytime TV in the mid-to-late 2000s & she can also be credited for bringing the youth demographic to Daytime. Her show aired at 5 p.m. Eastern standard time, which was the sweet spot for her younger audience. It was an hour after ABC’s Oprah & an hour before BET’s 106 & Park. Her show would come to an end & FOX network would move on to radio shock jock turned TV personality Wendy Williams to do mornings & rerun her show in the afternoon. However, FOX network has not been able to have Wendy, The Real, Jerry O’Connell or Nick Cannon to currently duplicate what Tyra had accomplished in such a short period of time.
Before she took her talents to Daytime TV, Tyra was a Victoria Secret Angel Model from 1996 to 2005. She was alongside other supermodels such as Heidi Klum, Adriana Lima & Giselle Bundchen. They were The Justice League of Modeling. However, Tyra would retire from the Victoria Secret roster & eventually the industry of modeling entirely after her show became a success, Victoria Secret has had a hard time finding a household name to replace Tyra. Although you can credit the rise of Pop Music Superstar turned Mogul, Rihanna’s SavageXFenty lingerie line as direct competition to Victoria Secret, causing them to have a decline in sales & stock, you can also credit Tyra’s retirement as the 1st domino to fall for the company in 2005, before Rihanna was even a fully established recording artist.
All in all, even beyond her modeling career, Tyra Banks has left a long lasting impact in media over the years. She went on to host shows like The FabLife, America’s Got Talent & most recently, Dancing with the Stars & has been polarizing in each role, further proving that Tyra is not only BANKABLE, but she is also IRREPLACEABLE!!! Tyra has also proven that her WORK ETHIC & PERSONALITY is more POLARIZING than her BEAUTY!!! On & Off The Runway, Tyra BANKED on Herself & Hit The Jackpot, Time & Time Again! Salute to you, Tyra!
Oprah's Executive Execution
Oprah Winfrey has been labeled "The Queen of Daytime" & "The Queen of All Media" but it seems as though, people on the outside looking in, only have a fraction of the story. For 25 years, Oprah was known by her loyal audience as the biggest & most watched talk show host ever, as well as for her famous "Oprah's Book Club," but it's more to Oprah's Daytime Dominance than that.
In 2002, Oprah went outside herself & her own show, to play the role of co-creator & executive producer for the daytime talk show "Dr. Phil." A daytime show for Dr. Phil McGraw, an accomplished psychologist, who guest appeared on the Oprah show & became a fan favorite, who won over Oprah's audience. Dr. Phil would go on to be a huge success, which also led to Dr. Phil himself, creating a hit talk show called "The Doctors" in 2008.
In 2006, Oprah would play Daytime talent scout again, this time, in the culinary genre, as she would executive produce a show for celebrity cook, Rachel Ray, who was already a household name on the Food Network before appearing on the Oprah show. Like Dr. Phil, Rachel Ray became a huge hit with Oprah's audience, which led Oprah to producing her own "Rachel Ray" show at ABC. In 2008, the show won a Daytime Emmy for Best Outstanding Talk Show.
In 2009, Oprah would once again, go on to create & executive produce a show for Dr. Mehmet Oz, a cardiothoracic surgeon, who had Oprah appear on his Discovery Channel show called "Second Opinion with Dr. Oz" & in return he appeared on the Oprah show & he too, was a huge hit with Oprah's audience, leading Oprah to produce a Daytime show for him called "The Dr. Oz Show." Dr. Oz would go on to win 9 Daytime Emmys.
All in all, Oprah Winfrey & her Hapro production company have built a Daytime Dynasty & has cemented Oprah as the "Godmother of Daytime", seeing as how she has a monopoly on Daytime Television like we have never seen before. The question is, did network executives see it coming? Or was Oprah just as much of a visionary, as she was a rock star, daytime talk show host, that REALLY trusted her gut, her vision & her audience? Oprah Winfrey, the Executive Producer OUTSIDE of The Oprah Show, somehow, goes under the radar, but all 3 of these shows are still on the air, even though, the Oprah show that introduced them to the masses, has been off the air, for over 10 years now. Salute to Oprah Winfrey & Her EXECUTIVE EXCELLENCE!!!