{"id":2501853,"date":"2026-07-14T16:50:03","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T16:50:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2501853"},"modified":"2026-07-14T16:50:03","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T16:50:03","slug":"meaningless-without-the-hope-of-jesus-willie-and-korie-robertson-on-the-uplifting-entertainment-hub-of-ekkl","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/meaningless-without-the-hope-of-jesus-willie-and-korie-robertson-on-the-uplifting-entertainment-hub-of-ekkl\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8220;Meaningless without the Hope of Jesus\u201d:\u00a0Willie and Korie Robertson on the Uplifting Entertainment Hub of\u00a0eKKL"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div itemprop=\"mainEntityOfPage\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<p>\n<span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"jeg_video_container jeg_video_content\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Interview: Willie and Korie Robertson | Elijah Peel | EKKL Entertainment\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/mOhDGAqeQhE?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p><\/span>\n<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">Willie and Korie Robertson are <em>New York Times<\/em> bestselling authors and co-founders of eKKL Entertainment. They became household names with the wildly popular show <em>Duck Dynasty<\/em> which followed around the Robertson family in their everyday life at work and home. Their family business, Duck Commander, has grown from a small project to a global outdoor brand that\u2019s sold millions of duck calls and merchandise. They recently sat down with The Collision to discuss eKKL Entertainment and their upcoming film <em>Elijah Peel<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\"><em>(Note: Interview quotes have been edited for length and clarity. To view the full interview, watch the video above.)<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Nyah Phillips: How did you get involved with eKKL, and what are your personal goals for eKKL?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Korie Robertson<\/strong>: Well, thanks so much. We are very excited to be launching eKKL.<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">After we did our show <em>Duck Dynasty<\/em>, we were really struck by how entertainment is shaping our culture, and we felt like we wanted to be involved in that in a bigger way. So, we\u2019ve done that through movies and podcasting, and all of that, and eKKL was a great natural extension of it all, bringing everything together\u2014series, movies, podcasts, all the things that all of us are watching and consuming.<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">We wanted to put it all on one platform that you can trust, that feels like it matches the values that we have and that people who follow what we do have as well. So, we\u2019re excited to be doing that through eKKL.<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Phillips: You\u2019re also executive producing a film that eKKL is releasing in August called <em>Elijah Peel<\/em>, which is based on a true story. Can you tell me about that project and why it spoke to you? Why did you choose to help out?<\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image is-style-rounded\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-full is-resized\"><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Willie Robertson:<\/strong> Yeah, I think we\u2019ve always been storytellers. <em>Duck Dynasty<\/em> was a series of stories that we told about our family, and then with the movie <em>The Blind<\/em>, we told our own family story about my parents.<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">We saw how powerful that can be. So anytime we see a story that reflects the fruits of the Spirit or God\u2019s love in an impactful way, we\u2019re always interested. <em>Elijah Peel<\/em> was definitely one of those. It\u2019s similar to <em>The Blind<\/em>, where you see the fall. I think we all have those times in our lives when we fall down, and the question is, how do we get back up?<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">This is a more modern story about redemption, coming through, and getting help in surprising places, which Elijah did. That\u2019s why we got involved. We just feel like it\u2019s a great story to put out there that can help people.<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Korie Robertson:<\/strong> One thing I love about it is that Phil\u2019s story\u2014our family story\u2014 Phil was at rock bottom. He was at his worst: broke, living in the woods. Elijah, on the other hand, was at the top of his game. In this moment, Elijah Peel had all the fame and all the success, but he realized that it was actually meaningless unless you know Christ.<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">Either end of the spectrum is meaningless without the hope of Jesus.<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Phillips: Speaking of Christianity in film, you were both prominent Christians in entertainment before that was as common as it is today. It seems like more and more celebrities and public figures are proclaiming their faith, and faith-based entertainment is really improving and becoming more popular.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>What excites you guys the most about this development in entertainment?