“Every artist is a politician inside,” says Mara Brock Akil. “I have an agenda.”
Akil has spent decades writing shows with diverse casts and content matter and that tackles tough topics through humor. Some of her renowned works include Girlfriends and Being Mary Jane.
Now, after a series of successes and awards for her previous works, Akil will join a host of the biggest female names in the television industry on The CW’s Make it Work!
Girlfriends, Moesha, and Being Mary Jane from Mara Brock Akil
Akil’s work includes many hit television shows over the last several decades. Her resumé includes Moesha, Girlfriends, and Being Mary Jane. She has won two NAACP Image Awards for The Game and Being Mary Jane, as well as a BET Comedy Award for Girlfriends. The Hollywood Reporter also named her as one of the top 50 Showrunners for five years in a row and as one of the top Women in Entertainment.
In addition to her stellar career, Akil takes an active interest in philanthropy. She works with the Studio Museum in Harlem, LAXArt, Girls Inc., the Underground Museum in Los Angeles, and more. Recently, Akil signed a deal with Fox Entertainment. This deal will include an hour-long reboot of The Game.
Michael Thorn, the President of Entertainment at Fox Entertainment, says of her “since the formation of Fox Entertainment, we’ve said we want to be in business with the best and the brightest, and no one exemplifies that more than Mara Brock Akil.”
For Mara Brock Akil, the personal and professional ought to mix
Akil was born in Los Angeles. However, she spent most of her childhood in Kansas City. She graduated from Northwestern University, where she wrote her first show for the Black Student Union. She also played the lead in a student production of The Colored Museum.
Akil was born into the Nation of Islam, but she and her husband Salim Akil currently practice Sufi Islam. They met on the set of Moesha, one of Akil’s major achievements. They have two children together.
She has spoken about her faith in the past, telling The Hollywood Reporter, “I believe in divine order all the time.”
At one point, Akil’s career crossed paths with legend Whitney Houston. She says of this period, “I really felt the presence of God all the way through. It was like it was meant to be.”
Her husband, Salim Akil, has also stood at the helm of award-winning projects – perhaps most notably, the recent hit Love Is...
Make It Work! will benefit Women of Color put out of work by the pandemic
Next up for Akil: the CW’s Make It Work!
This new variety special benefit will provide grants to women in Hollywood “whose lives have been jeopardized by the coronavirus pandemic.”
The show will feature musical and comedy acts, interviews, and conversations about the impact the pandemic has had on the job market. The star-studded line-up includes: Mara Brock Akil, Rosario Dawson, Hillary Clinton. Jane Fonda, Jennifer Garner, and dozens of other huge industry names.
The Women in Film advocacy organization will produce this special. The group advocates for the advancement of women’s careers in Hollywood, and seeks to “achieve parity and transform culture.” Their Hire Her Back initiative aims at helping particularly Black and Latina women who have suffered particularly high rates of unemployment due to the pandemic. Make It Work! tacks on to their ordinary annual gala, which funds the many programs the organization has.
Stream the event on the CW app or at this link through the Women in Film website.
