WEBVTT FILE
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Downloaded from
YTS.MX
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("Honesty" by
Pink Sweat$ playing)
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Official YIFY movies site:
YTS.MX
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Woman:
That is a series wrap
on our queen, Issa Rae.
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(cheering and applause)
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♪ She said, baby,
I'm afraid to fall in love ♪
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Issa Rae:
You guys, I am
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just incredibly...
humbled, blessed, uh...
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(crying):
I love you.
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I love you, too.
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(laughing)
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This show has been
a part of the revolution.
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The way you showcase
our humanity,
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and portray us with grace
and accountability.
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The way you love your city.
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The way you love your people,
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Black people in your city,
is part of the revolution.
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The way you always
give and share credit
where credit is due
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is part of the revolution.
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The way you created
and collaborated
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with the intention
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of our fucked up, incredible,
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and beautiful Black
full humanity...
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baked into the identity
and heart of this show
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is part of the revolution.
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The way you look
so damn good...
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(cheering)
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even when you ashy...
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(all laughing)
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is part of the revolution.
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The way you recognize
every step of the way,
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that it's a collaborative
and collective effort.
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There are no heroes.
We get us free.
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With this show,
you made big girls feel seen,
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you made dark-skinned
women feel seen,
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you made toxic
Black men feel...
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toxic...
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(all laughing)
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and understood.
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You made people realize things
about their mental health.
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Together,
y'all shifted culture.
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There is no revolution
without art.
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(applause)
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("Life's A Bitch" by
Radiant Children playing)
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♪ La, la, la, la, la, la ♪
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♪ La, la, la, la, la, la ♪
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♪ Oh, it's easier
said than done ♪
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♪ But don't you worry
'bout those little things ♪
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Prentice Penny:
I would've never thought
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six years ago we'd all be here,
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but I just
want to say that
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making a show,
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just working in
for a long time,
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and not bein' able to see
people that look like me.
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To be able to do
a show like that here,
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that, like, now
sets the groundwork
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that people wanna make
more shows like us
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is just really special.
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You don't get to be
a part of those things a lot.
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(cheering)
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Let's shoot this shit
for another three months,
guys!
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Season six!
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(laughing)
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You know,
I came into this not knowing
anything about television,
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and not necessarily feeling
confident in my role.
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I had a web series,
and, you know,
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to have a mentor
who's so selfless,
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and has put his ego aside
time and time again
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to make sure that I was
able to create the show
that I wanted to make
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with the people
I wanted to make it with,
I'm coming out of this
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a different person,
a better person,
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and I hope you guys are, too.
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Thank you to the love
of my life, my brother.
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(laughing)
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(downtempo music playing)
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Issa:
We are back at Stanford
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shooting the very first episode
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of the final season
at my alma mater.
This is crazy.
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Nobody gets to do this.
Stanford has never
done this before,
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and they let us shoot here.
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I actually got mad
because I didn't want
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the characters
to go to Stanford.
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Because of a props
mistake in season one,
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we just ended up
establishing them as that,
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so, I was like, "Fuck!"
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But then,
we just went with it,
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so, no, I did not imagine
we'd be back here shooting,
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but when we came out
with the idea for a reunion,
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it just made so much sense,
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and felt so meta perfect
for this season.
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We're coming back to the place
where Issa and Molly
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became friends.
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(indistinct chatter)
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It feels so good to be back.
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Laura Kittrell:
It's sort of picking up
from last season,
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post Issa-Molly fight
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with them, sort of,
on their road to reconciliation.
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Things are still
a little bit awkward,
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but you can tell they both want
to be back in that good place.
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When I was at Stanford,
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I was into theater because
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I had been in plays
all of high school.
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And then,
I was super into film
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because of
"Love & Basketball,"
specifically.
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I wasn't really
thinking about TV
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because TV wasn't
really that poppin' then.