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Willie Robertson:<\/strong> Well, I think, first, there are people who are coming to faith, and when they\u2019re actors or in the entertainment business, they want to share their faith through what they do professionally.<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">I also think there\u2019s profitability, excitement, and a lot of viewership around more wholesome content, especially things that talk specifically about the Lord and faith. That\u2019s gonna pull people in as well. You kinda go where people are watching. I think that\u2019s happened, and the quality has improved a lot. Faith-based films have improved a lot. Podcasting is huge, too.<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">So bringing all of that together into one space made sense, because there are a lot of other platforms out there that aren\u2019t faith-focused at all. We felt there was definitely a gap there that we could help fill.<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Korie Robertson:<\/strong> I was thinking about when <em>Duck Dynasty<\/em> first came on the scene. I remember thinking, \u201cPeople are looking for something like this.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">Our show was fun and funny, and it was fun to make, but even more than that, I think it was refreshing. People were saying, \u201cWow, this is what we wanted.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">They wanted something that felt wholesome, that the whole family could watch together, that honored God, that sits around and has a prayer at the dinner table. I feel like it was a moment in entertainment history where people realized, \u201cOh, that\u2019s what we were looking for.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">We hope that\u2019s what eKKL will be for people too\u2014that they\u2019ll say, \u201cThis is what we were looking for\u201d: a place that feels wholesome, refreshing, and uplifting to culture.<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">That\u2019s what we\u2019re hoping to provide with eKKL.<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Elijah Peel<\/em> releases through eKKL Entertainment on August 14, 2026.<\/p>\n<p>                    <!--begin code --><\/p>\n<div class=\"pp-multiple-authors-boxes-wrapper pp-multiple-authors-wrapper pp-multiple-authors-layout-boxed multiple-authors-target-the-content box-post-id-6890 box-instance-id-1 ppma_boxes_6890\" data-post_id=\"6890\" data-instance_id=\"1\" data-additional_class=\"pp-multiple-authors-layout-boxed.multiple-authors-target-the-content\" data-original_class=\"pp-multiple-authors-boxes-wrapper pp-multiple-authors-wrapper box-post-id-6890 box-instance-id-1\">\n<p>                                                                            <span class=\"ppma-layout-prefix\"\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"ppma-author-category-wrap\">\n                                                                                                                                    <span class=\"ppma-category-group ppma-category-group-1 category-index-0\"><\/p>\n<ul class=\"pp-multiple-authors-boxes-ul author-ul-0\">\n<li class=\"pp-multiple-authors-boxes-li author_index_0 author_ncarlson has-avatar\">\n<div class=\"pp-author-boxes-avatar\">\n<div class=\"avatar-image\">\n                                                                                                                                                                                                                <img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/thecollision.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/368D1CB2-E02A-4727-8EF6-D1D229C39262_1_105_c.jpeg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thecollision.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/368D1CB2-E02A-4727-8EF6-D1D229C39262_1_105_c.jpeg\" class=\"multiple_authors_guest_author_avatar avatar\" height=\"80\" width=\"80\"\/>                                                                                                                                                                                                            <\/div><\/div>\n<div class=\"pp-author-boxes-avatar-details\">\n<div class=\"pp-author-boxes-description multiple-authors-description author-description-0\">\n<p>Nyah is an Atlanta-based filmmaker who specializes in screenwriting, directing, and costuming. 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They became household names with the wildly popular show Duck Dynasty which followed around the Robertson family in their everyday life at work and home. Their family business, Duck Commander, has grown from a small project to a global outdoor [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2501854,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[25138,22914],"class_list":["post-2501853","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","tag-article","tag-interview"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Meaningless-without-the-Hope-of-Jesus-Willie-and-Korie-Robertson-on.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2501853","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2501853"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2501853\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2501855,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2501853\/revisions\/2501855"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2501854"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2501853"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2501853"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2501853"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}