Olivia Charmaine Morris is a name that you’ll want to remember, as she’s paving the way for women, people of color, the LGBTQ+ community and beyond.
The media executive-turned talk show host knows what viewers want to see, and she’s bringing it to life with her new show The Tea with Olivia Charmaine. Despite the show’s sudden emergence, Olivia is no stranger to television. Her professional resume includes The Last OG starring Tracy Morgan and Tiffany Haddish; Lena Waithe‘s Twenties, and Seth MacFarlane‘s American Dad, just to name a few, with credits on TNT and TBS, as well as Kerry Washington‘s production company, Sullivan Street. Her entrepreneurial mind led her to blaze her own trail in the industry by launching and sustaining her own production company Black Monarch Entertainment.
“It wasn’t until I had a professor who was also a development executive and she taught me about that side of the business. It was a way for me to really combine my creative side with my analytical business side that felt really natural,” says Olivia to Celeb Secrets host Sydney Veda. “But it all comes back to storytelling. It wasn’t just storytelling — it was diverse storytelling, and so I became a passionate and then firm advocate, and now [I’m] someone who can really turn on the resources for information, relationships, money, opportunity when it comes to diverse storytelling.”
Combining an extensive network in the TV industry with a passion for hosting, Morris’ new show, The Tea with Olivia Charmaine, was born. An idea she’s had for years, the media professional’s dream started to come to life during the Coronavirus pandemic, where she hopped on IG Live to chat with her famous friends while drinking her favorite teas.
“I would talk to people like Janelle Monáe, and not just ask them, ‘what new album do you have coming out?’ But I would say, ‘what inspires you? What’s your artistic process?'” she shared. “I would ask someone like Jidenna, ‘would you rather meet your ancestors or descendants?’ and we had a huge, expansive conversation about that.”
Taking the show from her living room couch to her studio couch, The Tea with Olivia Charmaine finds Olivia in front of the camera as she invites star-studded guests to discuss topics such as mental health and diversity with a fresh perspective. Her goal is to engage all audiences and bring them together.
“It’s level setting, everyone’s going to feel relatable as they sit on the couch, whether it’s someone that you’re like ‘oh I follow them, I’ve followed them for years. Or it’s, ‘oh, I’ve never heard of this comedian.’ It also turned a bit into a variety show, where it’s like musical performances and comedians, and there was a magician which was like my favorite!”
She says she’s not afraid of topics such as race, religion, socio-economics, and queerness as she opens up about her journey carrying and owning her own identity.
“I occupy a lot of different spaces, I call them spaces of otherness,” She went on to say “As I am having a platform and sharing my story, I want to be the most authentic person that I am as well.
As a viewer, Olivia promises you’re in for a fun, fresh vibe throughout The Tea. Production has already begun from Georgia Public Broadcast Studios in Atlanta and will be on a major network very soon.
You can learn more about The Tea with Olivia Charmaine in our full interview below and don’t forget to let us know if you’re excited for new episodes by either leaving a reaction at the bottom of the post or by sending us a tweet at @celebsecrets.
You can connect with Olivia by giving her a follow on Instagram at @olivia_charmaine.
