Laila Ali New Show Inspires Kids to Go 'All In'

CBS is launching a new three-hour programming block, dubbed "The CBS Dream Team, It's Epic!,"  this weekend with several notable personalities. The network, in partnership with Litton Entertainment will provide kids 13 to 16 with educational/informational-compliant shows which include hosts like celebrity chef Jamie Oliver, omg! Insider co-host Kevin Frazier and sports personality Laila Ali. ETonline recently caught up with the Laila to talk about her show All in With Laila Ali, what viewers can expect and how she hopes it inspires not just kids but also their families. 

ETonline: Tell us about the premise of your show, All in With Laila Ali.

Laila Ali:  All in With Laila Ali is educational, inspirational, compelling programming profiling individuals that have reached for the sky, pushed themselves to the limit and did things that you would think were impossible... Stories like that and they're very inspirational and things that will inspire kids and show them that they you can do anything you put your mind to.

What has been the most inspiring story you've come across so far?

It's really hard to pinpoint just one... the one that was just amazing to me was this guy Pat. Who [decides to] run on foot from the North Pole to the South Pole? For a whole year the man is running every single day. He ran two marathons a day basically. [Also], Lindsey Vonn has a great inspirational story where we see she struggles with her injury but she's so determined that she pushes herself to go on to win gold at the Olympics; so how an athlete pushes past that pain and shows us how these people become superior in their sport. It's just an inside look and we're going to take you places that you probably would have never had the opportunity to go.

In what ways would you say you could relate to these people or particular stories?

The name of the show is All in and that's how I live my life. When I decide I want to do something I believe in myself, I'm confident, I go for it, I map out a plan and I do whatever it takes to accomplish my goals and my dreams so I can definitely relate to that side of it. Do I want to run across the world? No... but for people to set a goal and to reach it and do what it takes to get there is amazing to me. I'm happy to share these stories with the rest of the world. 

Who has been your biggest inspiration or what has inspired you the most in your career?

 It's really hard to have anybody other than my father. He's one of the greatest athletes and men in the world and I love him so much. I've been blessed to be obviously in the same household with him and have the same blood run through my veins but even if he wasn't my father he just makes me so proud. So he's definitely been an inspiration to me to be the best thing I can be and always treat people with kindness and respect and really try to help others in the world along the way to my own success.

What do you hope audiences take away from your show?

 We want children, especially children ages 13-16, and their parents to come together on Saturdays, spend time watching these shows, talk about the shows, see how the shows made them feel or what they learned, were they inspired, [and] to strike up a conversation. Cartoons and some of the other programming are OK but there's a time and place for everything. And I think we need more time as families just talking, conversing, learning, growing together and building character in these children because there's so much negativity now for them on the Internet and TV and leading them down the road with these reality TV shows... so it's always nice to have some programming that a family can watch together and then talk about afterwards.