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There just wasn't enough
representation then,
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and there was nothing
on television that
made me feel like,
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"Oh, I wanna make
what they're making."
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I mean, I love "The Office,"
I love those kind of shows,
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and, obviously, "Curb"
and, and "Seinfeld,"
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and that's what
influenced me to try to write
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television later on,
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but I never thought about
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starring in my own TV show.
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(on computer):
Stupid bitch nigga,
I hope you drown.
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That'll turn my frown
upside down.
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Amy Gravitt:
I first heard about Issa Rae,
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the way a lot of people did,
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seeing her web series.
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I think what she showed
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in "Awkward Black Girl"
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is something that we look
for in all of our shows,
which is...
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we want the audience
to be able to recognize
themselves,
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and on the comedy side,
specifically,
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we want them to be able
to laugh in recognition.
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What Issa showed
was that she was willing
to put herself out there,
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and mine her own
humanity for laughs.
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(raps):
♪ Call me Lil' Kim ♪
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♪ 'Cause I got a crush on you ♪
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♪ Wanna make you my boo ♪
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♪ Carpool with you to school ♪
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♪ Be starin' at you
in geometry ♪
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♪ Fantasize about you
on top of me ♪
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♪ I'm a virgin,
but I promise thee ♪
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♪ I got that ill nana, no
foxy ♪
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The development process with HBO
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was long, but it was necessary.
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Issa had an initial
idea for the show,
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we went into HBO,
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we pitched it
to Amy Gravitt
and Casey Bloys.
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It was set
in the nonprofit world,
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and it was just
about my experiences,
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and it still was,
kind of, similar
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to "Awkward Black Girl,"
but I didn't wanna do
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"Awkward Black Girl"
all over again.
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And in doing that pitch,
I was nervous as fuck.
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I was reading off
of the paper in the meeting
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because I'm not the type to be
able to just engage people,
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and, "Oh, look at my show."
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I was just like,
this is what it's 'bout to be.
This is it.
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They bought it in the room.
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They said,
"Exciting. Let's do it."
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And then,
we were in development,
probably, about
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a year and a half, two years.
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When I tell you,
comin' from the internet world,
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I was like, "I can
make this shit right now.
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Like, what is the problem?"
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She had this notion
that she wanted to
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do a workplace comedy.
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The idea was centered
much more around
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what, ultimately,
became We Got Y'all.
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We would meet
from time to time
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as she was
developing the outline,
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and talk about the script,
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but also, she would have
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these stories about
a friend of hers,
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and I think, at one point,
she even showed us a text,
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and it was in that moment
that Casey was like,
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"That's the show.
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"It's you and your friend,
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and the world around
both of you."
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He did not sad face you.
I will slap you right--
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Bish, what?
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That's my life.
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Issa:
I got to rewriting,
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and then, I was also like,
"Ooh, fuck it."
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Like, I'm puttin' all
elements of my life in here.
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You hungry?
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-Just--
-Take it!
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Pop, pop, pop.
Pot pie.
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So, I can say this
is rooted in authenticity,
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this is a real story.
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And that's when they were
like, "Okay, green light."
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TT The Artist:
♪ Welcome to the life
of the rich and the fly ♪
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Issa:
I had to find a showrunner.
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HBO sent a couple
people my way.
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Ashley Holland,
who is an agent,
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was like, "You should
think about Prentice Penny."
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First time we met in person
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was when you came
to my book signing
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-in Eso Won.
-Yes, Eso Won, yep.
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Issa:
And then, we ended up usin'
Eso Won so much for the show--
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-Yes, I wrote you a letter--
-Yeah.
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to see like,
"Hey, this is what I thought
I would bring to it."
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But I'm curious,
what was it like
to get the letter?
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'Cause people don't
send each other, like,
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-letters anymore for anything.
-Issa: No.
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It went such a long way.
