June 22, 2022 • 49 mins
The creator and show-runner of A Black Lady Sketch Show discusses her all-Black writer's room, the rising star power of her costars, and who she wants next. As a matter of fact, Questlove helps her make a pitch to a certain Queen of Pop live on stage.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Quest Love Supreme is a production of iHeartRadio Welcome to
Fire chiad set.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Oh, I fucked that up totally.
Speaker 3 (00:10):
What he meant to say was fireside chat, sirefi chat,
not too.
Speaker 4 (00:15):
I think there's a proper term when you reverse. This
is already turning into a QLs rural jury.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Yeah, let's get into it. How's everyone doing out there?
Speaker 4 (00:30):
These these are things, These are things that rappers asked
before they start performing, Like it's Philly in the house
and then it's dead silence exactly. All right, Yes, we
are introducing but more importantly, for the first time in
two years.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
Fuck we get our theme back. We have not done
our theme, Like, you better get on your ship real fast.
Hurry up.
Speaker 4 (01:02):
The people are waiting with actually in breath. Can we
bring our special guest out right now with us?
Speaker 5 (01:08):
Do it?
Speaker 6 (01:09):
Hi, everybody?
Speaker 7 (01:13):
Supremo Supremo, roll call, Suprema Suck Supremo, roll call, Suprema.
Speaker 6 (01:22):
Suprema, roll call Suprema. Sure.
Speaker 4 (01:28):
I can't believe it. Yeah, I don't have a rhyme.
Yeah it's time for roll call. Yeah wait, I messed
up the rhyme.
Speaker 7 (01:37):
Supremo Supremo roll Call, Suprema Sun sun Suprema.
Speaker 2 (01:43):
Roll call my name sugar. Yeah, I've missed you all. Yeah,
what I missed the most?
Speaker 7 (01:50):
Yeah, Suprema s Suprema.
Speaker 2 (01:56):
Okayprema suck suck Supreme call. I'm on paid Phil. Yeah,
now what to do?
Speaker 6 (02:04):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (02:04):
We in Philly.
Speaker 8 (02:06):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (02:06):
Some of the soul part Tooma so pre roll call, Suprema.
Speaker 6 (02:14):
So Supremo roll Yeah, it's hot as hades. Yeah, somebody robin. Yeah,
I'm a black lady.
Speaker 7 (02:23):
Roll call Supremo, shut shut Supremo, roll Supremo Supremo roll.
Speaker 3 (02:34):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (02:34):
And I'm not needy. Yeah, I know what else rhymes?
Speaker 9 (02:38):
Yeah, let's start this needy.
Speaker 7 (02:46):
S roll Suprema so sure, Supremo Sun So Supremo roll call.
Speaker 2 (02:57):
Wow, all right, that was.
Speaker 9 (03:00):
Unprepared.
Speaker 2 (03:01):
Please, class.
Speaker 6 (03:02):
You never let me do it.
Speaker 9 (03:03):
I didn't know you were gonna let.
Speaker 6 (03:04):
Me do it today.
Speaker 2 (03:05):
Well, every you've done it. What do I do?
Speaker 9 (03:09):
Improv for a living?
Speaker 6 (03:11):
Yes?
Speaker 3 (03:11):
Some of us?
Speaker 6 (03:12):
Hi, everybody, what's up feeling?
Speaker 4 (03:15):
So, ladies and gentlemen, we are a quest Love Supreme
doing our first show in front of each other in
two years.
Speaker 2 (03:22):
Almost. You look different, we all look different.
Speaker 9 (03:26):
Fair, you look more award winning.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
Yes, drip you look like an oscar. Beat you into
faith in a good way. Anyway, ladies and gentlemen, welcome
to Team Supreme. All right, can you pause that?
Speaker 9 (03:45):
Or welcome boss.
Speaker 6 (03:46):
Welcome Boss to the other stage.
Speaker 2 (03:49):
Yeah, yeah, welcome. Welcome is not rock Kim.
Speaker 4 (03:53):
So anyway, if you're not familiar with the show or
are far right, we have the one and only president
of the Sugar Network, Sugar.
Speaker 5 (04:02):
Steve lock I missed the theme song exactly.
Speaker 4 (04:13):
And then on our far left over here on the stage,
of course, our organizer, our our mother, our everything. Give
it up for ladies, John to my direct left. If
you have kids that still watch Sesame Street, this is
(04:35):
basically I mean, you're much more than that, Thanks Hamilton.
That seems like rather No, I mean you're you're damn
near in egot. You're at so are you?
Speaker 2 (04:47):
Well? You were you were first? Anyway, Well, combined we're
kind of an egot. We are, let's take it. Yeah, okay,
so together we're an egot. Ladies and gentlemen, give it
up for this is a long the best part.
Speaker 3 (05:17):
So quick, Paul, whose theme song is the best yours
is actually I'll take it.
Speaker 2 (05:22):
Moving on, of course, we have to give.
Speaker 4 (05:24):
A shout out to the heart of the show, which
is fun Tigelow, who is not here.
Speaker 10 (05:32):
He's working hard on this Little Brother documents.
Speaker 2 (05:36):
He's also afraid of Covidlow.
Speaker 10 (05:39):
He also hasn't left North Carolina.
Speaker 4 (05:42):
And he's been you know, he's been doing Little Brother
shows now and then, so that's true.
Speaker 2 (05:46):
It's all one.
Speaker 4 (05:47):
Ready to get out the house. Ladies and gentlemen, please
welcome our steam guest. One of my favorite shows on television.
Speaker 5 (05:54):
Now.
Speaker 4 (05:55):
The last time you were on the show, of course,
you were promote your BT talk show, right and now
I think Black Lady Sketch shows. I'm sorry, Black Ladies
Sketch Show is one of my.
Speaker 2 (06:11):
Favorite shows of all time. Yes, please welcome Robin Fati.
Speaker 6 (06:17):
To Robin, I have no themes on you couldn't blame
some meg.
Speaker 4 (06:22):
No, I was going to you know, I was, I
was quite I was half ass in it. I'm sorry
and I appreciate it.
Speaker 6 (06:30):
People say about you you half as everything.
Speaker 2 (06:32):
Yeah, I do half ass. You actually flew in just
to just now, just to do this.
Speaker 6 (06:38):
I'm flying right back out. Yes, yes, very busy person.
Speaker 2 (06:42):
I feel very touched.
Speaker 6 (06:43):
I did it for you.
Speaker 2 (06:44):
Thank you.
Speaker 6 (06:45):
Y'all. I really did it for y'all.
Speaker 2 (06:48):
Thank you.
Speaker 6 (06:49):
Somebody yell we love you. That's never happened to me.
I'm a rock star.
Speaker 2 (06:52):
Yes, that was me.
Speaker 6 (06:54):
They might not have been yelling at me, to be fair.
Speaker 2 (06:56):
Well, you were telling me that you're going back because
you Yes, it's weird.
Speaker 4 (07:01):
I guess if you're a showrunner, you don't get a
summer because you have to prepare your next So when
do you get time off?
Speaker 6 (07:08):
I don't. I'm still doing stuff for marketing for season
three and promoting for Emmys that we hope to be
nominated for.
Speaker 10 (07:15):
Congratulations for your season.
Speaker 6 (07:20):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (07:20):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (07:21):
Yeah, we're starting. We're going right into season four. So
I'm so excited. We're gonna We're gonna get started right away.
Speaker 4 (07:26):
Ok you got fat so as a fan of the show,
and I'm glad I caught it.
Speaker 3 (07:31):
Did everybody just get an amber alert? Hold on, is
that not the craziest ship that ever happened?
Speaker 2 (07:35):
That's fante that was bad ship Silver Suzuki. Right, huh
huh okay, okay, sorry continue, Wait what does happen? So
my everything?
Speaker 3 (07:45):
Everyone just vibrated, correct, and everyone just got an amber
alert and it says Silver Suzuki XL seven.
Speaker 2 (07:53):
Everybody in this audience just got the same And why
didn't you get it? What's wrong with you? That's what
I want to know.
Speaker 4 (07:59):
Is it because I have a flip phone or it
might be you that flip phote. I'm very old school,
you are. I was born in the seventies.
Speaker 2 (08:05):
Oh, we know. It says a lot about you early.
So this is this is what I want to know.
Speaker 4 (08:10):
You know, I started studying like when the pandemic started.
Season one was you know where I fell into the
rabbit hole? And of course season two and season three,
I've watched each episode maybe like ten times each and
there's so many meta hidden jokes inside of each episode.
(08:31):
It's almost like you're seeing it for the first time,
blinking you missed it. Can you walk us through how
you get inspiration? Because I feel like you're covering everything
that I've not seen television cover as far as like
black comedy is concerned.
Speaker 6 (08:47):
Yeah, I think without giving away all the secret sauce.
I think for us it was like we didn't want
to give y'all. We were going to have something called
a Black Lady Sketch show. We wanted to give you layers.
We wanted people to feel seen. We wanted to like
create something that was cinematically the most beautiful sketch show ever.
We wanted to have black women look good and all
light like. It was just important. So so in order
(09:10):
to do that, we wanted to really layer the show
so it wasn't just a funny character. There were also
crossover elements between sketches because I knew, have y'all seen
Season three? Okay, perfect, perfect, So spoilers for anybody who hasn't,
but y'all seem to be good. So I knew what
was gonna happen in the finale, and I knew that
the women over these three seasons, it wasn't really the
(09:32):
end of the world.
Speaker 9 (09:33):
It's the end of the world?
Speaker 6 (09:34):
Is we all know it? Because what world would have
elected doctor had also president?
Speaker 2 (09:39):
Wait, you're spoiler alearning from Oh.
Speaker 6 (09:42):
No, they've seen it.
Speaker 9 (09:43):
You haven't seen the finale?
Speaker 2 (09:44):
Okay, cool?
Speaker 6 (09:45):
Who I didn't see the finale? Final?
Speaker 2 (09:49):
Yeah, alright, all the fans are in this audience, every
single listen. Here's the thing. And I admitted this in
the book.
Speaker 4 (10:03):
I have things, mamhow Oh yes, yes, I thought.
Speaker 9 (10:08):
That was my people have been watching my career more
a while.
Speaker 2 (10:12):
No.
Speaker 4 (10:12):
I was saying that whenever I watch any series, especially
in streaming, it's something about the penultimate episode. In the
final episode, I won't watch it until I know that
season four is ready.
Speaker 9 (10:24):
Okay, So anyway, that's so dump.
Speaker 6 (10:26):
Thank you, Oh Robin, I've been waiting for that moment go.
Speaker 9 (10:28):
Ahead with so you're gonna get it spoiled. I'm so sorry.
Speaker 6 (10:32):
But but I knew that the world was going to
be the end of the world storyline was gonna be
wrapped up so we could.
Speaker 9 (10:39):
Kind of start something new in season four.
Speaker 6 (10:41):
So the layers, without getting into the spoilers, are really
important to me because I wanted the characters to start
to meet, as you saw happen in the finale. I
won't tell you who, but they all start. They start
to meet, The world starts to kind of fold in
on itself to create new possibilities for these women now
that they're evolved. So there's that story within a story.
But then the scat you start to realize if you
(11:01):
look in the background, it's like, oh, that Patti LaBelle
poster from all my own Season one is in a sketch.
Season three is in what if I'm.
Speaker 9 (11:08):
Three in season three.
Speaker 6 (11:09):
And like stuff is like starting to characters are starting.
Speaker 9 (11:12):
To meet, things are starting to happen.
Speaker 6 (11:13):
So I knew if we could do that, we could
create this Black Lady Multiverse with these characters that you
guys are Black Lady Multiverse, Black Lady Multiverse.
Speaker 11 (11:23):
And so I'm excited for you guys to see now
what can happen with them because you know that any
of them can interact like doctor Hedasa can meet you know,
the Coral Reeves, like Chris can meet Trinity or whatever.
Speaker 9 (11:37):
Right, so it's exciting just asking for a.
Speaker 2 (11:39):
Friend, what's the sign for Black Lady Multiverse? There it is,
it's black Lady.
Speaker 4 (11:44):
Yeah, okay, wait wait woman, go ahead, Black Lady Multiverse.
Speaker 2 (11:52):
I love that. That was amazing.
Speaker 10 (11:53):
Moving on, the signers at the Roose pic nigs have
always been legendary.
Speaker 6 (11:56):
Can I ask you yo?
Speaker 2 (11:57):
I know Soude that was on to reach set. He's
he's like on Twitter.
Speaker 6 (12:03):
Yeah, more than the roots, because when you put your
body in its next level. But let me let me
ask this general. Black ladies.
Speaker 10 (12:08):
Guess your question because I always want to notice as
a watcher, how much are the ladies that we see
that are a part of the show involved in the writing.
And if they're not, like how much, say how does
that go? How does that that labor work? I know
there are other people we don't see in the background.
Speaker 6 (12:23):
The ladies that we do see are Emmy nominated writers. Yes, yeah,
so Ashley Nicole Black wrote on seasons one and two.
She's amazing, She's so sick. But that's it. That's the
only person who's written besides me, So Gab Quinta sky Lady.
(12:44):
None of them wrote. But but that's not to take
away from their creative collaborations. I was gonna say, the
improv must be them is crazy. They also bring the
looks how they want their characters to look. They design
that piece by piece with all of our black lady
glam departments. So no dabs are people? She from Philly?
Speaker 10 (13:01):
She I thought she was from Philly. Oh Ship, sometimes
you get.
Speaker 6 (13:05):
Out I like the people I like to you, said DC,
Ohio and DC. Yeah, she kind of lived on my
other hometown. Why am I telling all her business?
Speaker 2 (13:12):
Right? So what happened was when she was like watching tennis.
Speaker 4 (13:15):
I know, so if I were betting man, when I
when I go tonight to watch the finality, which I.
Speaker 9 (13:21):
Will, which I've spoiled.
Speaker 4 (13:23):
I'm assuming that Quinta makes a return to the show.
Speaker 6 (13:25):
Correct, I didn't say that.
Speaker 2 (13:27):
I'm assuming though, right?
Speaker 9 (13:28):
Why would you assume that because he's wearing hairs?
Speaker 6 (13:32):
I don't know.
Speaker 9 (13:33):
Does she make a return to the show. Are we
gonna tell him?
Speaker 6 (13:35):
They're not gonna tell these are my mother fucking people.
