00:00When a person goes missing, it is terrifying.
00:03And then when a person goes missing and it might be at the hand of people that they know,
00:11you know, it's even more terrifying.
00:13And as an actress, as a woman, I think I'm excited that we're telling this story
00:21because if it raises a red flag, if you're in a situation in your own personal life
00:27and your inner dialogue is fearful and it's raising an alarm,
00:34that's a good thing you need to pay attention to.
00:35Is there any circumstance more terrifying than when a child goes missing?
00:44It's a horrible situation.
00:46Every parent's worst nightmare.
00:49But what if I told you another local teen went missing?
00:53Her name is Drea Spivey.
00:55Drea's disappearance has never been covered by a single news outlet.
01:01I aim to find them
01:03and the people responsible for taking them away.
01:09Drea makes 11 total all reported missing in Oakland.
01:14What happened to Drea
01:15could happen to any one of your kids.
01:18I get how important independence is at your age,
01:20but independence in Oakland can require a deal with the devil.
01:23The police ain't doing enough.
01:27I'm pushing as hard as I can to get more resources for Drea.
01:31While in office, I champion a strong police department.
01:35Please pardon the interruption.
01:37My daughter is missing too.
01:39Say her name!
01:40Say her name!
01:41Say her name!
01:43Say her name!
01:43Say her name!
01:44Say her name!
01:45So for my first question,
01:48it's actually for you, Ms. Spencer.
01:49I want to know,
01:51with you getting into character with this season for Poppy,
01:55how did you prepare for it as pertaining to 2019
01:59and how have you prepared for it this upcoming third season?
02:03Well, each season provides a different type of case.
02:06Most of the cases that we work on or solve
02:10are directly related to some sort of murder.
02:16This season, it's about women who disappear
02:22and then we go on that journey with their families
02:26and discover how some of them happen to go missing.
02:30So, I had to prepare myself this season
02:33to actually look into sex trafficking
02:37and it's completely different.
02:40It's not a subject that I was comfortable with
02:44and it made me very nervous.
02:46It made me very nervous because A, I'm a woman,
02:48but B, I have nieces and nephews
02:51and sisters and friends.
02:54So, to go down that rabbit hole
02:55of what human trafficking is
03:00and potentially what that hell is for the victims
03:05was, it was deeply disturbing,
03:08but illuminating.
03:10And I'm very glad that we are taking on
03:14that very challenging subject.
03:16That's actually interesting
03:17because that was going to be my next question
03:19for you, Gabrielle,
03:20in terms of outside of Octavia,
03:24was there anything else
03:25that made you gravitate toward this role
03:27or anything else that might have intrigued you
03:29that you wanted to take on this particular role?
03:31Well, I mean, because I,
03:33you know, the show takes place in the Bay Area,
03:35I experience sexual violence at 19 in the Bay Area.
03:38I am uniquely qualified to kind of cover
03:43the theme of sexual violence
03:47against women and children.
03:49I have been in the trenches doing the work,
03:51lobbying state legislatures.
03:52You know, I've been on Capitol Hill,
03:54you know, to improve outcomes,
03:57you know, in this space,
03:58but that's in real life.
04:01How do you turn all of that
04:02and apply it to your art
04:04in a way that you don't lose yourself completely?
04:09And last July was my 30-year anniversary of my rape.
04:13And that's in the, you know,
04:14in the throes of filming.
04:16And it was triggering
04:17and terror-filled every day.
04:21And I learned so much more
04:22about my experience through the work
04:25that ultimately allowed me to heal myself
04:29after 30 years thinking I had.
04:32So we're hoping that this show
04:34can provide that kind of healing,
04:37those kind of expanded conversations,
04:39because Black and brown girls
04:40are never centered in their own stories.
04:43They will find ways
04:44to make you complicit in your own abuse.
04:47So hopefully through this show,
04:48we can show what it actually looks like today,
04:50how it not just impacts the victim,
04:52but their families and communities,
04:54that this is a global epidemic.