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Obviously, I hadn't gotten
a letter from anybody,
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and to see, like,
what you identify with
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knowin' that, you know,
we were in the same area,
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-knowin' that you had worked
in the nonprofit world.
-Right.
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I was like,
"Oh, this guy seems to get it."
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So, that letter,
by the time you came
to the book signing,
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I was already like,
"Oh, this dude seems cool."
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And I hadn't read shit
that you did until...
I had already said yes.
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-'Cause I was just like,
"Oh yeah, he--"
-"He seems cool."
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Which is almost how
we made every decision.
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(laughing)
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Director:
And camera, action!
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The director process,
to find one, was soul-crushing.
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HBO wanted someone,
uh, established,
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and I think for them,
they wanted someone
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who had a name.
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And so, we found someone,
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and they flew me to New York
to meet this director,
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and after that meeting,
I was like,
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"I don't think
he gets the show."
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We had several other
directors who I was fans of,
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but still didn't quite
get the show to me.
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Casey was like,
"If you had to take a risk,
who would you want?"
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And I was like,
"There's this director
I've been following,
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00:09:06.584 --> 00:09:09.250
Melina Matsoukas,
who could be dope."
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People really didn't
give opportunities
to directors like me.
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I had done, primarily,
music videos and commercials,
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00:09:14.834 --> 00:09:17.042
and I had really
broken in that space,
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but it didn't translate
to film and TV.
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And so, I was offered
a lot of series that
I didn't relate to.
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When I read this,
I saw myself in the words,
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fell in love
with her on the page,
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and then, I met her,
and I was like,
"She ain't so bad.
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Maybe we can collaborate."
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We did a Skype meeting,
and it was terrible.
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(chuckles)
It was like, "Girl",
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"you knew that we've
been going and seeing
these other directors.
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You ain't come prepared."
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I was on the East Coast.
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I was visiting my family,
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and, you know,
the WiFi wasn't working.
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It was just really
hard to connect.
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I knew I liked them.
They weren't sure
if they liked me yet.
243
00:09:49.542 --> 00:09:51.459
Her rep was like,
"What happened?
How did it go?"
244
00:09:51.542 --> 00:09:53.167
And I was like,
"Bitch, what the fuck?
What happened?
245
00:09:53.250 --> 00:09:54.667
Like, tell her to come correct."
246
00:09:54.751 --> 00:09:56.792
And she was like,
"Let me get her another meeting.
247
00:09:56.876 --> 00:09:57.918
I will prep her."
248
00:09:58.000 --> 00:10:00.500
I watched every
comedy pilot possible,
249
00:10:00.584 --> 00:10:03.667
and I put together a real
treatment and pitch deck,
250
00:10:03.751 --> 00:10:04.959
and I brought it with me,
251
00:10:05.042 --> 00:10:06.834
and that meeting
was phenomenal.
252
00:10:06.918 --> 00:10:08.959
It was everything.
She blew us all away,
253
00:10:09.042 --> 00:10:10.876
and we knew that
she was the one.
254
00:10:10.959 --> 00:10:12.375
Melina Matsoukas:
When we were
creating the pilot,
255
00:10:12.459 --> 00:10:13.626
I didn't really
think about it
256
00:10:13.709 --> 00:10:15.334
as something that hadn't
been done before.
257
00:10:15.417 --> 00:10:17.417
I just thought about it as
258
00:10:17.500 --> 00:10:18.792
how I approach any project.
259
00:10:18.876 --> 00:10:20.000
I wanted to
260
00:10:20.083 --> 00:10:23.000
really get inside
of who Issa Dee was,
261
00:10:23.083 --> 00:10:26.542
what influenced her,
and who she spoke to and for,
262
00:10:26.626 --> 00:10:29.834
and I wanted everything
to feel really authentic
to that character.
263
00:10:29.918 --> 00:10:32.709
So, do y'all have any questions?
264
00:10:32.792 --> 00:10:34.626
Don't be shy, guys.
Fire away.
