Tamron Hall is bringing “credibility” and “authenticity” to the second installment of her thriller novel series loosely based on Hall’s own life and career.
In “Watch Where They Hide,” the Emmy winning talk show host takes readers on the journey of crime reporter Jordan Manning as she navigates her evolving career as a TV journalist while simultaneously uncovering the mystery of a missing mother.
“I wanted to give the reader a glimpse of what it’s like in the newsroom from a character like me, but also have the luxury of fiction,” Hall told the Daily News. “I wanted it to be a mystery and a true thriller, but through the lens of Jordan Manning, a character inspired by me with a little extra sauce of fiction.”
The journalist also said it was important to address the realities of being a Black woman in corporate spaces.
“I needed to pull from real things that happened to me. Because it gave [the character] credibility and authenticity,” she said. “I was a crime reporter for most of my career. True crime show ‘Deadline Crime’ ran for six seasons. And I wanted her to have that truth. Not ‘I imagine what it’s like to be a crime reporter,’ no. This is what it’s like, but also the truth of what it’s like to be a Black woman in these spaces.”
“I was the first Black woman to host the ‘Today’ show. I’ve been the first in many categories in my career. And that gives you a unique perspective,” Hall added. “I also wanted people to understand that no matter her race, no matter her background, like a good reporter, you go in, and your job is to do the job and see the human in the story.”
Hall said it’s that foundation of storytelling that has led her to having five seasons of the “Tamron Hall Show” — and why her guests and loyal viewers genuinely feel like “family.”
“It’s been the conversation, [the] storytelling,” she said. “We have some of the biggest names in Hollywood come on this show, but people open up. Angela Bassett was here and she starts to just share this journey and talk about her mother and what it means to have this career where her mother said, ‘Just put your head down and do the work.’ We get past the accolades. We get past, you know, you’re here promoting this movie or this TV show and we get to the heart of that person.”
Met with cheers from an electric audience and standing ovation as she stepped onto the set for her March 13 episode, one day after the release of her new book, Hall looked into the crowd visibly awestruck, declaring, “I can’t believe this is my life.”
“Sometimes I walk out and I want to cry,” she shared. “I just want to burst into tears of joy and gratitude for this show.”
When asked about her vision for the future, it’s no mystery Hall said she doesn’t plan on slowing down anytime soon.
