Tim Reid Says He’s Launching New Streaming Platform Dedicated To Black Talent!

YourBlackWorld.net, By Ryan Steal, Posted March 17th 2022

Actor Tim Reid is creating “The Legacy Of A People,” a streaming service that focuses on the African diaspora’s Black experience.

Legacy Of A People will feature all facets of Black entertainment, according to Reid, who’s been an actor, producer, and comedian for more than 4 decades and has more than 100 credits under his belt.

“We affect history, music, culture, and science. I mean, there’s no area of life where we have not been involved,” Reid said.

The streaming network will include television shows, documentaries, and other content, allowing multicultural producers from all over the world to convey their experiences. Reid noted that the platform will include three channels in the coming weeks, with plans to expand internationally to four or five in the future.

Streaming networks have risen in popularity in recent years, especially since the COVID-19 outbreak confined everyone in their homes for days. However, many of these platforms lack extensive libraries of Black content, such as sitcoms from the 1990s, independent Black films, and plays.

For decades, Reid has been a force for change in Hollywood. Reid donned a beard when he auditioned for WKRP in Cincinnati, which sparked a dispute at the network’s upper levels, but he was allowed to keep the beard as well as an earring, which sparked another debate.

“Man, you would’ve thought I shot a puppy, but I stood my ground,” Reid told NBC. “I wasn’t going to lose my job over it, and finally, they allowed me to wear an earring. Myself and Ed Bradley were the only two Black people on television allowed to wear a beard and an earring for about two or three years. Hollywood was, and is, surprisingly one of the most racist industries and places you could ever find.”

Reid, who was born in Norfolk, Virginia, and graduated from Norfolk State University, has also worked as a writer for WKRP and other shows. Reid and his wife, Daphne Maxwell-Reid, founded New Millennium Studios in 1997 and have since filmed multiple shows there.

In what seems to be a wave of new streaming independent platforms, rapper Kanye West also launched his own music streaming platform called the Stem Player. This he did in push to have artistes get their fair share of returns on their work.