In Episode 4 of Season 6 of SHOWTIME’s The Chi, Luke James’ character, Victor, facilitates a mental health circle for Black men within the community to hold space for conversation and healing. This moving storyline helps break stigma by spotlighting an organic and honest dialogue about mental health, while also showing the power of meaningful connection, as we navigate a historic epidemic of loneliness across the country. Our objective was to use our platforms to amplify the healing circle scene and provide actionable steps for our audience to take to support their own mental health.
To extend the impact of the healing circle storyline, SHOWTIME/MTV Entertainment Studios partnered with BEAM, a national training, movement-building, and grant-making institution that is dedicated to the healing, wellness, and liberation of Black and marginalized communities. Our partnership included:
- Elevating the Storyline: We co-created a video that featured powerful moments from the healing circle scene, intercut with an expert from BEAM sharing five tips on how to create your own healing circle, which were also highlighted in a social graphic.
- Engaging and Activating Fans: Our call to action sent fans to a customized landing page on BEAM’s website where they were met with:
- Mental Health Resources and Helplines
- Wellness Tools
- Heart Space Healing Circles Invitation. One of BEAM’s signature programs, Heart Space, is an online peer support group and emotional skills-building space for Black folks looking to learn, support and grow in their own healing. BEAM was able to offer a special Heart Space exclusively for The Chi fans right after the episode aired.
- Sustaining Impact: Showtime/MTVE donated $100,000 to BEAM to help expand and sustain healing circles through the end of 2024, ensuring ongoing impact.
The digital activation garnered over 1.2 million views, 1.9 million impressions, and just under 700k engagements.
- The Instagram Reel was in the top 3 for highest performing IG Reels on The Chi channel for 2023.
- 51 fans signed up to join the special 8/21 Heart Space, virtual healing circle
- The average time spent on the landing page, hosted by BEAM, was nearly 5 minutes.
Fans enjoyed seeing the content and having the opportunity to take action towards their own mental health.
