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.

"Mystery Science Theater 3000" went off the air 17 years ago, but the cult TV show is having a reunion; Gary Ross has never been happier as a filmmaker than when doing research for the Civil War drama, “Free State of Jones.”; a federal judge dismissed another lawsuit filed against the Cinemark theater chain in relation to the 2012 mass shooting in Colorado.

Jennifer Lopez joins us from the set of her NBC show "Shades of Blue." She reflects on her life as an actress, singer, producer and mother and how she refuses to be "put in one box;" What does Brexit mean for the film, TV and music industries? We check in to see how the UK's exit from the European Union could impact the creative world.

New Zealand filmmaker Taiki Waititi went from HBO's "Flight of the Concords" to the next "Thor" but along the way he made the sweet indie comedy "Hunt for The Wilderpeople;" Musician Mike Hadreas aka Perfume Genius opens up about being bullied and embracing his queer identity; Big name musicians take on Youtube and the DMCA

A.D. Miles says "The Tonight Show" will take its audience wherever — on the air or online; the copyright infringement suit against Robert Plant and Jimmy Page over "Stairway to Heaven" goes to the jury; Stephen Lieberman is one of the leading production designers on the electronic music circuit.

Ayad Akhtar discusses his Pulitzer Prize-winning play, "Disgraced," and how he explores issues of Muslim identity in post-9/11 America; Reggae icon Burning Spear and his wife and manager Sonia Rodney prepare for his final appearance in California.

Chilean musician Alex Anwandter has branched out to filmmaking to extend his message of tolerance for the LGBT community; Long Beach Opera makes another foray into experimentation with a work stripped from the headlines; Ticketmaster customers who were part of a class action suit are learning how they will benefit.

As CEO of The Jim Henson Company, she's focused on new technologies and improving the gender, racial and ethnic diversity of the people behind the characters.

Comedian, podcaster and actor Chris Gethard has a talk show on the Fusion cable network after years on public access TV. He also hosts the podcast, "Beautiful Stories from Anonymous People." He sits down with The Frame for an in-depth conversation about failure, success, depression and comedy.

Shanghai Disney is the company's $5.5 billion entrance into mainland China with a resort that includes hotels and shopping areas in addition to the 123-acre park; "Tickled" is a documentary about the odd world of competitive endurance tickling.

Derek DelGaudio uses "magic, moments of wonder and mystery" in his hit stage show, “In & Of Itself"; the opera “Anatomy Theater" explores the nature of evil on a visceral level; a new initiative from the Berklee College of Music seeks to resolve compensation issues between musicians, streaming services and record labels.

Director Thomas Kail and production designer David Korins helped bring the Broadway hit “Hamilton” to life, but in 2016 they also collaborated on the production of “Grease: Live!” — the TV event for Fox; New York Magazine theater critic Jesse Green says diversity was the big winner at this year's Tony awards.

Musician Joe Henry produced what turned out to be the final album by the New Orleans legend, who died last Fall; will a crackdown by New York's attorney general help rein in the re-sale market for concert and stage tickets?; Muhammad Ali even sang about being "The Greatest."