265
00:10:34.709 --> 00:10:35.959
When she was editing,
266
00:10:36.042 --> 00:10:38.000
she called me up, and said,
"Hey, would you come down,
267
00:10:38.083 --> 00:10:40.125
"and watch my cut
before I show them?
268
00:10:40.209 --> 00:10:41.834
I just want to get
someone else's feedback."
269
00:10:41.918 --> 00:10:43.667
And she played it back for me,
270
00:10:43.751 --> 00:10:46.167
and I'll never forget this,
but I watched that cut,
271
00:10:46.250 --> 00:10:47.959
I got... really emotional,
272
00:10:48.042 --> 00:10:49.417
and it was almost--
I was silent.
273
00:10:49.500 --> 00:10:51.792
And she was like, "Ya hate it."
And I was like...
274
00:10:51.876 --> 00:10:53.626
"No, I think they're
gonna love it."
275
00:10:53.709 --> 00:10:55.667
It was the first time I realized
276
00:10:55.751 --> 00:10:57.542
how important a show
like this could be,
277
00:10:57.626 --> 00:11:02.334
and how... I hadn't seen
a Black woman represented
in that way.
278
00:11:02.417 --> 00:11:03.834
The show was
gonna be a success.
279
00:11:03.918 --> 00:11:06.000
Like, I knew--
I was like, there is no way
280
00:11:06.083 --> 00:11:09.834
people can see this
beautifully crafted pilot,
281
00:11:09.918 --> 00:11:12.250
beautifully shot,
beautifully acted,
282
00:11:12.334 --> 00:11:15.500
and the humanity in the comedy,
and the relatability,
283
00:11:15.584 --> 00:11:18.292
and how could you not give
a show like this a chance?
284
00:11:18.375 --> 00:11:20.792
And, um, you know,
legend has it that, uh,
285
00:11:20.876 --> 00:11:23.083
when they turned in the edit,
and we got a series pickup,
286
00:11:23.167 --> 00:11:25.209
it was, supposedly,
like one of the fastest
287
00:11:25.292 --> 00:11:28.417
pickups in HBO's history,
and I think that shows just
288
00:11:28.500 --> 00:11:30.209
how much work and love
and, and energy
289
00:11:30.292 --> 00:11:32.834
was really put into
getting that pilot right.
290
00:11:32.918 --> 00:11:34.375
It's my fault,
okay.
291
00:11:34.459 --> 00:11:35.292
I'm sorry, guys.
292
00:11:35.375 --> 00:11:36.959
("Blessed" by
Saint Bodhi playing)
293
00:11:37.042 --> 00:11:38.792
♪ I just walked up
on my boyfriend ♪
294
00:11:38.876 --> 00:11:39.709
♪ Kissing on ♪
295
00:11:39.792 --> 00:11:41.709
♪ The next-door neighbor ♪
296
00:11:41.792 --> 00:11:43.292
♪ But it's cool ♪
297
00:11:45.083 --> 00:11:47.292
(indistinct chatter)
298
00:11:49.292 --> 00:11:50.751
Shall we?
299
00:11:50.834 --> 00:11:51.959
Look at us...
300
00:11:52.042 --> 00:11:53.959
lookin' like
a diversity brochure.
301
00:11:54.042 --> 00:11:55.792
(all laughing)
302
00:11:55.876 --> 00:11:57.584
Amanda Seales:
I just remember,
the first audition,
303
00:11:57.667 --> 00:12:00.292
I had went in
for jalapeño poppers.
304
00:12:00.375 --> 00:12:01.459
-Tasha.
-Amanda: For Tasha.
305
00:12:01.542 --> 00:12:04.542
The description said
"hood hot."