04:56But yeah, without really understanding
04:59what it looks like,
05:01you don't really know what you're up against,
05:02certainly not as parents.
05:03So hopefully we are not only entertaining,
05:06but we are having
05:08really important conversations
05:10and creating a safer space
05:12to educate ourselves,
05:14to hopefully save ourselves.
05:15So one of the things
05:17that's at the core of this show
05:18is Crime Podcast.
05:20And it's interesting,
05:22that's one of the thing
05:24that it translates
05:26towards a lot of different demographics.
05:27Why do you guys think,
05:29even crime drama shows,
05:30why do you think that's so popular
05:31with so many people
05:32and why does it resonate
05:33with so many different demographics?
05:34I have a very different,
05:39for me it's organic.
05:41But I think the reason
05:42so many people gravitate
05:45to true crime podcasts
05:48and the genre of true crime
05:51is because the crimes
05:53are always exterior to their lives.
05:57And so for some people,
05:59it might be entertainment.
06:02For me, it has always been
06:04really and truly about,
06:08you know,
06:09following the crime and solving,
06:11just logical, methodical,
06:14crime solving,
06:16even though I'm not an investigator.
06:19I've always done it.
06:21But I think people gravitate to it
06:24because it's not happening to them.
06:27And I think at the center of that,
06:28we have to remember
06:29that at the center
06:31of all of these crimes
06:32that have become case studies
06:36and then on to,
06:37you know,
06:38be subjects of different shows
06:40is that there are real people,
06:42real victims.
06:44I'm glad that our show
06:46deals with whatever,
06:48you know,
06:48true crime
06:49that we're dealing with
06:52for that season.
06:53I'm glad that we're not
06:54really dealing with crimes
06:56that actually happened to people,
06:57but that could.
06:58I want to know,
07:00because it used to be,
07:00and I'm not super old,
07:02but it used to be
07:03Hollywood would only let,
07:05you know,
07:05one African-American person win
07:07and you would see the same
07:08black people
07:09in the same movies
07:10and all that stuff.
07:11How do you feel about
07:11the state of
07:12black women in Hollywood today
07:15and just black Hollywood
07:16in general?
07:16Well,
07:18I,
07:18I,
07:22listen,
07:22are we where we should be
07:24as far as equity?
07:26No,
07:27but I love
07:30that right now
07:31you could say Gabrielle,
07:32you can say Octavia,
07:33you can say Carrie,
07:34you can say Viola,
07:35you could say,
07:35I mean,
07:36you know what I mean?
07:37We just saw our Tiffany,
07:39you know,
07:39there's so many roles
07:41that are being created
07:42for women,
07:43women of color,
07:44and I'm excited about
07:47continuing to expand that.
07:49As a producer,
07:51I'd like to create opportunities
07:52for all women,
07:55all filmmakers,
07:56you know,
07:57especially those
07:58who are marginalized
07:58and whose voices
07:59are underserved.
08:00So,
08:01are we where we should be?
08:03No,
08:03but it's,
08:04there's definitely
08:04a huge incremental change,
08:06don't you think?
08:07Yeah,
08:07and it's,
08:08but it's,
08:08it takes more of us
08:09when you get into
08:10that position of power
08:11to not get drunk off it,
08:13right?
08:14Like,
08:14don't get high
08:14if you're old supply,
08:15spread it around.
08:16So like,
08:17you know,
08:17when we create shows,
08:18make sure that your,
08:19your writers aren't going
08:20to stay baby writers.
08:21Make sure that they're
08:22producing every episode
08:23so that they can take,
08:24they can,
08:24they can build on your network
08:26and you're not trying
08:26to hold them hostage
08:27so they can go on
08:28and expand their career
08:29and rise through the ranks.
08:30We have to create more.
08:32We have to be equally
08:32as committed
08:34to creating more of us
08:35than,
08:36than getting geeked
08:37that we're finally at a table
08:38that no one really
08:39wanted us out to be doing.
