Tonight’s @pvalleystarz episode “Jackson” was written by @ianolympio & @ninasteifel, directed by Jen Arnold @whatjarnoldsees dP’ed by @madeline.kate.kann. “All them pro-lifers only be pro-life ‘til the baby be born,” quips Mercedes as she ushers her pregnant 14-year-old daughter, Terricka, past fuming protestors at the only abortion clinic in all of Mississippi. A crowd spewing forth hatred and judgmental prayer while holding Black Lives Matter signs flanks an entrance that, for this little black girl, feels an ocean away. It is a walk of hope made shameful, and until recently, a path towards choice. On July 6, 2022 the only abortion clinic in Mississippi closed its doors in the wake of the Supreme Court ruling of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, putting a woman’s once constitutional right to an abortion in the hands of 50 states. The fictional clinic Mercedes and Terricka walk into is inspired by The Pink House at the middle of the recent Supreme Court ruling. When the writers’ room met in late 2020 we knew that a legal battle was brewing in Mississippi over access to abortion but we never could have guessed that the fight would have led to the overturning of Roe v. Wade. This season continues to be a time capsule as we “reflect the times” like Nina Simone demanded.