306
00:12:04.626 --> 00:12:07.500
And I was like,
"I am not hood hot,"
307
00:12:07.584 --> 00:12:08.834
'cause you have
to know your strengths,
308
00:12:08.918 --> 00:12:10.626
and I'm shaped
like an iPhone,
309
00:12:10.709 --> 00:12:12.083
sleek lines and rounded edges,
310
00:12:12.167 --> 00:12:15.792
so I knew that
I wasn't going to...
get cast in that role.
311
00:12:15.876 --> 00:12:17.417
So, I went in,
and I was like,
"Vickie,
312
00:12:17.500 --> 00:12:19.042
I'm never gonna book this.
Is there anything else?"
313
00:12:19.125 --> 00:12:20.459
And she was like,
"What else we
got back there?"
314
00:12:20.542 --> 00:12:22.292
And she's like,
"Oh, they got early 30s.
315
00:12:22.375 --> 00:12:24.626
Ivy League graduate."
And I was like,
"That's my life!"
316
00:12:24.709 --> 00:12:26.209
Speaker:
Sophomore year,
you hooked up with that chick
317
00:12:26.292 --> 00:12:27.417
that looked like Lisa Turtle.
318
00:12:27.500 --> 00:12:29.375
That's different.
See, with women,
319
00:12:29.459 --> 00:12:31.667
we can hook up with each other,
and we're not considered gay.
320
00:12:31.751 --> 00:12:32.834
It's different for men.
321
00:12:32.918 --> 00:12:35.167
So, my very first audition
with Vickie was like,
322
00:12:35.250 --> 00:12:37.125
"How come I don't know you?"
I was like, "'Cause it's L.A.,
323
00:12:37.209 --> 00:12:39.334
"and nobody knows
a little Black girl like me
324
00:12:39.417 --> 00:12:41.667
who don't have
no agent, no nothing."
325
00:12:41.751 --> 00:12:43.000
After it was done,
she was like,
326
00:12:43.083 --> 00:12:45.626
"You're good... You're good."
327
00:12:45.709 --> 00:12:47.334
And she really
kind of stepped up
328
00:12:47.417 --> 00:12:49.667
every time she came
back to audition.
329
00:12:49.751 --> 00:12:51.500
You'd give her a note,
she'd take it.
330
00:12:51.584 --> 00:12:53.500
She was like a diamond that
you just needed to, kind of,
331
00:12:53.584 --> 00:12:54.459
shine a little bit.
332
00:12:54.542 --> 00:12:56.000
"Sorry, but I'm not looking
333
00:12:56.083 --> 00:12:57.584
for a relationship..."
334
00:12:57.667 --> 00:12:58.626
Sad face.
335
00:12:58.709 --> 00:13:00.250
The fourth one,
that was like,
336
00:13:00.334 --> 00:13:03.959
"Oh, if y'all don't want me."
(laughs)
337
00:13:04.042 --> 00:13:05.792
That's how I felt
walkin' down...
338
00:13:05.876 --> 00:13:08.876
Rodeo Drive and Beverly.
I think I skipped--
339
00:13:10.709 --> 00:13:12.876
It was the scene
where we had...
340
00:13:13.000 --> 00:13:14.292
the fight in the car,
341
00:13:14.375 --> 00:13:17.209
and I added the like,
okay, the slam lock is on,
342
00:13:17.292 --> 00:13:19.083
and, like, I just--
I couldn't get out.
343
00:13:19.167 --> 00:13:21.000
I was like,
I'mma, I'mma do it.
I'mma go for it,
344
00:13:21.083 --> 00:13:23.667
and I was like,
"Open this damn door!"
345
00:13:23.751 --> 00:13:24.834
Muthafucka, open the door!
346
00:13:24.918 --> 00:13:26.584
-The child lock's on.
-Shut the fuck up!
347
00:13:26.667 --> 00:13:27.876
Yvonne Orji:
They were like,
"Ah, that's funny."
348
00:13:27.959 --> 00:13:29.292
I was like,
"Oh, that was a choice."