They're not gonna tell you?
Speaker 4 (13:39):
Is quest Love Superior is the only podcast in which
everyone actually hates those.
Speaker 2 (13:45):
So true?
Speaker 6 (13:45):
And that's not true?
Speaker 9 (13:48):
How happy are we for Quinta? This woman is killing?
Speaker 6 (13:52):
Oh we proud? Oh no, that pretty Philly is proud.
She's very hard, best, she's the best.
Speaker 2 (13:59):
Robin be supreme.
Speaker 9 (14:02):
Now I got enough, I got enough to do to
do It's fine.
Speaker 2 (14:06):
So yeah, So that's what I want to know.
Speaker 4 (14:09):
As far as the crafting, does it start with like
out of a dream, like oh we should do blah
blah blah blah blah blah blah, like when you did
the hair sketch that was the cold open for season three.
Speaker 9 (14:23):
The product purge?
Speaker 6 (14:24):
Yes?
Speaker 4 (14:24):
So is there just a sort of a think board
on Yeah, I'm going on No, No, here's how you
get then like, they'll have no book.
Speaker 6 (14:34):
Our show is very interesting, so we only have like
seven writers and they write everything.
Speaker 9 (14:39):
So they come in.
Speaker 6 (14:40):
They come in with a pitch that has a beginning, middle, twist,
and end. Like they come in with their raw, their
own concepts. Because it was really important to me that
this it's not a Robin Thede sketch show.
Speaker 9 (14:50):
It's a black lady sketch show. So it's really important
that we have different points of view. So no, they
come in.
Speaker 6 (14:55):
And that was actually Akuila Green who wrote that. Who's credible.
She works on Black Monday and a bunch of other shows.
She actually wrote that in season two, but we couldn't
shoot it till season three because we couldn't have one
hundred women running down the street during COVID.
Speaker 9 (15:11):
So so yeah, she just came in and pitches.
Speaker 6 (15:14):
She was like, what if, like the movie The Purge,
black women had fifteen minutes to return all their unused
hair products and get a full refundy, Like how chaotic
would that be? And I was like, yes, go write that,
you know, but yeah, the way, I gotta give the
writer's credit. I write a lot of these sketches too,
but it's it is collaborative. Like sometimes they'll be like, Okay,
I have an idea, it's like Romeo and Juliet, but
(15:36):
we're not sure what to do with it. And I'm like, okay, Ben,
let's put that together with the stand culture sketch and
do it. And I am at pentameter and then you
get Roman Julyssa, you know, so we it's very collaborative too.
Speaker 4 (15:46):
Now working at thirty Rock, I often meet writers who
at SNL getting their feelings if their.
Speaker 2 (15:53):
Sketch doesn't make it to the show, So how are you? Also,
do you have to play the bad guy at the
show as the leader of the show?
Speaker 6 (16:02):
And yeah, sometimes, but I think we all kind of
know which sketches are rising to the top, so we'll
do like internal table reads and perform it and you know,
critique it.
Speaker 9 (16:11):
But I think it's pretty clear by the time we
go to our shooting scripts what's gonna work.
Speaker 6 (16:20):
But no, they don't get their feelings hurt because everybody
gets sketches on. Because we have so few writers, everybody
gets sketches on. So do y'all ever get pushed back
from HBO?
Speaker 9 (16:28):
Like has there ever been a subject that was or
no taboo.
Speaker 6 (16:34):
No, it's HBO. You can do anything, but.
Speaker 10 (16:38):
Can you You're the first black lead Craft Country?
Speaker 2 (16:41):
What's that Craft Country?
Speaker 9 (16:43):
Okay, well, look, don't talk no mess.
Speaker 6 (16:48):
I don't know about that.
Speaker 2 (16:49):
It got nineteen nominations now.
Speaker 10 (16:52):
Right, but it wasn't there because he didn't want to
continue the person that did it.
Speaker 6 (16:56):
I don't know, Robin don't want to be on that
side of it.
Speaker 9 (16:58):
I don't want to do I don't want to I
don't want to get involved.
Speaker 6 (17:01):
I love that show. Yeah, I think for us, No,
we really don't get any pushback. I think it's just
like the funniest stuff rises to the top and they
just say, you know, be true to the show. But
we really don't get a lot of puchback. There's no
real taboo subjects. They've never said, oh, don't do that.
Speaker 10 (17:16):
What's the sketches that y'all? I had problems getting through
because y'all just been dying.
Speaker 6 (17:20):
I just need to know, like, have y'all ever been dying?
Laughing so hard? It has been hard to get you
know what we're performing?
Speaker 10 (17:24):
Oh, my guys, and my mind was I'm going to
take it back to the to the courtroom, but I
feel like that was likely courtroom.
Speaker 6 (17:31):
Well, Lisa is very easy to break, so I could. Yeah,
I messed with her really bad. Whenever she's in a sketch,
She's like, why are you always with me in every sketch.
Speaker 2 (17:41):
That I do?
Speaker 10 (17:41):
And I'm like, I don't know, but I know it's
because I want to mess with It looks like, y'all
you're challenging her, You're trying to whole face and look
like you're holding fast, Like, bitch, how long your sketch?
Speaker 6 (17:50):
Every sketch, not just Issa, all of our casts. My
job is to make them break, but they're so good
they don't. The Last Supper and The Resurrection, like those
disciple At sketches are really hard to get through anything with,
Like Gabrielle as the head of the Coral Reefs at least,
it's hard to get through. A lot of them are
really hard to get through, to be honest, especially this season.
(18:12):
The improv is crazy, Like the outtakes are so much longer.
We have so much stuff we couldn't even show you
guys because we have a time limit. Like there's so
many jokes that the world will liver see.
Speaker 10 (18:22):
I have a dream world where like Larry David does
a guest spot on The Black Ladies Sketch Show and
it's like Battle.
Speaker 6 (18:28):
Of the Improv.
Speaker 2 (18:29):
That's your dream world.
Speaker 6 (18:30):
That's to have a lot of dream worlds. They're about
twenty thousand.
Speaker 9 (18:33):
That's like, can you guys tell her why that would
be impossible.
Speaker 10 (18:36):
Because it's a Black Lady Sketch show and there are
no white people on The Black Ladies Sketch Show.
Speaker 6 (18:39):
Never, not one. Oh I'm cool with that, not even
in the background bad not even not even out the
art on the walls.
Speaker 2 (18:48):
I love that.
Speaker 9 (18:52):
Correct where black women. I love Larry play all of
the characters the.
Speaker 2 (18:56):
Multitude to start back at season.
Speaker 9 (18:58):
One, never even in ature on a wall.
Speaker 6 (19:00):
Oh my god, is that what freedom looks like? That's
what the finale is saying, Like, when you live in
this book whatever, you have to watch a finale, But
when you live in this world and you get to
evolve to your then you get to enter into this
world where we are free of the gaze of anyone else.
Speaker 9 (19:17):
And to me, that's Mecca, that's heaven.
Speaker 6 (19:20):
That's so yeah, because isn't that amazing? And it's not
like I got lost for a second I'm sorry. Well,
I know it's not at the exclusion of anyone else,
it's just at the celebration of us. I'm like, if
I have a chance to create something on HBO, like,
let me create this dream scenario. I think it frees
up the comedy too, right, because I don't want to
(19:41):
do a Karen sketch or microaggression sketch, Like I don't want.
Speaker 12 (19:44):
To do that.
Speaker 9 (19:45):
I'm not saying they don't have value.
Speaker 6 (19:48):
We don't do that. Wow, we don't got to rewatch
it because you got you gotta caster. Well, because I
don't want to re traumatize us. I want you to
have thirty minutes of joy, like I want you to
you know, my god joy.
Speaker 2 (20:00):
So no white Jewish guys at all.
Speaker 9 (20:03):
No, no, I'm sorry.
Speaker 3 (20:04):
They probably pay a bill or something, but not even
like the biggest white Jewish guy, right David, Nope, not no, sorry,
So where I.
Speaker 2 (20:14):
Know that for a lot of sketch comedians.
Speaker 4 (20:17):
Uh there, Mecca is Second City or like in Chicago
or Bright Citizens.
Speaker 2 (20:23):
Yeah, right, was it? You see b if you are black? Like,
is there what's the version of that?
Speaker 6 (20:32):
No, No, there's not it.
Speaker 9 (20:34):
It's now my show.
Speaker 6 (20:37):
But no, I think because I did Second City and
I owe and I've done some shows at uc B,
but no, they're not actually just joined the advisory board
or Second City because I think we need to do
better and we need to invite us in legitimately, not
us in to be tokens in a class. We need
to legitimately have experiences that are authentic and that teach
us how to hone our comedy, not how to do
(20:58):
somebody else's comedy, how to do ours.
Speaker 9 (21:01):
So yeah, no, I think I think we're.
Speaker 6 (21:03):
Gonna We're gonna try some things to help out the
school that raised me. And you know, I think we
got a long way to go, but we're definitely working
at it.
Speaker 2 (21:11):
Impressive.
Speaker 4 (21:12):
I love my enjoyment because you know, like I live
in a world where everyone's always improving, and like with music,
I can handle it, but with words, I can't handle it.
And I feel like the person that said on a
you know, double dutching that can't get inside the roop,
Like I'm constantly.
Speaker 6 (21:30):
Like, well you saw me. The moment music was playing,
I floundered. I couldn't even rhyme with my own last name.
Speaker 2 (21:35):
But I think, yeah, I think the answer is always yes.
Speaker 6 (21:39):
Yes, yes, it's yes and no, but nobody but you
know what's interesting, But we don't. It's not that hard.
It's not like an improv school on our set. It's
like we're just trying to make a funny ass show.
So wherever we go, we'll just follow, like you know,
Gabrielle in those in the Resurrections sketches especially but the
(22:00):
Last Supper, just because I mentioned that, when she comes
in the scene as Mary, we know she's just gonna
be chaos. So she plays Mary Magdalen, and we've made
her this like mean girl to these other women who
aren't invited.
Speaker 9 (22:11):
To any of the disciple events, and she is.
Speaker 6 (22:15):
She's just so we know when she.
Speaker 9 (22:17):
Comes in, it's just gonna be a mess.
Speaker 6 (22:20):
She's gonna do what's scripted, but everything else is gonna
go out of the window.
Speaker 9 (22:23):
So we just follow each other.
Speaker 6 (22:24):
Really well, I think for us it's not necessarily yes.
Speaker 9 (22:27):
Anne, but it's just follow.
Speaker 6 (22:29):
Where they take you and anybody can move the story along,
but as long as we all go together.
Speaker 9 (22:34):
So I think that's what you see on the screen,
especially in season three.
Speaker 4 (22:43):
How many people have reached out to you about like
getting on the show or like I know that you
added sky to the oh.
Speaker 6 (22:50):
For the cast or celebrity guests.
Speaker 2 (22:52):
Oh, not even a celebrity guests.
Speaker 10 (22:53):
I just mean, like, for it, do regular people because
I want to know my way of doing it, because
I just be stalking you every six months ahead to
be doing well.
Speaker 6 (23:01):
You know what's funny for the core cast, because we really.
Speaker 2 (23:04):
Don't Now I don't know what the fuck just happened over.
Speaker 9 (23:11):
Skin these men.
Speaker 6 (23:13):
No, for the core cast, we don't really change it
that much. I mean we add takeaway each season one
or two maybe, I guess.
Speaker 9 (23:19):
But people don't really approach me for that. They tag
me mostly in like people's tiktoks.
Speaker 6 (23:25):
But I'm like, here's the thing. If you can't do
a hundred impressions and characters, like, I don't know what
to tell hundred. Yeah, we've all in three seasons, those
of us who have been there since day one have
played over one hundred characters in eighteen episodes. So it's like,
if you don't have that kind of depth and range,
then people don't. Really, it's way more celebrities pitching than
(23:45):
people trying to be regulars in the cast. It's a
hard job. It's a hard job. You know, other skeed
sules have big, big cast, but like, we're a small,
scrappy show. We play all the characters, no believe it
or not.
Speaker 10 (23:56):
I think a lot of people watch it. With Gabrielle
was like, did not know she had all had depth?
Speaker 9 (24:00):
It's crazy.
Speaker 6 (24:01):
We were all like wait, even like she's killing it
and she's kills.
Speaker 2 (24:08):
I was like, wait, who's this person?
Speaker 9 (24:10):
No, y'all sleep on Beautiful Surprise.
Speaker 6 (24:13):
It was beautiful. I mean y'all not sleeping, but the
people listening to the podcast, y'all sleeping on Gabrielle. She's
so versatile, she's so incredible. Like people are like, oh,
I just knew her on the game and I didn't
like her, and it's like, okay, but this one so
I met her. She actually beat me out for a
sketch show on Showtime when that Damon Wayne's was doing
back in the day. This is like fifteen years ago,
(24:34):
and I remember being at the audition. We were like
the last two and she got it and I heard
her in the room and I was like, shit, she
needs to get that.
Speaker 9 (24:41):
She's really good.
Speaker 6 (24:43):
So no, I used to watch her doing stand up
back in the day. I used to watch her doing
sketch like she can mimic any singer, And because we
can't afford to do that a lot on the show,
she doesn't really get to use it.
Speaker 9 (24:54):
But I'm gonna try to do it more next season.
Speaker 10 (24:55):
But she can mimic any singer living or gone. We
should never female singer. We should have her a mirror
should She's incredible. She has an ear for musical mime,
which is incredible. And then she's just got a ton
of characters. You throw anything her way, She's like, I'll
figure it out. She played a character named Steve in
this sketch called Escrow Download, like this dude that just
(25:18):
like had an accent, but it was every accent. She
wasn't supposed to play that character.
Speaker 6 (25:22):
It was supposed to be a guest star and we
table read it and she just started doing this character
and I was like, well that's you now, Like it's
just she just like will grab these roles we never
intended to be as funny, you know, we wanted them
to be funny, but the way she takes it to
the n degree is just crazy.
Speaker 9 (25:38):
They all do that though.
Speaker 6 (25:39):
Sky's really coming into her own Ashley's genius Ashley, and
what's the character at first season?
Speaker 9 (25:45):
Trinity?
Speaker 10 (25:46):
No black woman who superhero Trinity, nobody knows the world's
most Yes, the world's best Spike.
