The Business Online: Black Showrunners
Showrunners Prentice Penny of Insecure, Tracy Oliver of Harlem, Courtney Lilly of Blackish, Saladin K. Patterson of The Wonder Years, Marisa Jo Cerar of Women of the Movement, and Phil Augusta Jackson of Grand Crew sit down with Variety’s Jazz Tangcay for a discussion panel sponsored by the SAG-AFTRA Foundation regarding Black showrunners.
“The greatest part of Girls Trip is that now we’re beyond the ‘can Black women be bankable?’ Now we can just talk about the creative and the stories, and I’m just happy to move beyond that.”
Jazz poses the first question of the panel to Tracy. Jazz reiterates that Tracy is the first Black woman to write a hundred-million-dollar movie (Girls Trip) and asks Tracy what her journey has been like for her. Tracy believed that until just a few years ago, content created by and featuring Black people wasn’t mainstream beyond Black people; this is especially true for women of color. Now, she claims Black women are “bankable.” Tracy credits Prentice’s show Insecure for heavily contributing to the discussion of Black women being a means of success and profit in the entertainment industry.
“I’m so excited to see so many of my peers and all of us in these deals where they’re just not even available. That, to me, is a real limited test of ‘okay, things are slightly better.’”
Going back to Tracy’s praise of Prentice, Jazz moves to ask Prentice about his journey. Prentice responds by claiming that his journey was similar or closely tied to Saladin Patterson. His show Blackish gave him confidence in pitching an all-Black cast show. One of the things Prentice is most excited about is the fact that he and the other showrunners present all have television shows. He appreciates being able to observe how many talented Black individuals are beginning to receive deals and opportunities.
“I certainly do remember the days when Black writers were relegated to just being on Black shows on WB, UPN, the CW, and things like that.”
Moving on to Saladin, Jazz also asks about his journey. Saladin elaborated a bit on how he and Prentice were similar. One of the connections they share is being old enough to live through a time when the entertainment industry shifted a few times. He states that he doesn’t blame the channels or shows for being placed in specific locations; it was just the business model of those networks at the time. Around the time the book Long Tail came out, Saladin began looking at what Amazon was doing in finding a niche market like what Prentice alluded to. Regarding Tracy, Saladin believes in her “bankable” discussion on the platform side, but not as much when realizing how bankable shows can be with targeted audiences. In the end, he thinks it has been interesting to see how the business models affected his and the other showrunners’ experiences as far as diversity is concerned. Saladin feels like now is a good time for Black writers and creators to have their work recognized.
“As time went on, it just felt like even with the show like Brooklyn Nine-Nine, the success of that show was very much contingent on a very specific audience finding it.”
When asking Phil about his journey, Phil starts by reminiscing his time on the show Key & Peele. From 2013 to 2014, he had the opportunity to acquire essential practice and experience while the digital sphere of streaming was expanding. This sphere grew to what it is today, where the focus of Live TV has gradually moved away more towards streamed TV. Phil feels lucky to have had his initial experience in the entertainment industry with a show run by two Black comedians. Regarding targeted audiences, Phil believes that a certain level of specificity is good. He hopes that specificity provides more opportunities for people of color to express their unique points of view.
“For me, so much of this business pursuit, when you’re first starting out, is luck.”
Courtney begins talking about his journey in the industry because of many factors. For his show Blackish, there’s a perception on the panel that everybody is a strong writer. That strength and expectation have allowed the show to survive in Courtney’s opinion. Before Blackish, Courtney has worked on shows like Arrested Development. He credits his placement on such shows due to the network’s diversity program and sheer luck. Like Phil and Saladin, Phil is excited for the opportunities that his and his fellow guests’ shows are presenting to the next generation of writers who will bounce off each other.
“When I worked on Shots Fired, I had two Black bosses [Gina Prince-Bythewood and Reggie Rock-Bythewood] and I was just looked at as a writer. It just changed my life. It changed everything. I was the same person, I had the same ideas, but my confidence in myself just shifted.”
Marisa is the last one to talk about her journey in the industry. She credits show creators Gina Prince-Bythewood and Reggie Rock-Bythewood for changing her life. Thanks to them, Marisa received a significant confidence boost that changed her career for the better. For the first time in her career, someone saw her as a writer to have confidence in, not as a token for one thing only. Marisa’s transition from a writer in a room to a position of power played into her approach to hiring staff. Nobody is left out, and everybody is seen as competent enough to take notice of.
“What I’m enjoying is that writers are, Black writers in particular and people of color, able to get paid now. There’s enough competition out there and everybody sees it in the studios.”
Moving on from the discussion of each of the guests’ journeys in their industries, Jazz asks what it’s like for them to be in their respective writer’s rooms. Marisa claims that it is always an exciting experience to hear the stories and ideas of each of her writers. Prentice, agreeing with Marisa, adds that having a full breadth of people with no similarities is essential to prevent repetition. Phil believes that, due to most showrunners being White, Black writers are only present for a specific type of situation. Seeing the writers he has now is a breath of fresh air for Phil because he is working with a unique and diverse group of individuals.
From an economic standpoint, Courtney believes that money is trickling down, allowing prime opportunities to form for people of color. He claims that, given the chance, many writers of color will succeed because they will work hard for it and be determined to not be cast aside. Saladin agrees with Courtney. Writers, who are people of color, getting better salaries has exposed other areas of the industry that need to catch up. Agencies are one area Saladin feels the need to improve because, in his opinion, diversity is a loose term for agencies. It would be nice to see more diversity among the agencies’ agents.
“In my mind, I had this acceptance of ‘I guess this is what it is.’ I guess my stories, the stuff that I was inspired by growing up that I want to see now, is just not gonna happen.”
Jazz’s last question for the guests is asking them about the advice they would give to new writers. Tracy is the first to speak. She mentions that her generation was inspired by Prentice’s and Saladin’s generation and thanked them for their contributions. Tracy’s advice for young writers is to not take the opportunity for granted and take advantage of how people of color can talk about themselves and have fun as a writer today. Also, be grateful for the ones who paved the way forward for those opportunities.
“Our responsibility is to step in and be the mentors that people were to us.”
Saladin agrees with Tracy, adding that new writers of color should be reminded that things weren’t as easy for them as it was in the past. He believes people like him need to make sure new writers are told what they need to hear, good or bad.
“For you to break into your career, the things that it’s going to be is, really, just focus on getting your game up.”
Courtney advises new readers to be aware that their current skills have a “shelf life.” Opportunity doesn’t happen naturally. New writers need to work hard, stay up to date with their skills, and prepare for when an opportunity arrives. Lastly, he adds that writers need to find their place in their craft, and once they do, they will be granted longevity.
“Take your craft seriously because it doesn’t just impact your show, it impacts a lineage of other people’s show behind you too.”
Prentice agrees with everyone. He loves that many writers won’t have to go through the same struggles they had, but he is also wary of this statement. Prentice believes that, like anything else, there is a danger of giving someone something too soon. Writers are not excluded from this fact. He also advises new writers of color to be wary of becoming marginalized again like he and others were in the past. Prentice references how award shows still favor White showrunner shows over Black showrunner shows.
“What I realized with my last show staffing is how my path was so different because, as a staff writer, I had to do everything.”
Marisa is the last to speak before the end of the panel. She wishes to do everything she can to mentor and pass on her experiences to new, young writers. Marisa believes she can give opportunities for new writers to grasp with their own hands.