Bounce TV is lending support to the Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, integrating the youth mentorship organization into an episode of its original series Johnson.
In the season three finale, scheduled to air October 7, one of the characters — Greg, played by series creator Deji LaRay — signs up to mentor a teen and learns more about Big Brothers Big Sisters.
“Bounce serves as a pivotal voice and platform for Black communities, making this collaboration especially powerful,” Big Brothers Big Sisters president and CEO Artis Stevens said. “Our partnership with Bounce enables us to demonstrate the transformative power of mentorship, especially within communities of color. Through this episode of Johnson we are shifting perceptions about the time and expertise required to be a mentor, showing that you don’t need to be perfect, you just need to be present, to make an impact.”
Bounce will also host BBBS mentors (“Bigs”) and mentees (“Littles”) for a “Bigs and Littles” episode watch party on October 7 at Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metro Atlanta.
As part of the watch party, high school-aged guests will have the opportunity to meet with David Hudson, head of original programming for Scripps, for a Q&A. The campaign will also be supported and amplified across social media by both BBBS and Bounce-affiliated accounts.
“Over three seasons, Johnson has established itself as a series that isn’t afraid to correct stereotypes of Black men, and partnering with Big Brothers Big Sisters of America works well to do just that,” Hudson said.
Johnson is shot in Atlanta and produced in partnership with Eric C. Rhone and Cedric The Entertainer’s A Bird & A Bear Entertainment, Deji LaRay (the show’s creator) and Thomas Q. Jones’s Midnight Train Productions. LaRay and Jones serve as showrunners and executive producers.