Speaker 6 (25:55):
She's called the invisible Spike because she's just like a
plus sized black woman who's not wearing makeup, so no
one acknowledges her. I mean that's a statement and a half,
you know, talk about the development of that character.
Speaker 9 (26:09):
So she actually brought that to us first season.
Speaker 6 (26:11):
She was like, Yo, I think my superpower is being
like a plus sized black woman who just blends in
because nobody even notices I'm there. So she's like, I
want to make that the world's the cia is best spy.
And I was like, that's fucking genius.
Speaker 9 (26:25):
So, I mean that's just what she does.
Speaker 10 (26:27):
Though.
Speaker 9 (26:27):
She just comes up with sketch it so easy.
Speaker 6 (26:29):
She also came in the room and goes, what if
Patti LaBelle every time you get broken up.
Speaker 9 (26:33):
With makes you sing on my own till you like,
she won't leave until you sing on my own. I
was like, yeah, what about that?
Speaker 6 (26:43):
Go write it? Why not?
Speaker 9 (26:45):
She came up with black Lady Courtroom. She's amazing.
Speaker 6 (26:49):
Yeah, she wrote the first one, I wrote the second one.
Speaker 9 (26:51):
But yeah, like those those ladies. The writers are so good.
Speaker 6 (26:55):
Like I think a lot of people think the magic
just happens on set, but those scripts are incredible.
Speaker 10 (27:00):
Whatever it is, it looks like y'all come together like Voltron.
Speaker 2 (27:03):
Yeah night.
Speaker 4 (27:05):
So is there uh for you a dream sketch that
you're eating, like either for a production cost or whatever,
like we.
Speaker 2 (27:16):
Will you get close to her executing that sketch? Yes,
I will, And that's all he can say.
Speaker 9 (27:21):
No, I'm gonna tell you what it is.
Speaker 6 (27:23):
Tell me because I'm campaigning this season to get Janet
Jackson on the show.
Speaker 5 (27:29):
You came to the right place, Come on, I was like,
so I want you.
Speaker 2 (27:37):
I need to can you picture in thirty seconds?
Speaker 6 (27:44):
ROBERTA is now never?
Speaker 9 (27:45):
Rob it is now never is now never?
Speaker 6 (27:47):
You got come on to me? Here is now a never.
You said you wanted it, you put it out there,
don't put see y'all lesson. Put something show us and listen.
Speaker 2 (27:55):
Listen. I'm gonna videotape you.
Speaker 6 (27:59):
Okay, that's my or are you gonna FaceTime?
Speaker 3 (28:02):
I don't want to put it on the spot, but
I will send this to it in the background. Or
got a cheer at the end, be the uncomfortable white
guy in the background. Go hang on, all right, Jen,
I'm not putting you on the spot, but this is the.
Speaker 6 (28:13):
Pitch, Janet Jackson, It's Robin Thiety from a Black Lady's
Sketch Show. You are cordially invited to season four.
Speaker 9 (28:20):
To star in the most epic sketch we've ever done,
and the world.
Speaker 6 (28:24):
Wants to see it. We love you and we want
to see it.
Speaker 9 (28:27):
Right, We'll take care of you.
Speaker 1 (28:30):
We got you, did it ship?
Speaker 9 (28:32):
Come see us?
Speaker 2 (28:33):
Okay, all right, I'm gonna send that to her and then.
Speaker 6 (28:36):
She can do whatever the fuck you wants, right Like
I want to play doctor Hadassa.
Speaker 9 (28:41):
I'll be like, fine, I'll coach you on the board.
Speaker 2 (28:43):
You literally just said that ship, it's doable, got oscar Son.
Speaker 6 (28:49):
I think she would have hit her before. I know,
I just said you would have hit her before.
Speaker 2 (28:53):
There's three people in the world. You're either giver, a taker,
or a connector. Yeah I'm a connector, you're.
Speaker 6 (29:00):
Connector Oh nice to meet you. I'm a connector.
Speaker 2 (29:04):
That's why you're here. All of us are connected. The
only time you guys have ever gotten along ever you connected.
Speaker 13 (29:10):
I've taken some ship, but you've always been paid on time, right,
I'm a connector, but I'm a connector.
Speaker 2 (29:20):
Yeah, but thank you. I think that that was awesome.
That's like, now I really want to It's going to happen.
Speaker 6 (29:26):
It's gonna happen.
Speaker 9 (29:27):
Rob I know manifest that absolutely, I want to.
Speaker 6 (29:32):
I think she's hilarious. I think she's such a phenomenal actress.
I think she's so funny.
Speaker 9 (29:37):
You know, the reason why.
Speaker 6 (29:37):
Angela Bassett did the show is she said, I did
it because you asked, and no one thinks I'm funny.
Speaker 9 (29:45):
And she got nominated for an Emmy for Bad.
Speaker 6 (29:47):
Bite some war group. Like she's so dope, like and
she's so dope, she's so supportive. She was actually the
first guest star we booked. We hadn't been on the air,
no one knew what the show was. She was like, Yo,
I like your late night show and I want to
do it. No one thinks I can be funny. She
never these I mean, think about it. These black women
that have been on the show, and the black men
that have been on the show, they none of them
have ever hosted SNL. None of them have ever, And
(30:09):
this is no shade to SNL. It's just like we
just didn't have an outlet for us. You know, that
was that was dedicated to us. So that's what I
want to try to provide. Oh, we got time.
Speaker 9 (30:17):
Let's say questions from the audio.
Speaker 6 (30:19):
That would be so fun.
Speaker 10 (30:20):
I mean, whatever you say, am I feel like they
have some Oh my god, can we do it?
Speaker 6 (30:24):
I'll come out, Greg, I'm not coming to you. Okay,
who got a question?
Speaker 3 (30:28):
Oh?
Speaker 9 (30:28):
Okay, we should Yeah? All right, you don't have to
go jump out like doing this stuff.
Speaker 6 (30:35):
You can't.
Speaker 9 (30:36):
How are you gonna get down there, y'all yelling?
Speaker 6 (30:39):
Jump?
Speaker 5 (30:40):
Wait?
Speaker 6 (30:44):
Time out. I'm a radio girl. I'm a Philly radio girl.
Speaker 2 (30:50):
All right, So you.
Speaker 6 (30:53):
Got a question?
Speaker 10 (30:54):
Which make sure you introduce yourself to everybody.
Speaker 9 (30:57):
Hello, guys, I am Elizabeth.
Speaker 6 (31:00):
I'm from Philly.
Speaker 9 (31:02):
We love Philly.
Speaker 6 (31:03):
I have a question for you, Robin. Could we extend
this to possibly a movie? A black lady movie?
Speaker 9 (31:11):
I mean, Bob Bob's Burger's got one?
Speaker 6 (31:14):
Why we can't?
Speaker 9 (31:16):
Why are you so mad at boss?
Speaker 6 (31:17):
I just started watching bobs Burgers.
Speaker 10 (31:21):
It's been on ten years.
Speaker 8 (31:22):
I know.
Speaker 6 (31:22):
Is that something y'all would watch?
Speaker 2 (31:24):
Yes?
Speaker 6 (31:26):
Sure, why not. I don't know when I'm gonna have
time to do it, but why not?
Speaker 4 (31:30):
Why not?
Speaker 6 (31:30):
All right?
Speaker 9 (31:31):
I love that idea.
Speaker 10 (31:33):
Hey, y'all, I'm India, I'm from Texas.
Speaker 2 (31:35):
Hello.
Speaker 14 (31:36):
Hey, So my question is, with the show being so amazing,
do you ever have writer's block? Or have you ever
had a sketch come out where it took so long
to produce that you had to prolong it to another season?
Speaker 2 (31:48):
Real life questions.
Speaker 6 (31:49):
No, we had some sketches we couldn't make in COVID
because they had like kids, or like a bunch of
extras or whatever. But no, we never had to postpone
it to another season for any other reason. Do I
ever have writer's block?
Speaker 9 (32:00):
I always, I'm always thinking of sketches.
Speaker 10 (32:03):
My mind just kind of works that way. So then
you don't smoke or drink. You don't smoke or drink.
Speaker 9 (32:07):
I don't drink.
Speaker 6 (32:08):
Ah, you're a writer too, Yeah, I mean, look, writer's
black can happen. There's some people that don't believe in it.
But sometimes you just don't feel like doing the shit,
or you just can't get an idea. You know what
you gotta do, Just write a bunch of.
Speaker 9 (32:22):
Bullshit and some of it'll be good.
Speaker 6 (32:24):
Yeah, just keep typing or take a nap.
Speaker 2 (32:26):
How many drafts do you go to before a lot?
Speaker 6 (32:28):
The sketches go through a lot of drafts, sometimes ten
twelve drafts for sure, and then we continue to punch
on set and then we improvise and then we edit different.
Speaker 9 (32:36):
So it's always Yeah.
Speaker 2 (32:38):
Have you ever had a.
Speaker 4 (32:38):
Moment where you are reading one of your things and
you know it's not working and oh, DA's silent.
Speaker 2 (32:45):
Oh god, they try to force laugh there.
Speaker 5 (32:47):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (32:49):
No, they will not laugh at me. If my shit
is whack, they'll be like dead silent. One of the
writers season two, cent I, was like, why are y'all laughing?
I'm killing at this. This is why how Keisha got
the joke Keisha the bad Sanda comedian. That's how she
happened because that was me. And they like pitching bad
sketches and jokes because I'm just a pitch machine. Like
(33:11):
I'm one of those people that's just like right, like
you're just gonna get a hundred ideas.
Speaker 4 (33:15):
And they're allowed to be honest with you. Yeah about no,
you say yes for know, people with egos where you
have to laugh at the.
Speaker 2 (33:26):
Don't do that ship laugh at their bosses jokes I heard.
Speaker 6 (33:30):
I was about to say that don't happen here.
Speaker 2 (33:31):
You know people with egos, But no, you can't have an.
Speaker 9 (33:35):
Ego because the audience isn't gonna give a ship. The
ship's not funny Jackson.
Speaker 10 (33:39):
All right, we got another question, bro.
Speaker 6 (33:41):
Do you thank you?
Speaker 2 (33:42):
Thank you for your question? Yes? No, no, no? The
numbers all right.
Speaker 8 (33:48):
My name is Ralph from Virginia. My question is very simple.
I love the credits to opening credits that y'all do.
Can you explain that because I feel like they change
a ship? But I could be high and missing ship.
I don't know, I know, pausing the ship like it
be long in a motherfucker. So like, I'm sorry, I
got open. My point is like, could you could you
talk about that to me? Because I thought, like the
(34:10):
layers and shit like trying to get them the ship.
Now you told me this season to look for and
I did and I couldn't find.
Speaker 4 (34:19):
I was like, I must be an idiot because I
don't see a difference in like how obvious.
Speaker 6 (34:24):
Are the wait? So you see the finale, Well it's
the text. So this year's opening credits the opening sequence
is exactly the same except for the text on the screen,
and it tells a separate story. But that story, I'll
tell you, mister Virginia, is a bit of a red herring.
Speaker 2 (34:43):
Uh.
Speaker 9 (34:43):
It's supposed to throw you off.
Speaker 6 (34:45):
The trail of who's actually mind controlling them by sending
you down this other rabbit hole.
Speaker 9 (34:51):
But it all dovetails into this idea that.
Speaker 6 (34:53):
These black women are creating these characters in this universe,
and it's giving you long story for each of the
I can't believe you haven't noticed, because I know you've
seen one through five, six.
Speaker 9 (35:04):
You'll be able to see you have to pause it.
Speaker 6 (35:06):
It was also kind of a It was also.
Speaker 9 (35:08):
A fun thing. Yeah, for the audience.
Speaker 6 (35:10):
I wanted you to have to pause it to read
the ongoing story as long as fuck long.
Speaker 2 (35:16):
Why would you do that to us?
Speaker 6 (35:17):
Because I think it's hilarious, and because I think that
I want y'all to have to be so engaged, because
people like people will be like, oh wow, that was sketch,
went by so fast, and I'm like, I want you
to have to actively, like have to pause and like
really digest it, and I want you to get in
the Bible doing that for the sketches because they'll be
so much more rich if you do that.
Speaker 4 (35:36):
Is there an Easter egg from one to or three
that is so deep and funny that no one has
come back to you yet with I see you there?
Speaker 9 (35:48):
I mean there's shit that you would really have to
pause it to see.
Speaker 6 (35:51):
In this sketch called It's getting a Heist in here,
it's a museum high sketch, kind of.
Speaker 9 (35:55):
Like Ocean's eleven.
Speaker 2 (35:56):
Yes.
Speaker 6 (35:56):
In the cases, it's a Rihanna fashion exhibit, and there
is a Rihanna diamond, but all the fashion in the
cases that they go by are our interstitial outfits from
last year, and they're the last supper outfits also in
one of the cases. So it's like showing you that
this world is all starting to dumbtail. But the biggest
one is Millstone Coffee. So if you look, Millstone Coffee
(36:19):
was the corporation that plug your ears, that doctor Hadassa
secretly owned and used to fund her mind control of
the women.
Speaker 9 (36:26):
Okay, you're done to wow, so you'll see Millstone.
Speaker 6 (36:32):
Batmach support group starts with Angela Bassett pouring a cup
of Millstone coffee like you see it.
Speaker 9 (36:37):
Trinity kicked Nicole.
Speaker 6 (36:38):
Byer into a case of Millstone boxes. The no makeup
sketch is at Millstone. She's like, how can I brew
up an answer for you? She's literally selling millstoneffee. So
Millstone has been there since episode one, and it culminates
as kind of the evil nefarious corporation in the end
of season three. One more question. All right, I'm making good, y'all.
Speaker 9 (37:00):
What's up, y'all? My name is bre Daddy.
Speaker 6 (37:01):
I'm coming all the way from Miami and the reason,
but I'm.
Speaker 10 (37:05):
Feeling fucking Philly, so shout out Philly.
Speaker 12 (37:09):
Horring as an Afro Latina woman, Black representation is so important,
but we all know how it is. It could be
hard to represent ourselves as black women, black men, non
binary whatever.
Speaker 9 (37:20):
Y'all choice is, how do y'all get past? How do
you get past imposter syndrome? That is not where I
expected that question to go. I've never had imposter syndrome.
Speaker 6 (37:36):
I don't even understand it, honestly, I just kind of
have reckless confidence and everything I do like it's just
gonna be greating.
