The Frame

Rankine, whose poetry has examined everyday racism in America, and Wolfe, whose music addresses issues of the American worker, were both named MacArthur Foundation fellows; as the Fall TV season launches, we visit with producer Betsy Beers at Shondaland, one of the most successful companies in the industry.

Diavolo Dance Theatre is reinventing modern dance by combing architecture and wildly physical choreography; media critics have been piling on NBC for going soft on the GOP nominee, and now late night host Samantha Bee has joined the fray; Richard Nelson keeps his election-themed plays current by writing until the last minute.

The new documentary, “The Lovers and the Despot,” tells the true story of what happened in 1978 when Kim Jong-il ordered the kidnapping of a filmmaking couple from South Korea to jumpstart North Korea's movie industry; William Bell has revived the classic Stax sound; a new report shows that the music business is actually making money in the streaming age.

Playwright and performer Lucy Alibar draws on her Southern childhood for “Throw Me on the Burnpile and Light Me Up"; Aziz Ansari and Alan Yang, who won a writing Emmy for "Master of None," talk about their approach to diversity; the Toronto International Film Festival kicked off a lot of Academy Award talk.

Kent McCord of the 1960-70s TV cop show, "Adam-12," which was produced in partnership with the LAPD. McCord says a show about cops who aren't "edgy" wouldn't sell in today's TV business; In advance of TV's big awards night, we discuss what goes into an Emmy campaign, and how valuable is a nomination or a win in this era of "too much TV"?

Cheo Hodari Coker, creator and showrunner of the Netflix series "Luke Cage," unpacks the idea of building a show around a superhero who also happens to be a "bullet-proof black man" in a hoodie; Can Pandora and Amazon be the next disruptors in the streaming music space? They hope so.

The documentary "Audrie & Daisy" examines the sexual assault and cyber-shaming of two teen girls; with its third album, the band Local Natives remains entrenched in Silver Lake's indie rock scene; a group of songwriters is challenging the Dept. of Justice's control over royalty rates.

How do unconscious biases affect hiring practices in Hollywood? To dig deeper into this issue, Cathy Schulman (Oscar-winning producer/Women In Film) and Judith Williams (Global Head of Diversity at Dropbox) put Frame host John Horn to the test as if he's a studio executive; In 2005 Jackie Lopez co-founded the hip hop troupe "Versa Style" to teach kids not only how to dance but the cultural history behind hip hop.

"Kicks" filmmakers discuss how being outsiders who didn't fit society's views of manhood fueled the making of their lyrical coming-of-age drama; A new documentary explores why Brad Bird's 1999 animated film "The Iron Giant" was a critical darling, but a box office bomb; Inside Nate Parker's "The Birth of a Nation" press conference at TIFF; Can you scream like Nicholas Cage?

Every August, cultural festivals take over the Scottish city of Edinburgh with thousands of performances taking place day and night. This year The Frame host John Horn immersed himself in shows and brings an audio postcard of his creative excursion; TV reporter Whitney Friedlander joins us to preview some new and returning television shows that are worthy of our time and DVR space this fall.

The writer-director's latest is the Netflix film, "The Land of Steady Habits"; actors and characters from Middle Eastern and North African countries continue to fight stereotypes; the experimental R&B musician Tirzah stirs up a quiet storm.

Michel Gondry directed Carrey in "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" and now they reunite for an offbeat Showtime series; Ethan Hawke dons his directing hat for "Blaze," a biopic about C&W singer Blaze Foley; in the wake of the CBS/Les Moonves mess.

The actress was honored at the Telluride Film Festival where her new film, "The Favourite," had its North American debut; speaking of film festivals: it's that time of the year for Hollywood; among the Emmy nominees for best original song is a Queen parody from the Netflix series, "Big Mouth."

Orson Welles didn't finish "The Other Side of the Wind" before he died and Neville chronicles that saga in "They'll Love Me When I'm Dead"; there won't be a Most Popular Movie award at the 2019 Oscars; the U.S. Justice Dept. charges a North Korean spy in the hack of Sony Pictures.

The Emmy-nominated actress is looking forward to season five of the series, despite the departure of creator Kenya Barris; climate change and how Californians are responding is at the core of the play, "Hole in the Sky."

The Oscar-winning actor stars in the true story of teenaged drug dealer (and FBI informant) sentenced to life in prison; the history of the abortion debate is chronicled in the documentary, "Reversing Roe."

The entire show is dedicated to coverage of Aretha Franklin’s memorial service, which was held today in Detroit. Dignitaries and prominent artists included Smokey Robinson and gospel legend Shirley Caeser.

The small festival in the Colorado resort town has a reputation for launching best picture hopefuls and winners; veteran British singer, songwriter and guitarist Richard Thompson is back with a new album; in this era of "peak TV," what's it like to watch television the old-fashioned way?

After the 2016 Presidential election, the singer/songwriter took a cross-country train trip and then wrote a song cycle of character sketches and personal reflections; Taylor Swift's recording contract is about to expire, giving her a world of options; Boots Riley's "Sorry to Bother You" is one of the year's biggest critical hits.

Director Chris Weitz's film 'Operation Finale' tells the amazing story of the capture of Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann; fans begin to pay their respects to the Aretha Franklin at the Museum of African American History in Detroit; and Cuban jazz pianist Dayramir Gonzalez is a rising star.

Breaking down the scene between Michelle Yeoh and her would be daughter-in-law, Constance Wu; documentary filmmaker Steve James spent a year inside a Chicago high school for the series, “America to Me”; remembering playwright and screenwriter Neil Simon, who died at the age of 91.

The former "Gilmore Girls" co-star has an Emmy nomination for her role in the dystopian world of "The Handmaid's Tale"; Harvey Weinstein's legal woes seem to be mounting; Aneesh Chaganty, director and co-writer of the film, "Searching," has created a hyper-modern day thriller.