About Cortney Wills

Cortney M. Wills is the Entertainment Director at TheGrio and host of our latest podcast initiative, Acting Up.
Born and raised in Los Angeles, the Medill alum began her career at Time Inc. and has since covered music, film, television, and pop culture for numerous publications including Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Billboard, MTV News, JET, and more.
Much of her work at TheGrio focuses on holding Hollywood accountable and examines how stories about our people, our culture, and our communities are being told on screens big and small.
She’s currently based in Los Angeles where she resides with her husband and children.

All Articles

Alycia Pascual-Pena Saved By the Bell reboot thegrio.com
November 18, 2020
Check out our exclusive interview with ‘Saved by The Bell’ star, Alycia Pascual-Pena on repping her Afro-Latino heritage on the reboot.
David Byrne's American Utopia
November 18, 2020
Spike Lee has signed on to direct a musical about the story behind the creation of Viagra based on David Kushner’s 2018 Esquire article.
MLK FBI thegrio.com
November 18, 2020
Check out the trailer for Sam Pollard’s ‘MLK/FBI’ doc which examines how the government identifies and suppresses “enemies of the state.”
One Night in Miami Amazon
November 18, 2020
Amazon just dropped the first trailer for ‘One Night in Miami,’ the star-studded film directed by Regina King.
Pharrell Williams thegrio.com
November 17, 2020
Check out an exclusive clip from the upcoming Netflix series ‘Voices of Fire’ executive produced by Pharrell Williams.
Lovers Rock Amazon Steve McQueen thegrio.com
November 16, 2020
Check out the trailer for ‘Lovers Rock’ the second film from Steve McQueen’s Small Axe anthology series at Amazon.
Tekashi 6ix9ine Hulu music doc thegrio.com
November 16, 2020
Hulu just dropped ’69: The Saga of Danny Hernandez’ chronicling Tekashi 6ix9ine’s transformation from aspiring rapper to a bona fide gangster
Tyler Perry thegrio.com
November 16, 2020
Tyler Perry delivered an inspiring acceptance speech after being honored with the People’s Champion Award on Sunday night.
Lauren London Always and Forever UMC thegrio.com
November 13, 2020
Lauren London and Loretta Devine star in the thriller ‘Always and Forever’ that will be available on demand this month.
Debbie Allen Shonda Rhimes Netflix thegrio.com
November 13, 2020
Check out the first official trailer for Shondaland’s ‘Dance Dreams: Hot Chocolate Nutcracker’ premiering November 27 on Netflix.
Jingle Jangle
November 13, 2020
‘Jingle Jangle’ is the fun, family flick from Netflix to watch this weekend starring Anika Noni Rose, Forest Whitaker, and Phylicia Rashad.
Chadwick Boseman Nicole Beharie Gotham Awards thegrio.com
November 13, 2020
Chadwick Boseman, Nicole Beharie, Radha Blank, Channing Godfrey Peoples, and more Black stars nominated for 2020 Gotham Awards.
Fresh Prince thegrio.com
November 13, 2020
Check out the first official trailer for the ‘Fresh Prince of Bel-Air’ reunion special premiering November 19 on HBO Max.
Painkiller
November 12, 2020
The CW is moving forward with ‘Painkiller’ a planted pilot spinoff of ‘Black Lightning’ written and directed by Salim Akil.
Danai Guria thegrio.com
November 12, 2020
Danai Gurira is set to star as the political trailblazer, Shirley Chisholm in the retooled film, ‘The Fighting Shirley Chisholm’
iHeartMedia HBCU Khalid Big Sean H.E.R. thegrio.com
November 12, 2020
Check out an exclusive sneak peek of the star-studded events going down at the HBCU Homecoming Celebration on iHeartRadio.
BET Presents The 51st NAACP Image Awards - Red Carpet
November 11, 2020
Check out the first official photos from ‘Gunpowder Milkshake’ featuring Angela Bassett, Lena Headey, and Paul Giamatti.
Oprah Winfrey theGrio.com
November 11, 2020
Oprah Winfrey and Brad Pitt to produce ‘The Water Dancer’ film based on the brilliant novel by Ta-Nehisi Coates.
Tichina Arnold Tisha Campbell thegrio.com
November 11, 2020
BET has announced Tisha Campbell and Tichina Arnold will host the upcoming 2020 Soul Train Awards and unveiled the nominees.
Premiere Of Disney And Marvel's "Ant-Man And The Wasp" - Arrivals
November 11, 2020
Actress Carly Hughes exits ABC’s comedy series ‘American Housewife’ amid allegations of discrimination on set.