349
00:13:29.375 --> 00:13:30.792
Didn't know how
this was gonna go,
so I felt
350
00:13:30.876 --> 00:13:32.042
really good after that.
351
00:13:32.125 --> 00:13:33.834
Between audition
three and four,
352
00:13:33.918 --> 00:13:36.209
it was between paying
my cell phone bill,
353
00:13:36.292 --> 00:13:38.250
and getting
a private coach.
354
00:13:38.334 --> 00:13:41.083
And I was like...
"I'mma have to get
this private coach."
355
00:13:41.167 --> 00:13:44.375
If I get the job,
I hope they can
contact me another way
356
00:13:44.459 --> 00:13:46.459
'cause Sprint is dead, okay?
357
00:13:46.542 --> 00:13:48.000
I'm the only one on the show
358
00:13:48.083 --> 00:13:51.459
that's been a director,
cast member, and writer,
359
00:13:51.542 --> 00:13:52.709
and it's been incredible.
360
00:13:52.792 --> 00:13:55.000
Natasha went from
361
00:13:55.083 --> 00:13:57.250
being a writer
in the room
to being Kelli
362
00:13:57.334 --> 00:13:59.417
in a very specific way.
363
00:13:59.500 --> 00:14:01.209
A lot of times,
we'll read it as a room
364
00:14:01.292 --> 00:14:02.584
to kind of see,
like, how does it feel.
365
00:14:02.667 --> 00:14:05.626
She just read Kelli so great,
366
00:14:05.709 --> 00:14:08.918
that we couldn't imagine
anybody else being as funny
367
00:14:09.000 --> 00:14:10.918
as Natasha was being Kelli.
368
00:14:11.000 --> 00:14:13.083
You ever see
"Lock Up Abroad"?
369
00:14:13.167 --> 00:14:15.876
-The gon' lock a broad up.
-(laughing)
370
00:14:15.959 --> 00:14:18.042
Oh god, a favorite Kelli line.
371
00:14:18.125 --> 00:14:19.375
That is so hard.
372
00:14:19.459 --> 00:14:21.000
I improvise so much,
so sometimes
373
00:14:21.083 --> 00:14:22.709
I don't remember
what's an actual line,
374
00:14:22.792 --> 00:14:23.876
or something I've said,
375
00:14:23.959 --> 00:14:26.918
or something I've said
never made the air.
376
00:14:27.000 --> 00:14:29.125
I do like,
"Remember me different."
377
00:14:29.209 --> 00:14:33.125
Only because I say that
in my, my real life
378
00:14:33.209 --> 00:14:34.292
all the time.
379
00:14:34.375 --> 00:14:36.959
Fuck it!
You said Beyoncé.
380
00:14:37.042 --> 00:14:40.459
(electricity zapping)
381
00:14:40.542 --> 00:14:41.959
Remember me different.
382
00:14:42.042 --> 00:14:43.459
Just like, don't look
at me doing this.
383
00:14:43.542 --> 00:14:45.000
And I also love,
384
00:14:45.083 --> 00:14:46.834
"You know what that is?"
385
00:14:46.918 --> 00:14:47.959
Growth.
386
00:14:48.042 --> 00:14:48.918
You a big girl.
387
00:14:49.000 --> 00:14:50.083
Issa:
You know, we wanted to make
388
00:14:50.167 --> 00:14:51.209
-a good--
-Prentice: Yeah.
389
00:14:51.292 --> 00:14:52.792
-show at the end of the day.
-Prentice: Yeah.
390
00:14:52.876 --> 00:14:54.500
And I remember,
I was talkin' to Jonathan,
391
00:14:54.584 --> 00:14:55.751
we were wrapping,
and he was like,
392
00:14:55.834 --> 00:14:57.500
"You know this never works."
393
00:14:57.584 --> 00:14:59.125
He was like,
"You know, like a creator,
394
00:14:59.209 --> 00:15:00.959
"and a showrunner
who come together,
395
00:15:01.042 --> 00:15:03.209
there's always,
like, a power play."
