Written by: Megan Maher

Ambitions is the new soap on OWN that will leave you wanting more!

This show takes you on an adventure through an intimate portrait of the many complicated and loving relationships of some Atlanta’s most elite and prolific people. This ongoing drama features the lives of many characters and their familial, platonic and intimate relationships. As someone who has never drawn to soap operas, I must say that Ambitions breaks the mold by providing in-depth story development that will leave you fantasizing about living in that world! It hits all of those universal dramatic beats that we all are familiar with, but these characters and their relationships are the secret ingredient that makes this show an event!

Ambitions is filled with a ton of characters and storylines that are sure to capture your attention, so I have put together a cheat sheet of everything to know going into it!

Key Players

Ice Queen of Ambitions

Stephanie Carlisle-Lancaster (Robin Givens)

Stephanie Carlisle is the wife of Atlanta Mayor Evan Lancaster. She is from a prestigious and affluent family in Atlanta, GA. Her true loyalty is to her own family’s prestigious law firm, Stephanie desperately wants to be in charge of the Carlisle family law firm.

Dirty Mayor of Ambitions

Evan Lancaster (Brian White)

Evan is a social climber whose political ambitions are so robust that he begins to lose all his morality and loyalty. Evan is willing to do anything to get to the next level in his career. Evan seems to be in constant competition with his wife trying to level up to the pedestal that he has put her on.

Princess of Ambitions

Amara Hughes (Essence Atkins)

Amara is a lawyer in U.S. Attorney’s Office who has newly arrived in Atlanta with her husband,

Titus. Based off the way Amara presents herself to the rest of the world you would think that she is the sweet and polar opposite of the Ice Queen Stephanie, but we quickly learn that they are two sides of the same coin with a rivalry that is sure to keep you tuned in.

Prince of Ambitions

Titus Hughes (Kendrick Cross)

Titus is an attorney who recently moved with his wife Amara (Essence Atkins) to Atlanta. Titus has been hired as in-house counsel for a big pharma company run by Hunter Purifoy, who is fighting a class action suit brought by the powerful Carlisle family. Titus on the surface seems to be a clean cut, good guy but he has made a major career change and temptation surrounds him. Can he remain the pure good guy? (I highly doubt it, but I am here for it!)

The Fav of Ambitions

Rondell (Brely Evans)

Rondell is Atlanta Mayor Evan Lancaster’s (Brian White) sister, who runs a not-quite-profitable restaurant called Thelma’s Place. Rondell represents the around the way girl who allows her passion for preserving her community to lead her path.

The Seamstress of Ambitions

Bella (Erica Page) is a fashion designer in Atlanta who designs all of Stephanie Carlisle’s dresses for her.

Do Not Trust Anyone!

It is no spoiler that a soap opera called Ambitions is filled with a plethora of characters that you should not trust. However, saying that each character has a “plot twist” moment does not do it justice. Each and every character, except for maybe Carly Lancaster (Kayla Smith), the daughter of Stephanie and Evan Lancaster have an “And I oop–” moment.  

One of the characters is put in a threatening situation and you will think you know who is responsible but as soon as it is revealed, I promise you, you will have an “And I oop–” moment.

Betrayal is the worst!

Like all great dramas, Ambitions unites all of its characters in the shared symptom of betrayal. All of these characters are guilty of betraying at least one other person on the show. Whether it was intentional or not, whether it was for love or lust, every single one of these characters has betrayed the person or people who have only tried to love them the best they knew how.

Have fun while watching!

Ambitions is a fun time! It truly is a multigenerational show that everyone can enjoy and the story has a great structure. It is not procedural per se like Law And Order but each act hits the nail on the head with cliffhangers. This show is rooted in its character development, therefore and it is almost impossible to watch Ambitions without being surprised. I can not wait to watch it while it’s on with Twitter in the background. There will be a plentiful amount of gifs and gif reactions that are sure to come from this show.

Everything is rooted in love!

As over the top and grimy as some of the events may be that occur on this show, everyone’s real ambition is rooted in love. Now, the love may be misguided and skewed, but it is still in its simplest form, love. Every single relationship on this show has some raw level of love which is why the betrayal of everything serves as such a major catalyst for everything and everyone.

