TBS and TNT CMO Engleman Talks Community Outreach Initiatives for the Last O.G.

Michael Engleman is chief marketing officer for TBS and TNT, two of the biggest channels in pay television. As such, Engleman presided over a string of remarkable community outreach initiatives on behalf of the new TBS dramedy The Last O.G., which debuted in April to ratings records for the network. 

In and around that launch and since, the show’s star, Tracy Morgan, and people connected with the show and network, collaborated on a series of community programs. They both highlighted key themes in the show, including the challenges a [formerly incarcerated individual] faces reintegrating with society, while also helping the Brooklyn neighborhood where Morgan grew up and the show was largely filmed. 

The initiatives included a comedy fundraiser emceed by Morgan and co-star Cedric the Entertainer that benefited the Fortune Society, which helps thousands of [individuals with incarceration histories] transition into civilian life; refurbished basketball courts at Marcy and Gowanus playgrounds; commissioning thousands of branded brownies from Greyston Bakeries, whose Open Hiring process makes it easier for ex-cons and those deemed unemployable to find work; and partnered with State Bags, which uses a sell one, give one away model similar to Tom’s, to provide backpacks with snacks, shirts and socks to the students in a Red Hook school.