Shamier Anderson and Stephan James will host The Legacy Awards later this month, the first major Canadian awards show to celebrate and showcase Black talent.
The Scarborough-born brothers, actors and producers, who are also executive producing the awards show (alongside Daniel Abrams and Norbert Abrams), are the founders of Bay Mills Studios and The Black Academy, a Toronto-headquartered, membership-based organization that operates at the intersection of Black popular culture and social justice.
Set to air on CBC and CBC Gem on Sunday, Sept. 25 in a live, 90-minute telecast, the preliminary lineup of performers includes Jully Black; Deborah Cox; Keysha Freshh; Izzy-S; Kardinal Offishall; SATE; Savannah Ré; and DJ 4KORNERS, with confirmed presenters so far including comedian/actor King Bach, former Governor General Michaëlle Jean; and media personalities Arisa Cox, Brandon Gonez, Kathleen Newman-Bremang, Amanda Parris, and Odario Williams. The complete lineup of award recipients, performers, and presenters as well as public ticket information will be announced in the coming weeks.
“Putting together this celebration of Black Canadian talent is a labour of love and I’m honoured to have been invited to helm this epic undertaking,” said showrunner David F. Mewa. “A ton of care and thought has gone into creating the inaugural edition of The Legacy Awards and I think Canadians will be very inspired by what they see. It’s going to be seismic.”
In addition to Mewa, who is known for his work on CBC Music Backstage Pass; MTV Hip Hop My House; and Scott’s Vacation House Rules, Tanisha Scott is serving as The Legacy Awards’ creative director, head choreographer, and co-multi camera director. Scott is a three-time MTV VMA-nominated choreographer known for collaborations with Beyoncé, Rihanna, H.E.R., Coldplay, Jay-Z, Lizzo, and Cardi B. Jordan Rudder (2022 JUNO Awards; Canada’s New Year’s Eve: Countdown; Canada’s Walk of Fame; Battle of The Blades; Big Brother Canada) is the show’s talent producer. In addition to managing talent relations on behalf of Insight Productions and The Black Academy, Rudder has been working behind-the-scenes of the awards since their inception.
Described as a “tribute-style” awards show, this year’s recipients have been chosen by an advisory committee made up of “industry specialists” across music, film, TV and pop culture, in addition to The Black Academy.
Canadians are able to vote for the Digital Creator Fan Choice Award, which will recognize a fan-favourite Black-identifying Canadian digital content creator, open for voting, Sept. 6 – 23.
The 2022 edition of The Legacy Awards marks the first of a three-year partnership with CBC.
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