NEW YORK, May 1, 2025 – NBC News Studios, BET Studios and Westbrook Studios have partnered with Comcast’s Black Experience on Xfinity to premiere the new documentary, The Debutantes, directed by award-winning filmmaker and Emmy-nominated producer Contessa Gayles (Songs from the Hole), and executive produced by Emmy-winning actress Sheryl Lee Ralph (Abbott Elementary). Filmed at the 2022 Debutante Cotillion, this coming-of-age documentary follows Canton, Ohio’s first group of Black debutantes in a decade as they prepare for their formal introduction to society. The documentary film premieres Thursday, May 1, 2025, on Comcast’s Black Experience on Xfinity channel and the Xumo Play free streaming app.
The Debutantes tells the compelling story of an intergenerational group of Black women and girls in Canton, Ohio, as they work to revive the long-lost tradition of the debutante ball in America’s heartland. Once a hallmark of middle-class respectability, the debutante ball now presents a new generation of Black girls, many from a post-industrial, low-income community, with the challenge of deciding how much of this legacy to embrace as they navigate traditional pathways to advancement and success. Waltz lessons and etiquette classes clash with Gen Z sensibilities, as these high school juniors and seniors find their voices, their light and their own way forward.
“As a former debutante, I am beyond thrilled to be part of The Debutantes, a film that beautifully captures the grace, tradition, strength, and resilience of young Black women stepping into their power,” says executive producer Sheryl Lee Ralph. “It is an honor to help share their journey with the world, and I am pleased that the project has found a new home on [Comcast’s Black Experience on Xfinity], a platform that uplifts and celebrates Black stories and creators.”
“With The Debutantes, I wanted to create an intimate portrait of Black girlhood that celebrates the complexities and nuances of our experiences as we navigate our way to adulthood. I wanted to honor that journey of finding your way to your authentic self, while bearing the weight of all the pressures and expectations from family, community and society — and the pressure we put on ourselves — to perform and to achieve. With the resurrection of the traditional rite of passage of the cotillion, the film becomes an intergenerational dialogue among Black women and girls at the intersection of race, class and gender,” says director Contessa Gayes.
The Debutantes is available exclusively on Comcast’s Black Experience, a comprehensive content destination that features the ultimate in Black storytelling from a wide variety of programming partners and film studios. Black Experience is available across Xfinity’s entertainment devices, including X1, Flex and Xumo Stream Box, as well as on Xumo Play, a free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) app available on major streaming platforms.
The Debutantes is directed by Contessa Gayles. Producers include Contessa Gayles, Alyse Shoreland, Jannat Gargi, Molly O’Brien, and Aya Sloan. Jon Mone, Jae Trevits, Elizabeth Fischer, Liz Cole, Noah Oppenheim, Andy Berg, Aisha Summers-Burke, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Sabrina Eisenstadt, Juliet Chin, and Meadow Fund serve as Executive Producers, with Evan Sypek, Andrina Davis, Kim Nyhous, Dawn Bonder, Daniel J. Chalfen, and Marci Wiseman as Co-Executive Producers.
The Debutantes is a co-production of NBC News Studios, BET Studios, and Westbrook Studios in association with DiNovo initiative and Cocomotion Pictures.
Xfinity customers can access the Black Experience on channel 1622 or simply say “Black Experience” into the Voice Remote to instantly enjoy the ultimate in Black storytelling. Additionally, the Black Experience destination is available on Xumo Play, Comcast and Charter’s free ad-supported streaming service app.
About Contessa Gayles
Contessa Gayles is an award-winning film director, writer, DP, editor and Emmy-nominated producer. She tells stories about identity, movement, healing, Black liberation and the radical imagination. Her feature documentary-visual album, SONGS FROM THE HOLE, world premiered at SXSW 2024 where it won the Audience Award, Visions category. The film earned an IDA Award Nomination for Best Music Documentary and won the 2025 Cinema Eye Honors Heterodox Award. Contessa directed THE DEBUTANTES, which premiered in documentary competition at the 2024 Tribeca Film Festival. Her short film, FOUNDER GIRLS (Executive Producer Queen Latifah), premiered at the 2023 Tribeca Film Festival and broadcast on BET. Previously, she was on staff at CNN, where she directed and produced award-winning non-fiction, including the feature documentary, THE FEMINIST ON CELLBLOCK Y.
Press Contacts:
Strategic Heights Media
Simone Smalls
Michelle Huff Elliott
Jesse Metres
comcast@strategicheights.com
