Starting this fall, UCLA students will have the opportunity to learn a thing or two from Professor Palmer.

Actress and entrepreneur Keke Palmer is teaming with the university’s School of Theater Film and Television on a new 5-year artist-in-residence collaboration — one that will see the I Love Boosters star leading quarterly workshops on campus. Significant to the partnership is Palmer’s digital media platform, KeyTV. The enterprise, which she launched in 2022, has already produced 29 original projects from an exclusively BIPOC pool of creators. 

“UCLA TFT is a place where artists learn to be in practice, to experience trial and error, to take projects off the page,” said Palmer. “That is also the mission of KeyTV. We know that education is key to democratizing opportunities and I am eager to both learn from and support UCLA TFT students. It is no small feat to pursue higher education, especially at a prestigious institution. I look forward to listening, encouraging and offering them more than one chance to succeed.”

The initiative, “From Blocking to Broadcast,” aims to support student production and distribution through KeyTV. It will launch during the 2026-27 academic year, pairing Palmer’s mentorship with the TFT faculty’s training.  Palmer will lead quarterly workshops covering pitching, distribution strategy, business ownership, career sustainability and personal brand development. In turn, KeyTV will distribute a minimum of three student projects annually, pending quality review, and will provide students with direct experience in packaging, marketing and digital audience engagement.

Palmer, who stars in Peacock comedy The ‘Burbs and can be seen in theaters in Boots Riley’s I Love Boosters, has been building KeyTV since launching it almost four years ago. She recently introduced a six-week immersion program for young creatives from underrepresented communities.

“Diverse voices matter more than ever,” said Dean Celine Parreñas Shimizu. “People of color and the underrepresented have always made counter cinemas and birthed social movements grounded in cinema as technology of resistance. Bringing an artist of Keke’s caliber into the spaces where our students are learning to develop their stories will inspire them to see and believe what is possible when you are willing to work hard and are committed to educating and uplifting one another.”

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