Ambitions premiere June 18th at 10 p.m. ET/PT on OWN

The post Here Are The Key Players in the new OWN TV show ‘Ambitions’ appeared first on Black Girl Nerds.

There might be no childhood experience purer than the devouring of cotton candy at the circus or a baseball game. It’s fluffy sugar delivered in the strangest way, and you don’t eat it so much as you coat yourself—your fingers, your hands, and all over your content face—in all its glory. And it’s worth all the trouble (well, maybe not for parents), because cotton candy is delicious. That’s why they make so many other treats cotton candy-flavored. But does it work in the reverse? If you turn other flavors into cotton candy, would the result be good? That question is being put to the ultimate test, as you can now order both BBQ Sauce and Spicy Jalapeño cotton candy.

The wonderful mad geniuses at Vat19, who previously brought us the world’s largest gummy pizza, are now selling all new cotton candy flavors. Most of them sound incredible and/or delightfully intriguing, like Orange Dreamiscle, Key Lime, Rosé, Cinnamon, Birthday Cake, Strawberry Cheesecake, and more. Two of them, BBQ Sauce and Spicy Jalapeño, definitely sound… less enticing.

Their BBQ Sauce Cotton Candy, a “sweet snack” that blends “brown sugar, ketchup, and smoke that make up the condiment you would slather on your meal at your favorite BBQ joint,” doesn’t seem like a flavor combination our brain and mouth will be able to reconcile.

But that’s a bona fide dessert compared to their Spicy Jalapeño Cotton Candy, which they say “isn’t spicy enough to put you in serious pain, but its robust heat is enough to scorch your tongue.” Sounds like something an evil witch hands out on Halloween.

Do we want to eat either of these? No. Would we? Of course we would. And if you want to try either of them you can order a 1.2 ounce container of each for $3.99. After all, is there any adult experience purer than taking something you loved as a kid and making it weird?

Images: Vat19

The post You Can Order BBQ Sauce- and Jalapeño-Flavored Cotton Candy appeared first on Nerdist.

A mother is taking legal action after she alleges that her son was repeatedly bullied by students and staff at two separate Chicago Public Schools. Her son, a fourth grade […]

The post Chicago Public Schools Facing Lawsuit After 11-Year-Old Student Attempts Suicide Due To Bullying appeared first on Essence.

Normally when you are a huge fan of a band, and that certainly describes me and The Lonely Island, you are highly protective of them. Even when a group wants you to laugh at them, the last thing you want to see or hear anyone doing is criticizing them, and not just for a specific song or album, but for their entire catalogue. It’s a personal insult to hear an artist you care about so much be besmirched by Philistines who clearly have no tastes in art, either comedic or musical. But there’s now one clear exception to that general rule: it’s not only fine, it’s totally amazing, to hear a bnd you love insulted when a robot will play their songs when you cask to hear “some hot garbage.”

The comedy musical trio shared a video of themselves telling Amazon’s Alexa “to play me some hot garbage,” and on command she started shuffling songs by The Lonely Island before settling on “Like a Boss.”

Alexa, play me some hot garbage (this actually works) @amazonmusic pic.twitter.com/MpxreUI2R4

— The Lonely Island (@thelonelyisland) June 13, 2019

I can confirm this is one hundred percent real. I tried it three times, and every time my Alexa started shuffling songs by The Lonely Island. However, you must say, “Play me some hot garbage,” because if you just say, “Play hot garbage,” she plays a station based on a song called “Hot Garbage.” You really have to ask for “some” hot garbage, you know, like The Lonely Island.

Now obviously there are only two ways this is possible. The first is Amazon set up a very funny, very appropriate way to access songs by a band who constantly make fun of themselves. This seems almost certainly what happened. The second is Alexa has become self-aware, gained an “Incredibad” sense of humor, and she has owned the band better than they ever could. This is what I hoped happened.

Either way, now I feel like listening to The Lonely Island. I really love some hot garbage, and I can say that because I’m a huge fan.

Featured Image: NBC

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