08:40So,
08:41it's more of that
08:41and like,
08:42the younger generation,
08:43they are fearless.
08:44They don't care.
08:44They are fearless.
08:45You know,
08:45like I,
08:46you know,
08:46I look at,
08:47you know,
08:48Issa Rae,
08:49Quinta and all that.
08:50Like,
08:50they are doing it,
08:52Thede,
08:53they,
08:53Robin Thede,
08:54like they,
08:54they do exactly
08:55what they want
08:56unapologetically.
08:57They put people on
09:00unapologetically.
09:01You know,
09:01it used to be like,
09:03I'm gonna get in there
09:04and I'm gonna see
09:04what I can do.
09:04See what I can do.
09:05And I'll see if I can
09:06throw you back the rope.
09:07But it was like,
09:08it was full of fear
09:09and like,
09:09it was very cloak and dagger
09:11and you were like,
09:11I don't know what happened.
09:13Because there really
09:14could only be one,
09:15but for those of us
09:16who never subscribe to that,
09:17Right.
09:17It was hard to figure out
09:19how do you move forward
09:20if we don't all do it together.
09:21Together.
09:22You know,
09:22and I think this generation
09:23is showing us,
09:25no, you just do it.
09:26Yeah.
09:26You know,
09:27but because they're doing it,
09:29you got people thinking
09:30that like,
09:31you know,
09:32I basically was like,
09:33I was treated this year
09:34as like an ingenue
09:35at 50.
09:37Like they're just discovering me
09:38or Mia Long
09:40or Regina Hall
09:41or anything,
09:41Regina King.
09:42Like we've been doing this.
09:44We've been holding it down,
09:45but the younger generation
09:47kind of like
09:48helped us shake off
09:49our fear
09:50for that
09:51that proximity drunkenness
09:54that some folks get
09:55when one person
09:56gets in the room.
09:57So what can audiences expect
09:59from season three
09:59of Truth Be Told?
10:01George Benson.
10:03Well,
10:04this season,
10:05it's definitely
10:06a more personal story.
10:09It's about danger
10:11to the family nucleus.
10:13You know,
10:14when a person goes missing,
10:17it is terrifying.
10:18And then when a person
10:20goes missing,
10:21and it might be
10:23at the hand
10:24of people
10:25that they know,
10:27you know,
10:27it's even more terrifying.
10:29And as an actress,
10:32as a woman,
10:33I think I'm excited
10:35that we're telling this story
10:37because if it raises
10:38a red flag,
10:39if you're in a situation
10:41in your own personal life
10:43and your inner dialogue
10:46is fearful
10:48and it's raising an alarm,
10:49that's a good thing
10:50you need to pay attention to.
10:51And I think we hit
10:53all of those marks,
10:54I think.
10:55What do you think
10:55we'll be seeing this season?
10:58Well,
10:58I think if you're a fan
10:59of the show,
11:00I mean,
11:00it's hard for her to say it
11:01because, I mean,
11:01she's very humble.
11:03But as a fan of the show,
11:04you're going to get
11:05all the things
11:05that you love
11:06about Truth Be Told.
11:07you're going to get
11:08those juicy mysteries.
11:09You're going to get
11:10phenomenal writing,
11:11great acting,
11:12amazing direction.
11:14But this season,
11:16I think
11:16you're going to walk away
11:19changed
11:20from the show.
11:22I don't think
11:22you can watch
11:23the whole season
11:23and not feel changed
11:25and not feel empowered
11:26or at least
11:27feel a little differently
11:29than you did
11:29about the subject matter
11:30coming into it.
11:32And I think,
11:33I hope that we are
11:34preparing you
11:34to go out into the world
11:36and to fight for yourselves
11:37and to fight for our kids.
11:38Exactly.
11:39Because truly,
11:40we all we got.
11:41For Octavia,
11:42Gabrielle,
11:42I appreciate you guys.
11:44I look forward
11:44to the new season
11:45and thank you for your time.
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