Speaker 9 (37:41):
So that's just real. I don't I'm never like, should
I be doing this?
Speaker 6 (37:48):
What I will tell you is I do know that
there are people just as funny and funnier than me
who could have had this opportunity. So I don't want
to fuck it up because I want to keep the
door open for all of us to be able to
do it. That's why I called it a Black Lady sketchow,
not the because I can't represent us all and I
want us to be one of many. Right. I wanted
Amber Ruffing to go get her late now show ze
way to do what she's doing. All the sam jazz
(38:11):
bad women be doing this, and I think that we've
helped in that. I'm not taking responsibility for their success,
but I'm just saying, like us being their season after
season is showing the world how funny we can be.
Speaker 9 (38:22):
The funniest women in the world. To me, are black
women like and you know on the.
Speaker 6 (38:26):
Show, it's so important to us that our afer Latina sisters,
Gina Torres, marl n Egra, like all these Afa Latinas
on the show, reg and Gomez, like, it's important that
that they're there. It's important that our trans sistors are there.
It's important, Like it's really important to me because we're
not the same. We're so different and we have so
in this season coming up, it's really gonna explore a
(38:46):
lot of that in the way we haven't had a
chance to.
Speaker 9 (38:49):
So I'm really excited about that because.
Speaker 6 (38:51):
We're so rich, we're so you know, diverse amongst ourselves.
Speaker 4 (38:54):
Speaking of seasons, I know this is a very like
BBC network thing, this whole like one season is only
four episodes thing.
Speaker 9 (39:02):
We have six, thank you very much.
Speaker 2 (39:04):
Yeah, but that's what I'm.
Speaker 4 (39:05):
Saying, like, why where is the traditional who decides what
an arnt is for the season as far as the
volume is concerned, Like, or is it.
Speaker 6 (39:15):
The number of episodes? Yes, oh, that's determined by HBO.
I don't have any say about that. But what I
will say is, people, I know that the episodes go
by fast. Y'all tell me this all the time, But
if you think about it, we're doing like fifty short films,
Like it really is denser than most tell I know
that doesn't help because the show goes by fast. But
we're on.
Speaker 9 (39:34):
Location, we don't shoot on a stage. We got new characters.
Speaker 6 (39:38):
We're like reinventing a sitcom every day, twice a day sometimes,
So it's just it takes a while. Like I work
on the show three hundred and sixty five days a year.
People think I'm, like, you know, just doing six episodes
in like three weeks. No, we shoot for three months,
we write for three months, we prep I post for
three months, like you know, it takes a long time
to make the show.
Speaker 10 (39:57):
But so any more episodes you wouldn't have anytime for yourself.
Speaker 9 (40:02):
Yeah, but I don't anyway, So that's fine.
Speaker 4 (40:04):
What are you afraid to take a break because what
I did learn with the pandemic. No, no, no, I'm
not trying to get deep, but I'm just saying what
I learned in the pandemic is when you have silence.
Speaker 8 (40:16):
And like.
Speaker 4 (40:19):
The sound of what we're hearing right now, that's where
ideals really come, and that's where.
Speaker 2 (40:24):
The ideas flow in and inspiration.
Speaker 4 (40:26):
So for you, if this is all year round, where
you have to now spend the summer months thinking and thinking,
crafting and building and building and then shooting, shooting, shooting, shooting, and.
Speaker 2 (40:38):
Then promoting, promoting, promoting, promoter and all that.
Speaker 6 (40:42):
When I'm never out of ideas, I don't know.
Speaker 2 (40:47):
What do you take time out just to have nothing happening.
Speaker 6 (40:51):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, Like I definitely, like, you know, have
three or four day like a Memorial Day weekend or
something like that and go somewhere just chill out.
Speaker 9 (40:58):
But that doesn't really help me.
Speaker 6 (40:59):
I know, well, I know what you mean, but that
doesn't I'm not one of those people.
Speaker 9 (41:02):
I work really weird. Like the more shit I have
going on, the more creative I am.
Speaker 6 (41:06):
And I'm not going to say that the pandemic I
wasn't creative, but I don't like sitting still.
Speaker 9 (41:10):
I'm not really that person.
Speaker 6 (41:12):
So I mean, you know, for me, playing dozens of
characters in a season is like great, that's the status quo.
Speaker 9 (41:18):
Like I can't imagine being on one show playing one character.
I would be so bored.
Speaker 6 (41:22):
So for me, you know what, Also, you know, this
like this is like my seventh sketch show that I've
been on. So it's like I did shows with David
Allen Greer and Jamie Fox and Apion Krockett and everybody,
and so for me, it was like I got to
watch all of them have shows that happened really fast
and didn't get second seasons, and I was like, Okay,
(41:42):
I want to take all those lessons and make this
love letter to black women and like make it really
funny and like make history.
Speaker 9 (41:49):
And I just don't take it for granted.
Speaker 6 (41:51):
So taking a break as far as like the show,
like maybe not doing it one year or whatever. I've
thought about it because sleep is good, but I feel
like people need it, like especially in the pandemic, Like
people need it, and I think that's important.
Speaker 9 (42:05):
And that's that's like we do.
Speaker 10 (42:06):
But we don't never want you to put us before
your own self.
Speaker 6 (42:09):
No, butsuse it's facrif no, no, no, no, here's the thing.
Speaker 9 (42:14):
I'm very rich, so it's fine.
Speaker 6 (42:16):
Okay, Well then this is the very last question.
Speaker 9 (42:18):
Then all right, thank you.
Speaker 6 (42:20):
Siya from Cleveland, Ohio. Two part question.
Speaker 12 (42:22):
First, have you thought about a tour around the country
where you can expose new black female talent.
Speaker 10 (42:28):
Second, what's the advice for young people who are trying
to get in this work?
Speaker 6 (42:33):
Yes, I have thought about a tour. I wanted to
take my cast around. They're just so insanely busy. They
go to immediately to other shows when they're not shooting
this one. But in terms of showcasing like unknown talent,
that's I.
Speaker 9 (42:45):
Mean, that would be dope. I mean we try to
get every year.
Speaker 6 (42:48):
We try to get folks from like everything from Angela
Bassett to folks from TikTok and YouTube, and you'll see.
Speaker 9 (42:53):
Them on the show.
Speaker 6 (42:54):
Like you may not recognize some of them, but if
they're your favorites, you will. And then I just ran
into Duran and Bernardo was performing on the other stage.
He was so dope. Yeah, we got him in his
sketch this year, and like people you wouldn't expect to
see in sketches.
Speaker 9 (43:07):
I think that's really fun. But yeah, I mean a
tour would be great.
Speaker 6 (43:09):
I don't know when I would do it, but I
would find time.
Speaker 9 (43:11):
We could do it on the weekends.
Speaker 6 (43:12):
But yeah, maybe.
Speaker 9 (43:14):
But also what advice do I have? My thing is,
don't think you're.
Speaker 6 (43:18):
Better than any job, Like, especially for young people. There's
a thing that's happening now that I'm seeing where like
people would be like, Okay, cool, I want to come
in as the CEO of the company, or I want
to come in like and have an overall deal at
a studio, and it's like we haven't done anything yet.
Like go be a PA, you know, go be a
production assistant, Go be a writer's assistant. Don't think you're
(43:40):
better than those things, you know, and just work your
way up. I'm a showrunner, right, so that means I
run the whole show. I manage a multimillion dollar budgets
and on any show that I run, and I also
write and I act and I you know, all this stuff.
So it's a lot of hats to wear. But the
only reason I was prepared to do that is because
I had twenty years in the business.
Speaker 9 (43:57):
Doing every job on so many for shows. So I
don't know if y'all know a lot about where I
came from.
Speaker 6 (44:03):
But like I was writing for Mike Epps and Chris
Rock and Kevin Hart and all these comedians, like I'll
be on the roll with comedians. Then I started writing
for award shows and writing like the monologues and the
sketches and the jokes. Then I got Then I started
staffing in rooms as those comedians started selling shows.
Speaker 9 (44:21):
Then I, you know, worked my way up to being
head writer.
Speaker 10 (44:23):
We should remind people, Robin that that story is actually
in the QLs classic.
Speaker 8 (44:27):
It is.
Speaker 10 (44:28):
It is also the Puppetsier version as well. We talked
about there too.
Speaker 9 (44:33):
But I say all that to say, not to run
down the resume, but.
Speaker 6 (44:35):
Just to say, like, I've been here a long time
and some people just got to know me yesterday, you
know so, and and I'm and I'm.
Speaker 9 (44:42):
Grateful for that. I'm never better than somebody just now saying.
There's probably people standing here who are like, who is
this woman talking?
Speaker 2 (44:49):
You know?
Speaker 6 (44:50):
But now you might go google.
Speaker 9 (44:52):
So oh I thought they were saying us, we don't
know you if they're waving to you.
Speaker 6 (44:56):
Yeah, that's yeah, right question.
Speaker 4 (45:01):
Well, speaking of you writing for other comedians, will you
ever or is it even a bucket list of yours
to try stand up once? Because that's the thing I
was shocked at. I don't because you have never You
told me you never done stand up, and.
Speaker 6 (45:19):
You yell at me because you're like your literal late
night show was you standing up telling jokes?
Speaker 9 (45:24):
So I guess I did do stand up.
Speaker 2 (45:26):
No.
Speaker 6 (45:26):
I mean, look, I've wrote for literally name your favorite comedian.
I wrote jokes for them, so, you know, being on
the road and watching them do what they do, do
you still feed them now?
Speaker 2 (45:36):
Like, yeah, sometimes I have a good idea for you.
Speaker 9 (45:37):
Why don't you sometimes?
Speaker 2 (45:39):
Okay?
Speaker 6 (45:40):
Sometimes but like I'll reach out to them because it's
just that community. Like when Wanda was hosting the Oscars,
I was like, yo, you did some jokes. She was
like hit me, you know, and like and I didn't
because I'm a bad friend. But I just got caught
up doing shit and not I forgot but but but no,
it's that kind of community though. Or if they call me, like,
I'm there, if Rock calls me, if if want to
calls me, whoever, I'm there.
Speaker 9 (46:00):
So But will I ever do stand up?
Speaker 6 (46:03):
I don't think so, for the same reasons that like
a lot of older comedians don't really do stand up anymore.
I think it's like you got to go out and
fail for a year doing that material. And because I
never put my ten years in right.
Speaker 2 (46:16):
Now a good time.
Speaker 9 (46:17):
No, it's not a good time to start. I don't
even want that.
Speaker 2 (46:22):
No, no ten seconds stand up.
Speaker 6 (46:28):
No, I will not be swayed there. This is why
I play the bad comedian, Like I know where my strengths.
I I know I'm good at impressions and characters, like
I'm not good at just standing up and being myself.
Maybe that's imposter syndrome for the lady that I don't know.
I know, it's just knowing.
Speaker 2 (46:41):
I don't.
Speaker 6 (46:42):
I don't like it. I tried it twice and I
almost uncomfortable zone. But for what most stand ups are
doing it so they can get a TV show. I
have had multiple television shows. I am multiple my active.
Speaker 2 (46:56):
What you gotroactive? You gotta do the TV shows before
you do the stand up standing TV shows.
Speaker 9 (47:01):
It would be hustling backwards.
Speaker 2 (47:03):
Wouldn't it backwards?
Speaker 6 (47:04):
I mean, one day you should do what.
Speaker 2 (47:07):
You want to do.
Speaker 6 (47:08):
Yeah, I have no desire, right, I mean, oh yeah,
I'm not doing a toxic mail.
Speaker 10 (47:12):
You know why?
Speaker 6 (47:12):
I think you were?
Speaker 8 (47:14):
No.
Speaker 6 (47:14):
You know why too, Because it's a very solitary life
and it's a very solitary pursuit. And I like doing
things with other people, and I like supporting us, and
I like showcasing us, and I feel like stand up
would just be showcasing me, which I don't think.
Speaker 2 (47:28):
Okay, I'll take that.
Speaker 6 (47:30):
Wait before you wrap it up, can I gotta ask
you a question?
Speaker 3 (47:32):
Boss?
Speaker 6 (47:33):
Wait before you wrap it up?
Speaker 10 (47:34):
Because we don't get moments with Questlove at the root
picnic rab and you don't know this, but this is
the only time that he actually leaves like area and
if this is really something, So can you give us
any insight on today what you're looking forward to? How
was last night like, tell us something, This is the
return of the Roofs Picnic in three years.
Speaker 2 (47:51):
Yes it is.
Speaker 4 (47:54):
You know, for me it's there's a biggest story because
the one thing we didn't talk about yesterday was yes,
it was is our thirtieth the Roots, as you know,
it was our thirtieth.
Speaker 2 (48:03):
And oh my god, I be in her first for
me to see, you.
Speaker 4 (48:10):
Know, two friends from high school busk on the corner
of South Street and you tell me, thirty years from
this date, you're going to hit over sixty thousand people
in the backyard.
Speaker 2 (48:25):
Of the borough that you grew up in.
Speaker 4 (48:27):
I mean I came here thirty years ago to see
in Vogue and arrested development and now it's like this
is my home.
Speaker 2 (48:34):
So you know, for me, uh, it was a dream.
It was a dream.
Speaker 4 (48:39):
Playing with Mary as well. You know, she definitely gave
us feed. She wants to she wants to make that
happen again.
Speaker 10 (48:47):
So every time somebody does the Roots picnic, usher did
the same thing, right. Every time they do they perform
with the Roots Robin, they always been like, what else
we do in Vegas?
Speaker 14 (48:56):
Right?
Speaker 9 (48:56):
Yeah, well no band is gonna compare obviously.
Speaker 2 (49:00):
Thank you.
Speaker 9 (49:00):
By the way, can you text Mary J.
Speaker 6 (49:02):
Blige while you had it?
Speaker 9 (49:03):
Also listen to yourself.
Speaker 6 (49:04):
She will be good. I wanted them all on the show.
Speaker 9 (49:09):
We're gonna get you on in season.
Speaker 4 (49:10):
Anyways, Ladies and gentlemen, this is of course Love Supreme
on paid Bill.
Speaker 2 (49:16):
He This is Robin Phoebe.
Speaker 7 (49:18):
Thank you very.
Speaker 2 (49:20):
So much. Enjoy the rest of the roofs picnic. Please
be safe, love one another West.
