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If you haven’t seen “A Black Lady Sketch Show” on YouTube yet, what are you waiting for?
The HBO show was renewed for a third season and the Emmy-nominated sketch comedy series is about, you guessed it, Black women doing grown woman things with an often bizarre (but usually relatable) element that is culturally relevant.
Robin Thede, creator, showrunner, executive producer, writer and star was quoted in a press release saying, “Making ‘A Black Lady Sketch Show’ is a dream come true and I’m honored to continue our incredible series and wonderful partnership with HBO, Issa Rae, JAX Media and our entire producing team. I can’t wait to push the show even further in Season 3 and to keep delivering the laugh-out-loud content our audience loves to see! I see this show as a budding comedy institution, where Black women can play fully realized, non-stereotypical characters and I am so grateful for the opportunity to continue to create that space for today’s premiere comedians.”
Amy Gravitt, executive vice president, HBO Comedy Programming, added in the release that Thede is doing big things.
“Robin continues to break new ground in the world of sketch comedy. She delivered a hilariously sharp second season, and we’re looking forward to seeing where Robin, Issa Rae and the ‘A Black Lady Sketch Show’ team take us in Season 3.”
Season 2 of the show featured a core cast of “Black women living relatable, hilarious experiences in a magical reality that subverts traditional expectations.”
The show is a narrative series set in a limitless magical reality full of dynamic, hilarious characters and celebrity guests.
Executive Producer Issa Rae for Issa Rae Productions; Executive Producers Dave Becky and Jonathan Berry for 3 Arts Entertainment; Executive Producers Tony Hernandez and Brooke Posch for JAX Media; Head Writer/Co-executive Producer Lauren Ashley Smith; Producers Deniese Davis and Montrel McKay for Issa Rae Productions; and Producer John Skidmore for JAX Media help make the show a reality.
From feeling invisible as a larger, darker-skinned Black woman (the character is a spy) to being upset over waiting too long for a hair dresser too busy eating (then imagining the perfect hair salon that is only a skewed dream), the situations these characters find themselves in are just as hilarious as it is healing and therapeutic. Viewers, especially Black women, watching this show can feel some type of positivity because representation is happening for them, and in today’s world that is vital.
According to an article from https://deadline.com, research by the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media did a study that found positive representations of Black girls and women (who make up 6.5 percent of the U.S. population) represent 6.1 percent of all characters and 5.7 percent of leading characters in 2019 family films. However, the report also found that nearly 80 percent of the Black female characters have light or medium skin tones, causing colorism discussions to come about.
The report also found that over half of Black leading ladies in films from the past decade have hairstyles aligned with “European standards of beauty as opposed to natural Black hairstyles,” according to the article.
The sketch show is like a breath of fresh air because the Black women featured in the show come in all shapes, sizes, skin tones, hair types and more.
So, when you sit down after a long day at work, or lounging around wanting to watch something funny, witty and culturally in tune with a side of cray-cray, tune in, you might be glad that you did.
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