If it’s production, then I’m in showrunner mode, because we’ve already written the show and as an actor, we haven’t said “action” yet. What does an average day of production look like for you? HBO I’m very curious about your day-to-day on the show, because you literally do everything. Robin Thede with Gabrielle Dennis and Skye Townsend in A Black Lady Sketch Show season 3. In the middle of a busy day as writer, showrunner, executive producer, and star, Thede says that all the pressure melts away as she’s performing a scene as one of her gut-busting characters. and running her own production company while making the comedy show. Thede is also busier than ever, developing new content under her overall deal with Warner Bros. Now returning for season 3, which premiered Friday, ABLSS has gone bigger than ever, with outstanding production value and over 40 new luminary guest stars including Wanda Sykes and Ava DuVernay. ABLSS has also earned trailblazing Emmy nominations, with their all-women-of-color editing team taking home the Picture Editing For Variety Programming award in 2021. “We’ve established this world where anything can happen,” Thede tells when asked about the show’s range, which she has previously described as “specifically cast but universally funny.” “As long as we have these grounded, relatable throughlines, I think you can make the sketch as broad as you want.” These wide-ranging sketches, which often set up a familiar scenario before ending with a twist that’s both surprising and self-evident, have won the show a dedicated fanbase, who are grateful for the chance to pause the world and just laugh for each 20-plus minute episode. When she got the opportunity to create her own program on HBO, she created A Black Lady Sketch Show in 2019, which she calls a “safe space” for the talented Black women, including many of her friends, who star in and write the show’s hilarious one-off sketches and recurring bits. In an era of Hollywood where the most visible stars in the genre are white men named James or Jimmy-with the recent, brilliant exception of The Amber Ruffin Show-Thede has put in her hours on cable, including being a head writer for The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore and creating her own news show on BET, The Rundown with Robin Thede. “A Black Lady Sketch Show” has also been lauded with the TCA award for outstanding achievement in sketch/variety shows in 2020, as well as five Black Reel Awards, a HCA award and two NAACP Image Award nominations.Robin Thede has been one of the hardest workers in late night for years. The series won back-to-back trophies for outstanding picture editing for variety programming, with Daysha Broadway, Stephanie Filo and Jessica Hernández as the first team of women of color to earn the prize, and in 2022, Bridget Stokes became the first Black woman to win for directing a variety series. The critically-acclaimed series wraps at a creative high-point with its first three seasons earning 13 Emmy nominations, among them three historic wins for editing and directing. banner, as well as Rae for Hoorae Dave Becky and Jonathan Berry for 3 Arts Entertainment and Tony Hernandez and Brooke Posch for Jax Media. The series was executive produced by Thede under her For Better or Words, Inc. “I especially want to recognize the Black women and other women of color who excelled in every department at ‘ABLSS.’ I am also eternally grateful for the support of Issa Rae and Jax Media, Amy Gravitt, Casey Bloys and the entire team at HBO, Max and Warner Bros. “Thank you to all the immensely talented cast members, guest stars, writers, directors, editors and crew members who have made ‘A Black Lady Sketch Show’ an Emmy-winning success,” Thede said in a statement to Variety. Veterans of the show include “Abbott Elementary’s” Emmy-winning creator and star Quinta Brunson, “Ted Lasso” Emmy winner Ashley Nicole Black and “iCarly” reboot star Laci Mosley. Even when the subject matter had nothing to do with Blackness, the show’s very existence was impactful.įor the series’ fourth season, which debuted in April, Thede starred alongside core cast members Gabrielle Dennis and Skye Townsend, joined by featured players DaMya Gurley, Tamara Jade and Angel Laketa Moore. Created by Thede, who also served as showrunner, executive producer and writer, “A Black Lady Sketch Show” framed the world in a Black woman’s point of view with sketches that subverted traditional expectations and riffed on relatable themes - like hair woes, ashy skin and the politics of the Black church.
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