Speaker 1 (49:31):
Love Supreme is a production of iHeart Radio. For more
podcasts from iHeart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,
or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
Quest Love Supreme is a production of iHeartRadio Welcome to
Fire chiad set.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Oh, I fucked that up totally.
Speaker 3 (00:10):
What he meant to say was fireside chat, sirefi chat,
not too.
Speaker 4 (00:15):
I think there's a proper term when you reverse. This
is already turning into a QLs rural jury.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Yeah, let's get into it. How's everyone doing out there?
Speaker 4 (00:30):
These these are things, These are things that rappers asked
before they start performing, Like it's Philly in the house
and then it's dead silence exactly. All right, Yes, we
are introducing but more importantly, for the first time in
two years.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
Fuck we get our theme back. We have not done
our theme, Like, you better get on your ship real fast.
Hurry up.
Speaker 4 (01:02):
The people are waiting with actually in breath. Can we
bring our special guest out right now with us?
Speaker 5 (01:08):
Do it?
Speaker 6 (01:09):
Hi, everybody?
Speaker 7 (01:13):
Supremo Supremo, roll call, Suprema Suck Supremo, roll call, Suprema.
Speaker 6 (01:22):
Suprema, roll call Suprema. Sure.
Speaker 4 (01:28):
I can't believe it. Yeah, I don't have a rhyme.
Yeah it's time for roll call. Yeah wait, I messed
up the rhyme.
Speaker 7 (01:37):
Supremo Supremo roll Call, Suprema Sun sun Suprema.
Speaker 2 (01:43):
Roll call my name sugar. Yeah, I've missed you all. Yeah,
what I missed the most?
Speaker 7 (01:50):
Yeah, Suprema s Suprema.
Speaker 2 (01:56):
Okayprema suck suck Supreme call. I'm on paid Phil. Yeah,
now what to do?
Speaker 6 (02:04):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (02:04):
We in Philly.
Speaker 8 (02:06):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (02:06):
Some of the soul part Tooma so pre roll call, Suprema.
Speaker 6 (02:14):
So Supremo roll Yeah, it's hot as hades. Yeah, somebody robin. Yeah,
I'm a black lady.
Speaker 7 (02:23):
Roll call Supremo, shut shut Supremo, roll Supremo Supremo roll.
Speaker 3 (02:34):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (02:34):
And I'm not needy. Yeah, I know what else rhymes?
Speaker 9 (02:38):
Yeah, let's start this needy.
Speaker 7 (02:46):
S roll Suprema so sure, Supremo Sun So Supremo roll call.
Speaker 2 (02:57):
Wow, all right, that was.
Speaker 9 (03:00):
Unprepared.
Speaker 2 (03:01):
Please, class.
Speaker 6 (03:02):
You never let me do it.
Speaker 9 (03:03):
I didn't know you were gonna let.
Speaker 6 (03:04):
Me do it today.
Speaker 2 (03:05):
Well, every you've done it. What do I do?
Speaker 9 (03:09):
Improv for a living?
Speaker 6 (03:11):
Yes?
Speaker 3 (03:11):
Some of us?
Speaker 6 (03:12):
Hi, everybody, what's up feeling?
Speaker 4 (03:15):
So, ladies and gentlemen, we are a quest Love Supreme
doing our first show in front of each other in
two years.
Speaker 2 (03:22):
Almost. You look different, we all look different.
Speaker 9 (03:26):
Fair, you look more award winning.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
Yes, drip you look like an oscar. Beat you into
faith in a good way. Anyway, ladies and gentlemen, welcome
to Team Supreme. All right, can you pause that?
Speaker 9 (03:45):
Or welcome boss.
Speaker 6 (03:46):
Welcome Boss to the other stage.
Speaker 2 (03:49):
Yeah, yeah, welcome. Welcome is not rock Kim.
Speaker 4 (03:53):
So anyway, if you're not familiar with the show or
are far right, we have the one and only president
of the Sugar Network, Sugar.
Speaker 5 (04:02):
Steve lock I missed the theme song exactly.
Speaker 4 (04:13):
And then on our far left over here on the stage,
of course, our organizer, our our mother, our everything. Give
it up for ladies, John to my direct left. If
you have kids that still watch Sesame Street, this is
(04:35):
basically I mean, you're much more than that, Thanks Hamilton.
That seems like rather No, I mean you're you're damn
near in egot. You're at so are you?
Speaker 2 (04:47):
Well? You were you were first? Anyway, Well, combined we're
kind of an egot. We are, let's take it. Yeah, okay,
so together we're an egot. Ladies and gentlemen, give it
up for this is a long the best part.
Speaker 3 (05:17):
So quick, Paul, whose theme song is the best yours
is actually I'll take it.
Speaker 2 (05:22):
Moving on, of course, we have to give.
Speaker 4 (05:24):
A shout out to the heart of the show, which
is fun Tigelow, who is not here.
Speaker 10 (05:32):
He's working hard on this Little Brother documents.
Speaker 2 (05:36):
He's also afraid of Covidlow.
Speaker 10 (05:39):
He also hasn't left North Carolina.
Speaker 4 (05:42):
And he's been you know, he's been doing Little Brother
shows now and then, so that's true.
Speaker 2 (05:46):
It's all one.
Speaker 4 (05:47):
Ready to get out the house. Ladies and gentlemen, please
welcome our steam guest. One of my favorite shows on television.
Speaker 5 (05:54):
Now.
Speaker 4 (05:55):
The last time you were on the show, of course,
you were promote your BT talk show, right and now
I think Black Lady Sketch shows. I'm sorry, Black Ladies
Sketch Show is one of my.
Speaker 2 (06:11):
Favorite shows of all time. Yes, please welcome Robin Fati.
Speaker 6 (06:17):
To Robin, I have no themes on you couldn't blame
some meg.
Speaker 4 (06:22):
No, I was going to you know, I was, I
was quite I was half ass in it. I'm sorry
and I appreciate it.
Speaker 6 (06:30):
People say about you you half as everything.
Speaker 2 (06:32):
Yeah, I do half ass. You actually flew in just
to just now, just to do this.
Speaker 6 (06:38):
I'm flying right back out. Yes, yes, very busy person.
Speaker 2 (06:42):
I feel very touched.
Speaker 6 (06:43):
I did it for you.
Speaker 2 (06:44):
Thank you.
Speaker 6 (06:45):
Y'all. I really did it for y'all.
Speaker 2 (06:48):
Thank you.
Speaker 6 (06:49):
Somebody yell we love you. That's never happened to me.
I'm a rock star.
Speaker 2 (06:52):
Yes, that was me.
Speaker 6 (06:54):
They might not have been yelling at me, to be fair.
Speaker 2 (06:56):
Well, you were telling me that you're going back because
you Yes, it's weird.
Speaker 4 (07:01):
I guess if you're a showrunner, you don't get a
summer because you have to prepare your next So when
do you get time off?
Speaker 6 (07:08):
I don't. I'm still doing stuff for marketing for season
three and promoting for Emmys that we hope to be
nominated for.
Speaker 10 (07:15):
Congratulations for your season.
Speaker 6 (07:20):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (07:20):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (07:21):
Yeah, we're starting. We're going right into season four. So
I'm so excited. We're gonna We're gonna get started right away.
Speaker 4 (07:26):
Ok you got fat so as a fan of the show,
and I'm glad I caught it.
Speaker 3 (07:31):
Did everybody just get an amber alert? Hold on, is
that not the craziest ship that ever happened?
Speaker 2 (07:35):
That's fante that was bad ship Silver Suzuki. Right, huh
huh okay, okay, sorry continue, Wait what does happen? So
my everything?
Speaker 3 (07:45):
Everyone just vibrated, correct, and everyone just got an amber
alert and it says Silver Suzuki XL seven.
Speaker 2 (07:53):
Everybody in this audience just got the same And why
didn't you get it? What's wrong with you? That's what
I want to know.
Speaker 4 (07:59):
Is it because I have a flip phone or it
might be you that flip phote. I'm very old school,
you are. I was born in the seventies.
Speaker 2 (08:05):
Oh, we know. It says a lot about you early.
So this is this is what I want to know.
Speaker 4 (08:10):
You know, I started studying like when the pandemic started.
Season one was you know where I fell into the
rabbit hole? And of course season two and season three,
I've watched each episode maybe like ten times each and
there's so many meta hidden jokes inside of each episode.
(08:31):
It's almost like you're seeing it for the first time,
blinking you missed it. Can you walk us through how
you get inspiration? Because I feel like you're covering everything
that I've not seen television cover as far as like
black comedy is concerned.
Speaker 6 (08:47):
Yeah, I think without giving away all the secret sauce.
I think for us it was like we didn't want
to give y'all. We were going to have something called
a Black Lady Sketch show. We wanted to give you layers.
We wanted people to feel seen. We wanted to like
create something that was cinematically the most beautiful sketch show ever.
We wanted to have black women look good and all
light like. It was just important. So so in order
(09:10):
to do that, we wanted to really layer the show
so it wasn't just a funny character. There were also
crossover elements between sketches because I knew, have y'all seen
Season three? Okay, perfect, perfect, So spoilers for anybody who hasn't,
but y'all seem to be good. So I knew what
was gonna happen in the finale, and I knew that
the women over these three seasons, it wasn't really the
(09:32):
end of the world.
Speaker 9 (09:33):
It's the end of the world?
Speaker 6 (09:34):
Is we all know it? Because what world would have
elected doctor had also president?
Speaker 2 (09:39):
Wait, you're spoiler alearning from Oh.
Speaker 6 (09:42):
No, they've seen it.
Speaker 9 (09:43):
You haven't seen the finale?
Speaker 2 (09:44):
Okay, cool?
Speaker 6 (09:45):
Who I didn't see the finale? Final?
Speaker 2 (09:49):
Yeah, alright, all the fans are in this audience, every
single listen. Here's the thing. And I admitted this in
the book.
Speaker 4 (10:03):
I have things, mamhow Oh yes, yes, I thought.
Speaker 9 (10:08):
That was my people have been watching my career more
a while.
Speaker 2 (10:12):
No.
Speaker 4 (10:12):
I was saying that whenever I watch any series, especially
in streaming, it's something about the penultimate episode. In the
final episode, I won't watch it until I know that
season four is ready.
Speaker 9 (10:24):
Okay, So anyway, that's so dump.
Speaker 6 (10:26):
Thank you, Oh Robin, I've been waiting for that moment go.
Speaker 9 (10:28):
Ahead with so you're gonna get it spoiled. I'm so sorry.
Speaker 6 (10:32):
But but I knew that the world was going to
be the end of the world storyline was gonna be
wrapped up so we could.
Speaker 9 (10:39):
Kind of start something new in season four.
Speaker 6 (10:41):
So the layers, without getting into the spoilers, are really
important to me because I wanted the characters to start
to meet, as you saw happen in the finale. I
won't tell you who, but they all start. They start
to meet, The world starts to kind of fold in
on itself to create new possibilities for these women now
that they're evolved. So there's that story within a story.
But then the scat you start to realize if you
(11:01):
look in the background, it's like, oh, that Patti LaBelle
poster from all my own Season one is in a sketch.
Season three is in what if I'm.
Speaker 9 (11:08):
Three in season three.
Speaker 6 (11:09):
And like stuff is like starting to characters are starting.
Speaker 9 (11:12):
To meet, things are starting to happen.
Speaker 6 (11:13):
So I knew if we could do that, we could
create this Black Lady Multiverse with these characters that you
guys are Black Lady Multiverse, Black Lady Multiverse.
Speaker 11 (11:23):
And so I'm excited for you guys to see now
what can happen with them because you know that any
of them can interact like doctor Hedasa can meet you know,
the Coral Reeves, like Chris can meet Trinity or whatever.
Speaker 9 (11:37):
Right, so it's exciting just asking for a.
Speaker 2 (11:39):
Friend, what's the sign for Black Lady Multiverse? There it is,
it's black Lady.
Speaker 4 (11:44):
Yeah, okay, wait wait woman, go ahead, Black Lady Multiverse.
Speaker 2 (11:52):
I love that. That was amazing.
Speaker 10 (11:53):
Moving on, the signers at the Roose pic nigs have
always been legendary.
Speaker 6 (11:56):
Can I ask you yo?
Speaker 2 (11:57):
I know Soude that was on to reach set. He's
he's like on Twitter.
Speaker 6 (12:03):
Yeah, more than the roots, because when you put your
body in its next level. But let me let me
ask this general. Black ladies.
Speaker 10 (12:08):
Guess your question because I always want to notice as
a watcher, how much are the ladies that we see
that are a part of the show involved in the writing.
And if they're not, like how much, say how does
that go? How does that that labor work? I know
there are other people we don't see in the background.
Speaker 6 (12:23):
The ladies that we do see are Emmy nominated writers. Yes, yeah,
so Ashley Nicole Black wrote on seasons one and two.
She's amazing, She's so sick. But that's it. That's the
only person who's written besides me, So Gab Quinta sky Lady.
(12:44):
None of them wrote. But but that's not to take
away from their creative collaborations. I was gonna say, the
improv must be them is crazy. They also bring the
looks how they want their characters to look. They design
that piece by piece with all of our black lady
glam departments. So no dabs are people? She from Philly?
Speaker 10 (13:01):
She I thought she was from Philly. Oh Ship, sometimes
you get.
Speaker 6 (13:05):
Out I like the people I like to you, said DC,
Ohio and DC. Yeah, she kind of lived on my
other hometown. Why am I telling all her business?
Speaker 2 (13:12):
Right? So what happened was when she was like watching tennis.
Speaker 4 (13:15):
I know, so if I were betting man, when I
when I go tonight to watch the finality, which I.
Speaker 9 (13:21):
Will, which I've spoiled.
Speaker 4 (13:23):
I'm assuming that Quinta makes a return to the show.
Speaker 6 (13:25):
Correct, I didn't say that.
Speaker 2 (13:27):
I'm assuming though, right?
Speaker 9 (13:28):
Why would you assume that because he's wearing hairs?
Speaker 6 (13:32):
I don't know.
Speaker 9 (13:33):
Does she make a return to the show. Are we
gonna tell him?
Speaker 6 (13:35):
They're not gonna tell these are my mother fucking people.
They're not gonna tell you?
Speaker 4 (13:39):
Is quest Love Superior is the only podcast in which
everyone actually hates those.
