Nick Cannon's 'Like a Boss' on Oxygen focuses on assistants (starts March 29)

ajc.com

Credit: Rodney Ho

Credit: Rodney Ho

By RODNEY HO/ rho@ajc.com, originally filed Tuesday, March 29, 2016

Reality programs like to focus on celebrities, from Kendra Wilkinson to Leah Remini to T.I.

But how about those poor assistants that do their bidding?

Oxygen debuts "Like a Boss" tonight at 9 p.m. featuring media mogul Nick Cannon, V-103 afternoon host Big Tigger, realtor Blair Meeks and record executive Abou "Bu" Thiam. It's set in Atlanta. In the case of Cannon, who is executive producing the show, he just opened a production office in the city and needed someone to keep track of things in this part of the country.

The assistants are Amber Grimes (Cannon), Rian Parrish (Big Tigger), Devin Simpson (Meeks) and Drekia Glenn (Thiam).

Amber used to assist for Thiam but had moved on. She felt working with Cannon was worth taking a career step back in order to hopefully move several steps forward.

"Being an assistant is like being the mother of a grown-a** man," said Amber in the trailer.

Rian, a mom, feels like she is buddies with Big Tigger but would like to emulate his success as well.

Devin spent the first episode having multiple dates during the day instead of working, which led Blaire to lecture him

Drekia is very opinionated but also very determined. She practically stalked Thiam down until he hired her.

The show reveals the challenges assistants face and how it impacts their personal lives to be at the beck and call of a big shot 24/7.

Here is a quick Q&A I did with Cannon via email:

  •         Why did you decide to do this show?

It's important to me to empower people, especially young professionals growing their career. Many have the misconception that assistants to celebrities, entertainment moguls or really successful individuals have it easy - and that's not true. This show exposes what it's really like to be an assistant to power players. As a leader and media mogul, I've learned that giving them the opportunity to be successful is necessary to having a team flourish and remain loyal; it's a symbiotic relationship.

  •         And why in Atlanta?

My company NCredible touches all facets of the entertainment industry; music, television, film, etc. Not only is Atlanta a hotbed for the entertainment industry, it's known for its music scene. Many successful artists hail for Atlanta. I currently have offices in Los Angeles and New York City - looking to expand, Atlanta was the next city to take the NCredible Empire! Atlanta also represents the same values that the show represents. If you want to work in the big leagues, you gotta hang with the big boys!

  •         Conceptually, why might this appeal to viewers?

The American dream and true entrepreneurism has always been appealing to audiences - what really goes on behind the scenes may not always be what people expect. This is really what happens in my office day to day, and seeing that will be very surprising to many people - as previously mentioned, this show exposes what it's really like to assist a power player.

I have interviewed some of the cast members but I am short on time so I will add those later.

TV PREVIEW

"Like a Boss," 9 p.m. Tuesdays, starting March 29, Oxygen