Jemele Hill is no stranger to sports, and now she’s returning to TV in a new show for TNT Sports called “Above The Fold.”
The veteran journalist and TV personality will lead the show, which will “delve into important stories and topics centered on the connection between sports and culture.”
TV has changed dramatically since Hill was featured on ESPN, with magazine themed shows like Sports Reporters mostly a thing of the past.
But Hill feels it’s time to bring these shows back and give audiences more in-depth coverage of the industry that she’s so passionate about.
“As somebody who has now been in this business for almost three decades as a professional, it’s certainly hard not to notice that a lot of the shows, such as Outside The Lines, and E60, those hard hitting, deep dive, long-form type shows almost went extinct,” said Hill to The Hollywood Reporter in an interview. “What I love about being a part of this project is feeling that sense of a weekly commitment to that kind of storytelling, that kind of journalism, and covering things happening inside the lines and also on the margins that are related to sports and and culture.”
Fans used to tune into more journalistic-driven shows like Outside the Lines and Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel, but ESPN and HBO ended those shows after decades of success.
Now Hill and TNT will try to bring the allure and power of those once-great programs back to life through Above The Fold.
“I think even if you’re starting something new, what matters the most are the people committed to it, and everyone here is committed to really making this a unique sports product that is also compelling and engaging for fans, and even for people who consider themselves to be just kind of casual observers who check in and out of sports,” Hill said to the Hollywood Reporter.
Debuting on October 22nd at 5pm on TruTV, Above The Fold will bring sports journalism back to cable television as part of the channel’s new sports programming block, which includes live sports, simulcasts, and other sports studio programming.
The show is produced by Uninterrupted, which is a part of LeBron James’ The SpringHill Company, and Hill is the executive producer of the show.
With the rise of sports podcasts and programs like Manningcast, sports journalism on TV has been pushed to the back seat. But Hill and the team are aiming to change that trend with Above The Fold.
“It’s not easy journalism to do, and certainly when you have so many metrics telling you that people enjoy seeing debates and discussions and arguments, that can sometimes be very intimidating for people who want to return to this kind of sports storytelling,” said Hill. “But certainly the opportunity to partner with TNT and Turner and SpringHill, just their commitment to making this project a part of our sports universe, it was impossible to say no to that.”