Speaker 2 (13:45):
So true?
Speaker 6 (13:45):
And that's not true?
Speaker 9 (13:48):
How happy are we for Quinta? This woman is killing?
Speaker 6 (13:52):
Oh we proud? Oh no, that pretty Philly is proud.
She's very hard, best, she's the best.
Speaker 2 (13:59):
Robin be supreme.
Speaker 9 (14:02):
Now I got enough, I got enough to do to
do It's fine.
Speaker 2 (14:06):
So yeah, So that's what I want to know.
Speaker 4 (14:09):
As far as the crafting, does it start with like
out of a dream, like oh we should do blah
blah blah blah blah blah blah, like when you did
the hair sketch that was the cold open for season three.
Speaker 9 (14:23):
The product purge?
Speaker 6 (14:24):
Yes?
Speaker 4 (14:24):
So is there just a sort of a think board
on Yeah, I'm going on No, No, here's how you
get then like, they'll have no book.
Speaker 6 (14:34):
Our show is very interesting, so we only have like
seven writers and they write everything.
Speaker 9 (14:39):
So they come in.
Speaker 6 (14:40):
They come in with a pitch that has a beginning, middle, twist,
and end. Like they come in with their raw, their
own concepts. Because it was really important to me that
this it's not a Robin Thede sketch show.
Speaker 9 (14:50):
It's a black lady sketch show. So it's really important
that we have different points of view. So no, they
come in.
Speaker 6 (14:55):
And that was actually Akuila Green who wrote that. Who's credible.
She works on Black Monday and a bunch of other shows.
She actually wrote that in season two, but we couldn't
shoot it till season three because we couldn't have one
hundred women running down the street during COVID.
Speaker 9 (15:11):
So so yeah, she just came in and pitches.
Speaker 6 (15:14):
She was like, what if, like the movie The Purge,
black women had fifteen minutes to return all their unused
hair products and get a full refundy, Like how chaotic
would that be? And I was like, yes, go write that,
you know, but yeah, the way, I gotta give the
writer's credit. I write a lot of these sketches too,
but it's it is collaborative. Like sometimes they'll be like, Okay,
I have an idea, it's like Romeo and Juliet, but
(15:36):
we're not sure what to do with it. And I'm like, okay, Ben,
let's put that together with the stand culture sketch and
do it. And I am at pentameter and then you
get Roman Julyssa, you know, so we it's very collaborative too.
Speaker 4 (15:46):
Now working at thirty Rock, I often meet writers who
at SNL getting their feelings if their.
Speaker 2 (15:53):
Sketch doesn't make it to the show, So how are you? Also,
do you have to play the bad guy at the
show as the leader of the show?
Speaker 6 (16:02):
And yeah, sometimes, but I think we all kind of
know which sketches are rising to the top, so we'll
do like internal table reads and perform it and you know,
critique it.
Speaker 9 (16:11):
But I think it's pretty clear by the time we
go to our shooting scripts what's gonna work.
Speaker 6 (16:20):
But no, they don't get their feelings hurt because everybody
gets sketches on. Because we have so few writers, everybody
gets sketches on. So do y'all ever get pushed back
from HBO?
Speaker 9 (16:28):
Like has there ever been a subject that was or
no taboo.
Speaker 6 (16:34):
No, it's HBO. You can do anything, but.
Speaker 10 (16:38):
Can you You're the first black lead Craft Country?
Speaker 2 (16:41):
What's that Craft Country?
Speaker 9 (16:43):
Okay, well, look, don't talk no mess.
Speaker 6 (16:48):
I don't know about that.
Speaker 2 (16:49):
It got nineteen nominations now.
Speaker 10 (16:52):
Right, but it wasn't there because he didn't want to
continue the person that did it.
Speaker 6 (16:56):
I don't know, Robin don't want to be on that
side of it.
Speaker 9 (16:58):
I don't want to do I don't want to I
don't want to get involved.
Speaker 6 (17:01):
I love that show. Yeah, I think for us, No,
we really don't get any pushback. I think it's just
like the funniest stuff rises to the top and they
just say, you know, be true to the show. But
we really don't get a lot of puchback. There's no
real taboo subjects. They've never said, oh, don't do that.
Speaker 10 (17:16):
What's the sketches that y'all? I had problems getting through
because y'all just been dying.
Speaker 6 (17:20):
I just need to know, like, have y'all ever been dying?
Laughing so hard? It has been hard to get you
know what we're performing?
Speaker 10 (17:24):
Oh, my guys, and my mind was I'm going to
take it back to the to the courtroom, but I
feel like that was likely courtroom.
Speaker 6 (17:31):
Well, Lisa is very easy to break, so I could. Yeah,
I messed with her really bad. Whenever she's in a sketch,
She's like, why are you always with me in every sketch.
Speaker 2 (17:41):
That I do?
Speaker 10 (17:41):
And I'm like, I don't know, but I know it's
because I want to mess with It looks like, y'all
you're challenging her, You're trying to whole face and look
like you're holding fast, Like, bitch, how long your sketch?
Speaker 6 (17:50):
Every sketch, not just Issa, all of our casts. My
job is to make them break, but they're so good
they don't. The Last Supper and The Resurrection, like those
disciple At sketches are really hard to get through anything with,
Like Gabrielle as the head of the Coral Reefs at least,
it's hard to get through. A lot of them are
really hard to get through, to be honest, especially this season.
(18:12):
The improv is crazy, Like the outtakes are so much longer.
We have so much stuff we couldn't even show you
guys because we have a time limit. Like there's so
many jokes that the world will liver see.
Speaker 10 (18:22):
I have a dream world where like Larry David does
a guest spot on The Black Ladies Sketch Show and
it's like Battle.
Speaker 6 (18:28):
Of the Improv.
Speaker 2 (18:29):
That's your dream world.
Speaker 6 (18:30):
That's to have a lot of dream worlds. They're about
twenty thousand.
Speaker 9 (18:33):
That's like, can you guys tell her why that would
be impossible.
Speaker 10 (18:36):
Because it's a Black Lady Sketch show and there are
no white people on The Black Ladies Sketch Show.
Speaker 6 (18:39):
Never, not one. Oh I'm cool with that, not even
in the background bad not even not even out the
art on the walls.
Speaker 2 (18:48):
I love that.
Speaker 9 (18:52):
Correct where black women. I love Larry play all of
the characters the.
Speaker 2 (18:56):
Multitude to start back at season.
Speaker 9 (18:58):
One, never even in ature on a wall.
Speaker 6 (19:00):
Oh my god, is that what freedom looks like? That's
what the finale is saying, Like, when you live in
this book whatever, you have to watch a finale, But
when you live in this world and you get to
evolve to your then you get to enter into this
world where we are free of the gaze of anyone else.
Speaker 9 (19:17):
And to me, that's Mecca, that's heaven.
Speaker 6 (19:20):
That's so yeah, because isn't that amazing? And it's not
like I got lost for a second I'm sorry. Well,
I know it's not at the exclusion of anyone else,
it's just at the celebration of us. I'm like, if
I have a chance to create something on HBO, like,
let me create this dream scenario. I think it frees
up the comedy too, right, because I don't want to
(19:41):
do a Karen sketch or microaggression sketch, Like I don't want.
Speaker 12 (19:44):
To do that.
Speaker 9 (19:45):
I'm not saying they don't have value.
Speaker 6 (19:48):
We don't do that. Wow, we don't got to rewatch
it because you got you gotta caster. Well, because I
don't want to re traumatize us. I want you to
have thirty minutes of joy, like I want you to
you know, my god joy.
Speaker 2 (20:00):
So no white Jewish guys at all.
Speaker 9 (20:03):
No, no, I'm sorry.
Speaker 3 (20:04):
They probably pay a bill or something, but not even
like the biggest white Jewish guy, right David, Nope, not no, sorry,
So where I.
Speaker 2 (20:14):
Know that for a lot of sketch comedians.
Speaker 4 (20:17):
Uh there, Mecca is Second City or like in Chicago
or Bright Citizens.
Speaker 2 (20:23):
Yeah, right, was it? You see b if you are black? Like,
is there what's the version of that?
Speaker 6 (20:32):
No, No, there's not it.
Speaker 9 (20:34):
It's now my show.
Speaker 6 (20:37):
But no, I think because I did Second City and
I owe and I've done some shows at uc B,
but no, they're not actually just joined the advisory board
or Second City because I think we need to do
better and we need to invite us in legitimately, not
us in to be tokens in a class. We need
to legitimately have experiences that are authentic and that teach
us how to hone our comedy, not how to do
(20:58):
somebody else's comedy, how to do ours.
Speaker 9 (21:01):
So yeah, no, I think I think we're.
Speaker 6 (21:03):
Gonna We're gonna try some things to help out the
school that raised me. And you know, I think we
got a long way to go, but we're definitely working
at it.
Speaker 2 (21:11):
Impressive.
Speaker 4 (21:12):
I love my enjoyment because you know, like I live
in a world where everyone's always improving, and like with music,
I can handle it, but with words, I can't handle it.
And I feel like the person that said on a
you know, double dutching that can't get inside the roop,
Like I'm constantly.
Speaker 6 (21:30):
Like, well you saw me. The moment music was playing,
I floundered. I couldn't even rhyme with my own last name.
Speaker 2 (21:35):
But I think, yeah, I think the answer is always yes.
Speaker 6 (21:39):
Yes, yes, it's yes and no, but nobody but you
know what's interesting, But we don't. It's not that hard.
It's not like an improv school on our set. It's
like we're just trying to make a funny ass show.
So wherever we go, we'll just follow, like you know,
Gabrielle in those in the Resurrections sketches especially but the
(22:00):
Last Supper, just because I mentioned that, when she comes
in the scene as Mary, we know she's just gonna
be chaos. So she plays Mary Magdalen, and we've made
her this like mean girl to these other women who
aren't invited.
Speaker 9 (22:11):
To any of the disciple events, and she is.
Speaker 6 (22:15):
She's just so we know when she.
Speaker 9 (22:17):
Comes in, it's just gonna be a mess.
Speaker 6 (22:20):
She's gonna do what's scripted, but everything else is gonna
go out of the window.
Speaker 9 (22:23):
So we just follow each other.
Speaker 6 (22:24):
Really well, I think for us it's not necessarily yes.
Speaker 9 (22:27):
Anne, but it's just follow.
Speaker 6 (22:29):
Where they take you and anybody can move the story along,
but as long as we all go together.
Speaker 9 (22:34):
So I think that's what you see on the screen,
especially in season three.
Speaker 4 (22:43):
How many people have reached out to you about like
getting on the show or like I know that you
added sky to the oh.
Speaker 6 (22:50):
For the cast or celebrity guests.
Speaker 2 (22:52):
Oh, not even a celebrity guests.
Speaker 10 (22:53):
I just mean, like, for it, do regular people because
I want to know my way of doing it, because
I just be stalking you every six months ahead to
be doing well.
Speaker 6 (23:01):
You know what's funny for the core cast, because we really.
Speaker 2 (23:04):
Don't Now I don't know what the fuck just happened over.
Speaker 9 (23:11):
Skin these men.
Speaker 6 (23:13):
No, for the core cast, we don't really change it
that much. I mean we add takeaway each season one
or two maybe, I guess.
Speaker 9 (23:19):
But people don't really approach me for that. They tag
me mostly in like people's tiktoks.
Speaker 6 (23:25):
But I'm like, here's the thing. If you can't do
a hundred impressions and characters, like, I don't know what
to tell hundred. Yeah, we've all in three seasons, those
of us who have been there since day one have
played over one hundred characters in eighteen episodes. So it's like,
if you don't have that kind of depth and range,
then people don't. Really, it's way more celebrities pitching than
(23:45):
people trying to be regulars in the cast. It's a
hard job. It's a hard job. You know, other skeed
sules have big, big cast, but like, we're a small,
scrappy show. We play all the characters, no believe it
or not.
Speaker 10 (23:56):
I think a lot of people watch it. With Gabrielle
was like, did not know she had all had depth?
Speaker 9 (24:00):
It's crazy.
Speaker 6 (24:01):
We were all like wait, even like she's killing it
and she's kills.
Speaker 2 (24:08):
I was like, wait, who's this person?
Speaker 9 (24:10):
No, y'all sleep on Beautiful Surprise.
Speaker 6 (24:13):
It was beautiful. I mean y'all not sleeping, but the
people listening to the podcast, y'all sleeping on Gabrielle. She's
so versatile, she's so incredible. Like people are like, oh,
I just knew her on the game and I didn't
like her, and it's like, okay, but this one so
I met her. She actually beat me out for a
sketch show on Showtime when that Damon Wayne's was doing
back in the day. This is like fifteen years ago,
(24:34):
and I remember being at the audition. We were like
the last two and she got it and I heard
her in the room and I was like, shit, she
needs to get that.
Speaker 9 (24:41):
She's really good.
Speaker 6 (24:43):
So no, I used to watch her doing stand up
back in the day. I used to watch her doing
sketch like she can mimic any singer, And because we
can't afford to do that a lot on the show,
she doesn't really get to use it.
Speaker 9 (24:54):
But I'm gonna try to do it more next season.
Speaker 10 (24:55):
But she can mimic any singer living or gone. We
should never female singer. We should have her a mirror
should She's incredible. She has an ear for musical mime,
which is incredible. And then she's just got a ton
of characters. You throw anything her way, She's like, I'll
figure it out. She played a character named Steve in
this sketch called Escrow Download, like this dude that just
(25:18):
like had an accent, but it was every accent. She
wasn't supposed to play that character.
Speaker 6 (25:22):
It was supposed to be a guest star and we
table read it and she just started doing this character
and I was like, well that's you now, Like it's
just she just like will grab these roles we never
intended to be as funny, you know, we wanted them
to be funny, but the way she takes it to
the n degree is just crazy.
Speaker 9 (25:38):
They all do that though.
Speaker 6 (25:39):
Sky's really coming into her own Ashley's genius Ashley, and
what's the character at first season?
Speaker 9 (25:45):
Trinity?
Speaker 10 (25:46):
No black woman who superhero Trinity, nobody knows the world's
most Yes, the world's best Spike.
Speaker 6 (25:55):
She's called the invisible Spike because she's just like a
plus sized black woman who's not wearing makeup, so no
one acknowledges her. I mean that's a statement and a half,
you know, talk about the development of that character.
