Before Reesha L. Archibald became a Hollywood television producer and started collaborating with Cedric the Entertainer and Eric Rhone, she was in St. Louis thinking about ways to use her artistic talents.
Now that she’s made it big as an executive producer on shows including Bounce TV’s “Finding Happy” and “Johnson,” she’s focused on building up St. Louis’ talent and providing opportunities for creatives in her hometown.
She spoke with St. Louis on the Air host Elaine Cha about her journey from St. Louis to Hollywood and her vision for storytelling that reflects the breadth of Black lived experiences.
This interview was edited for length and clarity.
Elaine Cha: What do you have next to you right now?
Reesha Archibald: A little makeshift bottle of Red Hot Riplets seasoning. I need to be a brand ambassador because I put this on literally everything. If you don't have the seasoning, y'all, go get it because it will change your life.
Cha: You lived in St. Louis for quite some time, and in Missouri, before making your way to Los Angeles. What is the seasoning that you bring to the shows that you have worked on?
Archibald: St. Louis is a great space to hone your craft. St. Louis has a very unique way of supporting you — or not. When they support you, you're good to go out into the world. When they don't, you're not ready yet. I feel like St. Louisans really live and breathe by the “Show-Me State” adage. I think that ability, that I was raised with from my parents and in my village, is what enabled me to go out into a space like Los Angeles and get my footing.
Everything I've been through in my life has led me to be the producer that I am. I have a background in supply chain logistics, and having that corporate background adds to that seasoning that you ask about, because I was able to build up my management skills. It helped me be able to learn how to manage budgets on a large level because I was managing million-dollar budgets. And then also being a creative, being an actor — I think that lends to my producing skills.
Cha: You’re bringing ingredients that are necessary to putting together a show that not only is authentic to what you know and what you understand, but to shows that have been very successful, like “Johnson.” How would you describe “Johnson” to someone who has no familiarity with it?
Archibald: “Johnson” is a story about four Black men who are childhood friends, and they are navigating life and collaborating with each other. It humanizes Black men, and Black people in general, because oftentimes Black people are portrayed as thugs, deadbeat dads and absentee fathers and husbands — a lot of negative connotations. This story reminds people that Black men are just like every other man. They deal with divorce, fatherhood and trying to find their space in society. They are good citizens and leaders. They have feelings. I think that this narrative also shows how Black people come together in unique ways, and how Black men lean on each other.
I was attracted to this story because I saw the men in my life. I saw my ex-boyfriends, my brothers, and I saw my daddy and my uncles. This project was important for me to tell because I wanted to make sure that on a larger platform, people who were not like me — and who were like me — saw Black men [portrayed on TV] in a different way.
Cha: “Johnson’s” first season aired in 2021. Do you feel like by the time you got to Hollywood, and you were in a position to push for a show like “Johnson” — to be an executive producer on it — that there was more readiness for it?
Archibald: I feel like for Black folks, we've always been ready for it. Think about the 1990s, when there was a slate of Black content that was positive — that made Black folks look great and told our stories in a real way. They were all successful because they were telling our truths. In 2021, we were hungry for something like this because it's been lacking in media for a while.
Cha: What did you grow up watching?
Archibald: Stuff like “The Cosby Show” and “Martin.” One of my favorite movies is “I'm Gonna Git You Sucka.” The Wayans Brothers — all things Wayans. “In Living Color” and “Diff'rent Strokes” — phenomenal shows that showed families and how they dealt with real-life scenarios.
I think that's why “Johnson” does so well because we did have a lot of that growing up in the 1980s and 1990s, and we don't have a lot of that today. We are in need of positive imagery — [especially] from a Black male perspective.
Cha: You have collaborated with some big names in entertainment, including Cedric the Entertainer, who grew up in St Louis, and Eric Rhone, whose home base is St. Louis. What has it been like to collaborate with them?
Archibald: I literally have to pinch myself all the time. It's been a dream come true to work with them, because, you know how it is: You leave home, and you go to a city like Los Angeles where you're like a fish out of water. L.A. is a big city, and it will eat you up and spit you out if you let it. So it has been nothing short of an immense blessing, working with those gentlemen, watching how they work and learning from them. I also appreciate that they see value in me because I've definitely been in scenarios in other jobs where I didn't feel seen, heard or appreciated. So to be in the midst of these great human beings — with the cachet and the breath that they bring — for them to see value in me is amazing.
Cha: What is it like for you to come back to St. Louis now that you have achieved as much as you have, and how does that affect what you think about doing in the future?
Archibald: I'm very close with my family, so I'm there all the time. The love that St. Louis gives is unparalleled. The people in St. Louis are some of the realest people I've ever met in my life. When they love on you, they love on you hard, and it's like a hug, you know? It's always a blessing to come back home.
One of the things I really want to do is to broaden the film and TV space — to pour what I've learned into the city. When I left St. Louis, on the 25-hour drive, I remember praying to God: “I want to be a conduit. I want to be used by you to be able to pull in people who you love and have purpose for in entertainment.” I don't want people to have to fight to get into certain spaces. I want to be that bridge.
We've been able to get St. Louis music artists sync opportunities on some of our shows. I'm always trying to find a way to pull St. Louis into the fold of the things that I'm doing, because it is full of such dynamic people and talent.
Cha: You also worked on the CBS documentary “13 Days in Ferguson.” How was that different from other work that you've done? What did it mean for you to be part of that project?
Archibald: Oh, my God. It meant everything.
I feel like I cried so much during the filming because [former Missouri State Highway Patrol] Capt. Ron Johnson is just a beautiful human being. When they brought him on, all I remember saying was, “Thank you, Jesus,” because I felt like we needed somebody Black on the ground. St. Louis is known for police not treating Black folks properly, so I felt like we needed somebody who looked like us to be in the fold of that.
Being able to watch the dynamic between Johnson and Cedric was very unique because it wasn't your typical documentary interview style. You had this well-known, A-list celebrity partnered with his fraternity brother. When they were pledging in college back in the day, they had no idea either of them would be in the positions that they're in right now. It was beautiful being able to watch them interact with one another — to see the vulnerability that they both had while getting to the nitty-gritty of what he had to deal with, how he was feeling, how it impacted him, his family and the community. I'm very intentional about the types of stories that I tell as a producer, and this by far was one of my favorites because of how it shed light on a lot of things that we didn't know about that occurrence in 2014. It was really a blessing to be a part of it.
To hear the full conversation between Reesha Archibald and Elaine Cha, listen to St. Louis on the Air on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube, or click the play button below.
“St. Louis on the Air” brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. The show is produced by Miya Norfleet, Emily Woodbury, Danny Wicentowski, Elaine Cha and Alex Heuer. Jada Jones is our production assistant. The audio engineer is Aaron Doerr.
