Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios’ Mental Health Action Day Slated For May 16 (Exclusive)

In season four of Showtime’s popular drama The Chi, Victor (played by Luke James) invites a group of Black men, ranging in age from teens to grandparents of teens, to join him in a healing circle, a place where the men could talk without fear of judgment or reprisal. A place where they could hold space for healing in this group.

It marked a rare opportunity to not only discuss mental health, which has become more common on TV over the past decade, but also to address Black men’s mental health in particular.

“That episode did wonderful job depicting healing circles as a tool for mental health action-taking for a community that has very specific mental health challenges,” said Brianna Cayo Cotter, senior vice president of social impact at Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios.

To facilitate similar conversations, the company partnered with BEAM
Beam
(Black Emotional and Mental Health Collective) to create a video featuring tips for creating a healing circle and launch a webpage on BEAM’s site directing people to wellness tools, mental health resources and a space available for healing right after the program aired. Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios also donated $100,000 to BEAM earmarked for expanding and sustaining healing circles.

It’s an example of the potential intersection between entertainment and action that’s being highlighted this May, which is Mental Health Awareness Month. Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios will hold its fourth annual Mental Health Action Day (MHAD) on May 16, partnering with more than 2,300 nonprofits, brands and leaders to encourage people to go beyond mental health awareness to actually take steps to improve their mental health—just as Victor did on The Chi.

The first MHAD came about during the pandemic. “It was just so clear that the mental health crisis, which was already a problem in this country, had just been completely exacerbated by COVID. As a brand and organization that has been working on mental health for well over a decade, it was interesting to be in spaces where people were still talking about the need for mental health awareness,” said Cayo Cotter.

Creating Social Connection

This year’s call to action is to dedicate one hour to social connection. That might mean having lunch with a friend, calling a relative or playing a game with a neighbor. The focus builds on U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy’s 2023 advisory report that found loneliness has become a public health epidemic. Murthy is, not coincidentally, one of the leaders involved in the Mental Health Action Day, and he highlighted the benefits of efforts specifically targeting young people.

That includes the launch of a new YouTube YouTube-based choose-your own-adventure-style interactive video made in partnership with youth mental health nonprofit Active Minds and designed to teach young people how to help someone who reaches out to them with a mental health concern. It instructs them to A.S.K.: acknowledge, support and keep-in-touch. The A.S.K. launched at last year’s MTV VMAs.

Cayo Cotter cited research that found young people struggling with mental health often reach out to a friend first, but friends often don’t know the best way to help. A.S.K. offers tools to combat that uncertainty.

“The youth mental health crisis has become the defining public health challenge of our time, and these new resources will help young people find support and build social connection into their daily lives,” said Murthy. “In the face of unprecedented challenges, our youth have worked hard to foster supportive environments for one another, and on this Mental Health Action Day, I’m grateful to see so many stepping up to help them.”

The first MHAD had about 230 partners. This year that has expanded to more than 2,300, including YouTube, Big Brothers Big Sisters, CBS, Reddit, Pinterest, the NBA, lululemon, Sesame Workshop, the Trevor Project and more.

Why Should The Studio Behind ‘Yellowstone’ Care About Your Mental Health?

So why does a big brand like Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios, which encompasses the pay cable network, MTV and most of those legacy Viacom networks, need to care about mental health or house a social impact division? Beyond the obvious synergies, such as the opportunity to broach mental health subjects that are often taboo through entertainment, Cayo Cotter also cites other reasons. She says content must cater to fans, and mental health is one of their concerns.

“Also, mental health is an issue that hits everyone. And very few times in a studio as diverse as ours, that has everything from Yellowstone to RuPaul’s Drag Race to Teen Mom, do you have an issue that’s really going to connect and hit all of those different audiences,” she says.

What are the metrics of success for such a campaign? Cayo Cotter says the most obvious is tracking how many people are inspired to take action around mental health. For instance, Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios will measure attendance at events put on by nonprofits across the country on May 16, funded by SHOWTIME/MTV Entertainment Studios and CBS-owned local stations in Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Colorado, Detroit, Miami, Minneapolis and New York, as well as independent stations in Seattle and Tampa Bay.

One is a Self Care & Wellness Fair led by Barbershop Speaks in Miami with professional haircuts, VR relaxation, massages, manicures, stretching and guided breathing exercises and a later presentation about A.S.K.

Another is a community basketball game in Baltimore organized by I AM MENtality and inviting participation from young men, community leaders, mental health experts and law enforcement officers. And an event in Flint, Michigan, will focus on the mental health of incarcerated people and take place at the Genesee County Jail.

Cayo Cotter notes we’ve come a long way from the memorable but simpler Rock the Vote-style PSAs of a few decades ago to now actively courting action on important social issues. “The world has changed very dramatically in the last couple of years. And I think this model of PSAs and things like that just are not enough,” she says.