Speaker 9 (26:09):
So she actually brought that to us first season.
Speaker 6 (26:11):
She was like, Yo, I think my superpower is being
like a plus sized black woman who just blends in
because nobody even notices I'm there. So she's like, I
want to make that the world's the cia is best spy.
And I was like, that's fucking genius.
Speaker 9 (26:25):
So, I mean that's just what she does.
Speaker 10 (26:27):
Though.
Speaker 9 (26:27):
She just comes up with sketch it so easy.
Speaker 6 (26:29):
She also came in the room and goes, what if
Patti LaBelle every time you get broken up.
Speaker 9 (26:33):
With makes you sing on my own till you like,
she won't leave until you sing on my own. I
was like, yeah, what about that?
Speaker 6 (26:43):
Go write it? Why not?
Speaker 9 (26:45):
She came up with black Lady Courtroom. She's amazing.
Speaker 6 (26:49):
Yeah, she wrote the first one, I wrote the second one.
Speaker 9 (26:51):
But yeah, like those those ladies. The writers are so good.
Speaker 6 (26:55):
Like I think a lot of people think the magic
just happens on set, but those scripts are incredible.
Speaker 10 (27:00):
Whatever it is, it looks like y'all come together like Voltron.
Speaker 2 (27:03):
Yeah night.
Speaker 4 (27:05):
So is there uh for you a dream sketch that
you're eating, like either for a production cost or whatever,
like we.
Speaker 2 (27:16):
Will you get close to her executing that sketch? Yes,
I will, And that's all he can say.
Speaker 9 (27:21):
No, I'm gonna tell you what it is.
Speaker 6 (27:23):
Tell me because I'm campaigning this season to get Janet
Jackson on the show.
Speaker 5 (27:29):
You came to the right place, Come on, I was like,
so I want you.
Speaker 2 (27:37):
I need to can you picture in thirty seconds?
Speaker 6 (27:44):
ROBERTA is now never?
Speaker 9 (27:45):
Rob it is now never is now never?
Speaker 6 (27:47):
You got come on to me? Here is now a never.
You said you wanted it, you put it out there,
don't put see y'all lesson. Put something show us and listen.
Speaker 2 (27:55):
Listen. I'm gonna videotape you.
Speaker 6 (27:59):
Okay, that's my or are you gonna FaceTime?
Speaker 3 (28:02):
I don't want to put it on the spot, but
I will send this to it in the background. Or
got a cheer at the end, be the uncomfortable white
guy in the background. Go hang on, all right, Jen,
I'm not putting you on the spot, but this is the.
Speaker 6 (28:13):
Pitch, Janet Jackson, It's Robin Thiety from a Black Lady's
Sketch Show. You are cordially invited to season four.
Speaker 9 (28:20):
To star in the most epic sketch we've ever done,
and the world.
Speaker 6 (28:24):
Wants to see it. We love you and we want
to see it.
Speaker 9 (28:27):
Right, We'll take care of you.
Speaker 1 (28:30):
We got you, did it ship?
Speaker 9 (28:32):
Come see us?
Speaker 2 (28:33):
Okay, all right, I'm gonna send that to her and then.
Speaker 6 (28:36):
She can do whatever the fuck you wants, right Like
I want to play doctor Hadassa.
Speaker 9 (28:41):
I'll be like, fine, I'll coach you on the board.
Speaker 2 (28:43):
You literally just said that ship, it's doable, got oscar Son.
Speaker 6 (28:49):
I think she would have hit her before. I know,
I just said you would have hit her before.
Speaker 2 (28:53):
There's three people in the world. You're either giver, a taker,
or a connector. Yeah I'm a connector, you're.
Speaker 6 (29:00):
Connector Oh nice to meet you. I'm a connector.
Speaker 2 (29:04):
That's why you're here. All of us are connected. The
only time you guys have ever gotten along ever you connected.
Speaker 13 (29:10):
I've taken some ship, but you've always been paid on time, right,
I'm a connector, but I'm a connector.
Speaker 2 (29:20):
Yeah, but thank you. I think that that was awesome.
That's like, now I really want to It's going to happen.
Speaker 6 (29:26):
It's gonna happen.
Speaker 9 (29:27):
Rob I know manifest that absolutely, I want to.
Speaker 6 (29:32):
I think she's hilarious. I think she's such a phenomenal actress.
I think she's so funny.
Speaker 9 (29:37):
You know, the reason why.
Speaker 6 (29:37):
Angela Bassett did the show is she said, I did
it because you asked, and no one thinks I'm funny.
Speaker 9 (29:45):
And she got nominated for an Emmy for Bad.
Speaker 6 (29:47):
Bite some war group. Like she's so dope, like and
she's so dope, she's so supportive. She was actually the
first guest star we booked. We hadn't been on the air,
no one knew what the show was. She was like, Yo,
I like your late night show and I want to
do it. No one thinks I can be funny. She
never these I mean, think about it. These black women
that have been on the show, and the black men
that have been on the show, they none of them
have ever hosted SNL. None of them have ever, And
(30:09):
this is no shade to SNL. It's just like we
just didn't have an outlet for us. You know, that
was that was dedicated to us. So that's what I
want to try to provide. Oh, we got time.
Speaker 9 (30:17):
Let's say questions from the audio.
Speaker 6 (30:19):
That would be so fun.
Speaker 10 (30:20):
I mean, whatever you say, am I feel like they
have some Oh my god, can we do it?
Speaker 6 (30:24):
I'll come out, Greg, I'm not coming to you. Okay,
who got a question?
Speaker 3 (30:28):
Oh?
Speaker 9 (30:28):
Okay, we should Yeah? All right, you don't have to
go jump out like doing this stuff.
Speaker 6 (30:35):
You can't.
Speaker 9 (30:36):
How are you gonna get down there, y'all yelling?
Speaker 6 (30:39):
Jump?
Speaker 5 (30:40):
Wait?
Speaker 6 (30:44):
Time out. I'm a radio girl. I'm a Philly radio girl.
Speaker 2 (30:50):
All right, So you.
Speaker 6 (30:53):
Got a question?
Speaker 10 (30:54):
Which make sure you introduce yourself to everybody.
Speaker 9 (30:57):
Hello, guys, I am Elizabeth.
Speaker 6 (31:00):
I'm from Philly.
Speaker 9 (31:02):
We love Philly.
Speaker 6 (31:03):
I have a question for you, Robin. Could we extend
this to possibly a movie? A black lady movie?
Speaker 9 (31:11):
I mean, Bob Bob's Burger's got one?
Speaker 6 (31:14):
Why we can't?
Speaker 9 (31:16):
Why are you so mad at boss?
Speaker 6 (31:17):
I just started watching bobs Burgers.
Speaker 10 (31:21):
It's been on ten years.
Speaker 8 (31:22):
I know.
Speaker 6 (31:22):
Is that something y'all would watch?
Speaker 2 (31:24):
Yes?
Speaker 6 (31:26):
Sure, why not. I don't know when I'm gonna have
time to do it, but why not?
Speaker 4 (31:30):
Why not?
Speaker 6 (31:30):
All right?
Speaker 9 (31:31):
I love that idea.
Speaker 10 (31:33):
Hey, y'all, I'm India, I'm from Texas.
Speaker 2 (31:35):
Hello.
Speaker 14 (31:36):
Hey, So my question is, with the show being so amazing,
do you ever have writer's block? Or have you ever
had a sketch come out where it took so long
to produce that you had to prolong it to another season?
Speaker 2 (31:48):
Real life questions.
Speaker 6 (31:49):
No, we had some sketches we couldn't make in COVID
because they had like kids, or like a bunch of
extras or whatever. But no, we never had to postpone
it to another season for any other reason. Do I
ever have writer's block?
Speaker 9 (32:00):
I always, I'm always thinking of sketches.
Speaker 10 (32:03):
My mind just kind of works that way. So then
you don't smoke or drink. You don't smoke or drink.
Speaker 9 (32:07):
I don't drink.
Speaker 6 (32:08):
Ah, you're a writer too, Yeah, I mean, look, writer's
black can happen. There's some people that don't believe in it.
But sometimes you just don't feel like doing the shit,
or you just can't get an idea. You know what
you gotta do, Just write a bunch of.
Speaker 9 (32:22):
Bullshit and some of it'll be good.
Speaker 6 (32:24):
Yeah, just keep typing or take a nap.
Speaker 2 (32:26):
How many drafts do you go to before a lot?
Speaker 6 (32:28):
The sketches go through a lot of drafts, sometimes ten
twelve drafts for sure, and then we continue to punch
on set and then we improvise and then we edit different.
Speaker 9 (32:36):
So it's always Yeah.
Speaker 2 (32:38):
Have you ever had a.
Speaker 4 (32:38):
Moment where you are reading one of your things and
you know it's not working and oh, DA's silent.
Speaker 2 (32:45):
Oh god, they try to force laugh there.
Speaker 5 (32:47):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (32:49):
No, they will not laugh at me. If my shit
is whack, they'll be like dead silent. One of the
writers season two, cent I, was like, why are y'all laughing?
I'm killing at this. This is why how Keisha got
the joke Keisha the bad Sanda comedian. That's how she
happened because that was me. And they like pitching bad
sketches and jokes because I'm just a pitch machine. Like
(33:11):
I'm one of those people that's just like right, like
you're just gonna get a hundred ideas.
Speaker 4 (33:15):
And they're allowed to be honest with you. Yeah about no,
you say yes for know, people with egos where you
have to laugh at the.
Speaker 2 (33:26):
Don't do that ship laugh at their bosses jokes I heard.
Speaker 6 (33:30):
I was about to say that don't happen here.
Speaker 2 (33:31):
You know people with egos, But no, you can't have an.
Speaker 9 (33:35):
Ego because the audience isn't gonna give a ship. The
ship's not funny Jackson.
Speaker 10 (33:39):
All right, we got another question, bro.
Speaker 6 (33:41):
Do you thank you?
Speaker 2 (33:42):
Thank you for your question? Yes? No, no, no? The
numbers all right.
Speaker 8 (33:48):
My name is Ralph from Virginia. My question is very simple.
I love the credits to opening credits that y'all do.
Can you explain that because I feel like they change
a ship? But I could be high and missing ship.
I don't know, I know, pausing the ship like it
be long in a motherfucker. So like, I'm sorry, I
got open. My point is like, could you could you
talk about that to me? Because I thought, like the
(34:10):
layers and shit like trying to get them the ship.
Now you told me this season to look for and
I did and I couldn't find.
Speaker 4 (34:19):
I was like, I must be an idiot because I
don't see a difference in like how obvious.
Speaker 6 (34:24):
Are the wait? So you see the finale, Well it's
the text. So this year's opening credits the opening sequence
is exactly the same except for the text on the screen,
and it tells a separate story. But that story, I'll
tell you, mister Virginia, is a bit of a red herring.
Speaker 2 (34:43):
Uh.
Speaker 9 (34:43):
It's supposed to throw you off.
Speaker 6 (34:45):
The trail of who's actually mind controlling them by sending
you down this other rabbit hole.
Speaker 9 (34:51):
But it all dovetails into this idea that.
Speaker 6 (34:53):
These black women are creating these characters in this universe,
and it's giving you long story for each of the
I can't believe you haven't noticed, because I know you've
seen one through five, six.
Speaker 9 (35:04):
You'll be able to see you have to pause it.
Speaker 6 (35:06):
It was also kind of a It was also.
Speaker 9 (35:08):
A fun thing. Yeah, for the audience.
Speaker 6 (35:10):
I wanted you to have to pause it to read
the ongoing story as long as fuck long.
Speaker 2 (35:16):
Why would you do that to us?
Speaker 6 (35:17):
Because I think it's hilarious, and because I think that
I want y'all to have to be so engaged, because
people like people will be like, oh wow, that was sketch,
went by so fast, and I'm like, I want you
to have to actively, like have to pause and like
really digest it, and I want you to get in
the Bible doing that for the sketches because they'll be
so much more rich if you do that.
Speaker 4 (35:36):
Is there an Easter egg from one to or three
that is so deep and funny that no one has
come back to you yet with I see you there?
Speaker 9 (35:48):
I mean there's shit that you would really have to
pause it to see.
Speaker 6 (35:51):
In this sketch called It's getting a Heist in here,
it's a museum high sketch, kind of.
Speaker 9 (35:55):
Like Ocean's eleven.
Speaker 2 (35:56):
Yes.
Speaker 6 (35:56):
In the cases, it's a Rihanna fashion exhibit, and there
is a Rihanna diamond, but all the fashion in the
cases that they go by are our interstitial outfits from
last year, and they're the last supper outfits also in
one of the cases. So it's like showing you that
this world is all starting to dumbtail. But the biggest
one is Millstone Coffee. So if you look, Millstone Coffee
(36:19):
was the corporation that plug your ears, that doctor Hadassa
secretly owned and used to fund her mind control of
the women.
Speaker 9 (36:26):
Okay, you're done to wow, so you'll see Millstone.
Speaker 6 (36:32):
Batmach support group starts with Angela Bassett pouring a cup
of Millstone coffee like you see it.
Speaker 9 (36:37):
Trinity kicked Nicole.
Speaker 6 (36:38):
Byer into a case of Millstone boxes. The no makeup
sketch is at Millstone. She's like, how can I brew
up an answer for you? She's literally selling millstoneffee. So
Millstone has been there since episode one, and it culminates
as kind of the evil nefarious corporation in the end
of season three. One more question. All right, I'm making good, y'all.
Speaker 9 (37:00):
What's up, y'all? My name is bre Daddy.
Speaker 6 (37:01):
I'm coming all the way from Miami and the reason,
but I'm.
Speaker 10 (37:05):
Feeling fucking Philly, so shout out Philly.
Speaker 12 (37:09):
Horring as an Afro Latina woman, Black representation is so important,
but we all know how it is. It could be
hard to represent ourselves as black women, black men, non
binary whatever.
Speaker 9 (37:20):
Y'all choice is, how do y'all get past? How do
you get past imposter syndrome? That is not where I
expected that question to go. I've never had imposter syndrome.
Speaker 6 (37:36):
I don't even understand it, honestly, I just kind of
have reckless confidence and everything I do like it's just
gonna be greating.
Speaker 9 (37:41):
So that's just real. I don't I'm never like, should
I be doing this?
