Check Out: College Hill, The Celebrity Edition
With the month of August kicking off and students across the country preparing to return to school, the relaunch of the 2004 BET series, College Hill, has come right on time. The series has since been revived but it included a new twist. Rather than capture the life of college students attending historically black colleges and universities around the nation, the show will now document the experience of celebrities matriculating into college.
College Hill aired for six seasons and included schools such as Southern University, the University of the Virgin Islands and Virginia State University. The relaunch of College Hill now features celebrities who had college dreams, but life deferred those plans. The series debuted on BET+ with NeNe Leakes, Ray J, Lamar Odom, Big Freedia, Stacey Dash, Dream Doll, India Love, and Slim Thug as the first celebrity cohort. The eight-part series showcased the stars as they navigate college life at the HBCU, Texas Southern University.
Texas rapper Slim Thug was actually accepted to the university but never went because his career began to take off. New Orleans bounce star, Big Freedia also chose a career over the classroom and dropped out of nursing school to pursue musical interests. Nene Leakes left school but it wasn’t for her career, rather she took the time off due to being pregnant.
The rest of the cast may not have enrolled in a college, but in the case of social media influencer India Love, one of her sisters graduated from TSU and she wanted to follow in her footsteps. Ray J, Lamar Odom and Dream Doll were interested in self-enrichment and the overall experience. However, the same enthusiasm did not apply to Stacey Dash, who seemed uninterested in the experience and her castmates.
The series creator, Tracey Edmonds, welcomed the return of the hit series. Edmonds stated, “I am so elated to partner with Texas Southern University and be able to bring back this cherished franchise with an exciting new twist that I am sure will entertain and inspire new and old fans across the board.”
Viewers can expect to be entertained by the antics of the cohort inside and outside of the classroom, but you also get a glimpse of what HBCUs offer to the students being served. And in true HBCU fashion, “Professors expect these celebrity Tigers to attend class and successfully complete their curated multi-disciplinary academic program,” according to Dr. Lesia L. Crumpton-Young, the President of Texas Southern University.