Speaker 6 (37:48):
What I will tell you is I do know that
there are people just as funny and funnier than me
who could have had this opportunity. So I don't want
to fuck it up because I want to keep the
door open for all of us to be able to
do it. That's why I called it a Black Lady sketchow,
not the because I can't represent us all and I
want us to be one of many. Right. I wanted
Amber Ruffing to go get her late now show ze
way to do what she's doing. All the sam jazz
(38:11):
bad women be doing this, and I think that we've
helped in that. I'm not taking responsibility for their success,
but I'm just saying, like us being their season after
season is showing the world how funny we can be.
Speaker 9 (38:22):
The funniest women in the world. To me, are black
women like and you know on the.
Speaker 6 (38:26):
Show, it's so important to us that our afer Latina sisters,
Gina Torres, marl n Egra, like all these Afa Latinas
on the show, reg and Gomez, like, it's important that
that they're there. It's important that our trans sistors are there.
It's important, Like it's really important to me because we're
not the same. We're so different and we have so
in this season coming up, it's really gonna explore a
(38:46):
lot of that in the way we haven't had a
chance to.
Speaker 9 (38:49):
So I'm really excited about that because.
Speaker 6 (38:51):
We're so rich, we're so you know, diverse amongst ourselves.
Speaker 4 (38:54):
Speaking of seasons, I know this is a very like
BBC network thing, this whole like one season is only
four episodes thing.
Speaker 9 (39:02):
We have six, thank you very much.
Speaker 2 (39:04):
Yeah, but that's what I'm.
Speaker 4 (39:05):
Saying, like, why where is the traditional who decides what
an arnt is for the season as far as the
volume is concerned, Like, or is it.
Speaker 6 (39:15):
The number of episodes? Yes, oh, that's determined by HBO.
I don't have any say about that. But what I
will say is, people, I know that the episodes go
by fast. Y'all tell me this all the time, But
if you think about it, we're doing like fifty short films,
Like it really is denser than most tell I know
that doesn't help because the show goes by fast. But
we're on.
Speaker 9 (39:34):
Location, we don't shoot on a stage. We got new characters.
Speaker 6 (39:38):
We're like reinventing a sitcom every day, twice a day sometimes,
So it's just it takes a while. Like I work
on the show three hundred and sixty five days a year.
People think I'm, like, you know, just doing six episodes
in like three weeks. No, we shoot for three months,
we write for three months, we prep I post for
three months, like you know, it takes a long time
to make the show.
Speaker 10 (39:57):
But so any more episodes you wouldn't have anytime for yourself.
Speaker 9 (40:02):
Yeah, but I don't anyway, So that's fine.
Speaker 4 (40:04):
What are you afraid to take a break because what
I did learn with the pandemic. No, no, no, I'm
not trying to get deep, but I'm just saying what
I learned in the pandemic is when you have silence.
Speaker 8 (40:16):
And like.
Speaker 4 (40:19):
The sound of what we're hearing right now, that's where
ideals really come, and that's where.
Speaker 2 (40:24):
The ideas flow in and inspiration.
Speaker 4 (40:26):
So for you, if this is all year round, where
you have to now spend the summer months thinking and thinking,
crafting and building and building and then shooting, shooting, shooting, shooting, and.
Speaker 2 (40:38):
Then promoting, promoting, promoting, promoter and all that.
Speaker 6 (40:42):
When I'm never out of ideas, I don't know.
Speaker 2 (40:47):
What do you take time out just to have nothing happening.
Speaker 6 (40:51):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, Like I definitely, like, you know, have
three or four day like a Memorial Day weekend or
something like that and go somewhere just chill out.
Speaker 9 (40:58):
But that doesn't really help me.
Speaker 6 (40:59):
I know, well, I know what you mean, but that
doesn't I'm not one of those people.
Speaker 9 (41:02):
I work really weird. Like the more shit I have
going on, the more creative I am.
Speaker 6 (41:06):
And I'm not going to say that the pandemic I
wasn't creative, but I don't like sitting still.
Speaker 9 (41:10):
I'm not really that person.
Speaker 6 (41:12):
So I mean, you know, for me, playing dozens of
characters in a season is like great, that's the status quo.
Speaker 9 (41:18):
Like I can't imagine being on one show playing one character.
I would be so bored.
Speaker 6 (41:22):
So for me, you know what, Also, you know, this
like this is like my seventh sketch show that I've
been on. So it's like I did shows with David
Allen Greer and Jamie Fox and Apion Krockett and everybody,
and so for me, it was like I got to
watch all of them have shows that happened really fast
and didn't get second seasons, and I was like, Okay,
(41:42):
I want to take all those lessons and make this
love letter to black women and like make it really
funny and like make history.
Speaker 9 (41:49):
And I just don't take it for granted.
Speaker 6 (41:51):
So taking a break as far as like the show,
like maybe not doing it one year or whatever. I've
thought about it because sleep is good, but I feel
like people need it, like especially in the pandemic, Like
people need it, and I think that's important.
Speaker 9 (42:05):
And that's that's like we do.
Speaker 10 (42:06):
But we don't never want you to put us before
your own self.
Speaker 6 (42:09):
No, butsuse it's facrif no, no, no, no, here's the thing.
Speaker 9 (42:14):
I'm very rich, so it's fine.
Speaker 6 (42:16):
Okay, Well then this is the very last question.
Speaker 9 (42:18):
Then all right, thank you.
Speaker 6 (42:20):
Siya from Cleveland, Ohio. Two part question.
Speaker 12 (42:22):
First, have you thought about a tour around the country
where you can expose new black female talent.
Speaker 10 (42:28):
Second, what's the advice for young people who are trying
to get in this work?
Speaker 6 (42:33):
Yes, I have thought about a tour. I wanted to
take my cast around. They're just so insanely busy. They
go to immediately to other shows when they're not shooting
this one. But in terms of showcasing like unknown talent,
that's I.
Speaker 9 (42:45):
Mean, that would be dope. I mean we try to
get every year.
Speaker 6 (42:48):
We try to get folks from like everything from Angela
Bassett to folks from TikTok and YouTube, and you'll see.
Speaker 9 (42:53):
Them on the show.
Speaker 6 (42:54):
Like you may not recognize some of them, but if
they're your favorites, you will. And then I just ran
into Duran and Bernardo was performing on the other stage.
He was so dope. Yeah, we got him in his
sketch this year, and like people you wouldn't expect to
see in sketches.
Speaker 9 (43:07):
I think that's really fun. But yeah, I mean a
tour would be great.
Speaker 6 (43:09):
I don't know when I would do it, but I
would find time.
Speaker 9 (43:11):
We could do it on the weekends.
Speaker 6 (43:12):
But yeah, maybe.
Speaker 9 (43:14):
But also what advice do I have? My thing is,
don't think you're.
Speaker 6 (43:18):
Better than any job, Like, especially for young people. There's
a thing that's happening now that I'm seeing where like
people would be like, Okay, cool, I want to come
in as the CEO of the company, or I want
to come in like and have an overall deal at
a studio, and it's like we haven't done anything yet.
Like go be a PA, you know, go be a
production assistant, Go be a writer's assistant. Don't think you're
(43:40):
better than those things, you know, and just work your
way up. I'm a showrunner, right, so that means I
run the whole show. I manage a multimillion dollar budgets
and on any show that I run, and I also
write and I act and I you know, all this stuff.
So it's a lot of hats to wear. But the
only reason I was prepared to do that is because
I had twenty years in the business.
Speaker 9 (43:57):
Doing every job on so many for shows. So I
don't know if y'all know a lot about where I
came from.
Speaker 6 (44:03):
But like I was writing for Mike Epps and Chris
Rock and Kevin Hart and all these comedians, like I'll
be on the roll with comedians. Then I started writing
for award shows and writing like the monologues and the
sketches and the jokes. Then I got Then I started
staffing in rooms as those comedians started selling shows.
Speaker 9 (44:21):
Then I, you know, worked my way up to being
head writer.
Speaker 10 (44:23):
We should remind people, Robin that that story is actually
in the QLs classic.
Speaker 8 (44:27):
It is.
Speaker 10 (44:28):
It is also the Puppetsier version as well. We talked
about there too.
Speaker 9 (44:33):
But I say all that to say, not to run
down the resume, but.
Speaker 6 (44:35):
Just to say, like, I've been here a long time
and some people just got to know me yesterday, you
know so, and and I'm and I'm.
Speaker 9 (44:42):
Grateful for that. I'm never better than somebody just now saying.
There's probably people standing here who are like, who is
this woman talking?
Speaker 2 (44:49):
You know?
Speaker 6 (44:50):
But now you might go google.
Speaker 9 (44:52):
So oh I thought they were saying us, we don't
know you if they're waving to you.
Speaker 6 (44:56):
Yeah, that's yeah, right question.
Speaker 4 (45:01):
Well, speaking of you writing for other comedians, will you
ever or is it even a bucket list of yours
to try stand up once? Because that's the thing I
was shocked at. I don't because you have never You
told me you never done stand up, and.
Speaker 6 (45:19):
You yell at me because you're like your literal late
night show was you standing up telling jokes?
Speaker 9 (45:24):
So I guess I did do stand up.
Speaker 2 (45:26):
No.
Speaker 6 (45:26):
I mean, look, I've wrote for literally name your favorite comedian.
I wrote jokes for them, so, you know, being on
the road and watching them do what they do, do
you still feed them now?
Speaker 2 (45:36):
Like, yeah, sometimes I have a good idea for you.
Speaker 9 (45:37):
Why don't you sometimes?
Speaker 2 (45:39):
Okay?
Speaker 6 (45:40):
Sometimes but like I'll reach out to them because it's
just that community. Like when Wanda was hosting the Oscars,
I was like, yo, you did some jokes. She was
like hit me, you know, and like and I didn't
because I'm a bad friend. But I just got caught
up doing shit and not I forgot but but but no,
it's that kind of community though. Or if they call me, like,
I'm there, if Rock calls me, if if want to
calls me, whoever, I'm there.
Speaker 9 (46:00):
So But will I ever do stand up?
Speaker 6 (46:03):
I don't think so, for the same reasons that like
a lot of older comedians don't really do stand up anymore.
I think it's like you got to go out and
fail for a year doing that material. And because I
never put my ten years in right.
Speaker 2 (46:16):
Now a good time.
Speaker 9 (46:17):
No, it's not a good time to start. I don't
even want that.
Speaker 2 (46:22):
No, no ten seconds stand up.
Speaker 6 (46:28):
No, I will not be swayed there. This is why
I play the bad comedian, Like I know where my strengths.
I I know I'm good at impressions and characters, like
I'm not good at just standing up and being myself.
Maybe that's imposter syndrome for the lady that I don't know.
I know, it's just knowing.
Speaker 2 (46:41):
I don't.
Speaker 6 (46:42):
I don't like it. I tried it twice and I
almost uncomfortable zone. But for what most stand ups are
doing it so they can get a TV show. I
have had multiple television shows. I am multiple my active.
Speaker 2 (46:56):
What you gotroactive? You gotta do the TV shows before
you do the stand up standing TV shows.
Speaker 9 (47:01):
It would be hustling backwards.
Speaker 2 (47:03):
Wouldn't it backwards?
Speaker 6 (47:04):
I mean, one day you should do what.
Speaker 2 (47:07):
You want to do.
Speaker 6 (47:08):
Yeah, I have no desire, right, I mean, oh yeah,
I'm not doing a toxic mail.
Speaker 10 (47:12):
You know why?
Speaker 6 (47:12):
I think you were?
Speaker 8 (47:14):
No.
Speaker 6 (47:14):
You know why too, Because it's a very solitary life
and it's a very solitary pursuit. And I like doing
things with other people, and I like supporting us, and
I like showcasing us, and I feel like stand up
would just be showcasing me, which I don't think.
Speaker 2 (47:28):
Okay, I'll take that.
Speaker 6 (47:30):
Wait before you wrap it up, can I gotta ask
you a question?
Speaker 3 (47:32):
Boss?
Speaker 6 (47:33):
Wait before you wrap it up?
Speaker 10 (47:34):
Because we don't get moments with Questlove at the root
picnic rab and you don't know this, but this is
the only time that he actually leaves like area and
if this is really something, So can you give us
any insight on today what you're looking forward to? How
was last night like, tell us something, This is the
return of the Roofs Picnic in three years.
Speaker 2 (47:51):
Yes it is.
Speaker 4 (47:54):
You know, for me it's there's a biggest story because
the one thing we didn't talk about yesterday was yes,
it was is our thirtieth the Roots, as you know,
it was our thirtieth.
Speaker 2 (48:03):
And oh my god, I be in her first for
me to see, you.
Speaker 4 (48:10):
Know, two friends from high school busk on the corner
of South Street and you tell me, thirty years from
this date, you're going to hit over sixty thousand people
in the backyard.
Speaker 2 (48:25):
Of the borough that you grew up in.
Speaker 4 (48:27):
I mean I came here thirty years ago to see
in Vogue and arrested development and now it's like this
is my home.
Speaker 2 (48:34):
So you know, for me, uh, it was a dream.
It was a dream.
Speaker 4 (48:39):
Playing with Mary as well. You know, she definitely gave
us feed. She wants to she wants to make that
happen again.
Speaker 10 (48:47):
So every time somebody does the Roots picnic, usher did
the same thing, right. Every time they do they perform
with the Roots Robin, they always been like, what else
we do in Vegas?
Speaker 14 (48:56):
Right?
Speaker 9 (48:56):
Yeah, well no band is gonna compare obviously.
Speaker 2 (49:00):
Thank you.
Speaker 9 (49:00):
By the way, can you text Mary J.
Speaker 6 (49:02):
Blige while you had it?
Speaker 9 (49:03):
Also listen to yourself.
Speaker 6 (49:04):
She will be good. I wanted them all on the show.
Speaker 9 (49:09):
We're gonna get you on in season.
Speaker 4 (49:10):
Anyways, Ladies and gentlemen, this is of course Love Supreme
on paid Bill.
Speaker 2 (49:16):
He This is Robin Phoebe.
Speaker 7 (49:18):
Thank you very.
Speaker 2 (49:20):
So much. Enjoy the rest of the roofs picnic. Please
be safe, love one another West.
Speaker 1 (49:31):
Love Supreme is a production of iHeart Radio. For more
podcasts from iHeart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,
or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
Hosts And Creators
Laiya St. Clair
Questlove
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