396
00:15:03.292 --> 00:15:04.918
I, I feel like
the first time that you
397
00:15:05.000 --> 00:15:06.709
bucked up, and then,
bucked up is the wrong word
398
00:15:06.792 --> 00:15:08.667
was just in the depiction
of, of Lawrence.
399
00:15:08.751 --> 00:15:10.250
-Mm-hm.
-That, that made
such a difference.
400
00:15:10.334 --> 00:15:12.209
-He could've been written
in such a different way--
-Right.
401
00:15:12.292 --> 00:15:15.500
-if we didn't have, like,
your perspective, your as a man.
-Yeah.
402
00:15:15.584 --> 00:15:18.876
-(laughing)
-As a man, what he not gon' do.
403
00:15:20.459 --> 00:15:22.959
I actually
heard about "Insecure"--
404
00:15:23.042 --> 00:15:24.209
I'mma give
this brother a shout-out.
405
00:15:24.292 --> 00:15:25.834
Clarence Hammond
calls me one day,
406
00:15:25.918 --> 00:15:27.876
and he was like,
"Yo, have you
heard of 'Insecure'?"
407
00:15:27.959 --> 00:15:29.334
And I was like,
"No, what's that?"
And he was like,
408
00:15:29.417 --> 00:15:31.459
"It's Issa Rae's
new pilot at HBO,
409
00:15:31.542 --> 00:15:33.083
"and it just got greenlit.
You should read it.
410
00:15:33.167 --> 00:15:35.000
There's a character
in there you're perfect for."
411
00:15:35.083 --> 00:15:37.500
And now mind you,
I read the script,
and I'm,
412
00:15:37.584 --> 00:15:40.959
literally, thinking
he's talkin' about
Daniel, not Lawrence.
413
00:15:41.042 --> 00:15:42.626
Lawrence is sittin'
on the couch,
414
00:15:42.709 --> 00:15:45.167
he's eatin' cereal,
he forgot his girl's birthday.
415
00:15:45.250 --> 00:15:46.834
You know, I'm just
gettin' my shit together.
416
00:15:46.918 --> 00:15:49.417
You've been gettin'
your shit together for
four years, Lawrence.
417
00:15:49.500 --> 00:15:52.375
In no way in my mind
did I think that this dude
418
00:15:52.459 --> 00:15:55.459
was talkin' about Lawrence bein'
the perfect character for me.
419
00:15:55.542 --> 00:15:59.292
And I remember walkin' in,
and I did Lawrence first.
420
00:15:59.375 --> 00:16:01.542
My shoulders were,
kind of like hunched over,
421
00:16:01.626 --> 00:16:03.000
very didn't want to be there,
422
00:16:03.083 --> 00:16:05.209
but I felt like that's where
Lawrence was in his head,
423
00:16:05.292 --> 00:16:06.959
and then, I remember I,
like, put my sides down,
424
00:16:07.042 --> 00:16:09.626
turned around,
and I was like, "Bam!"
Like, "Let's do this."
425
00:16:09.709 --> 00:16:12.459
And, like, all of a sudden,
was like a whole new person
426
00:16:12.542 --> 00:16:13.500
to do Daniel.
427
00:16:13.584 --> 00:16:14.876
I was like,
"Oh, I booked that."
428
00:16:14.959 --> 00:16:16.334
Three weeks later,
I get a phone call,
429
00:16:16.417 --> 00:16:18.000
and they're like,
"Hey, they wanna test you
430
00:16:18.083 --> 00:16:20.000
-on 'Insecure.'"
-All right, cool.
431
00:16:20.083 --> 00:16:23.584
But I never asked my rep
what character they wanted
to test me on,
432
00:16:23.667 --> 00:16:27.209
so I actually thought
I was going to read
for Daniel again.
433
00:16:27.292 --> 00:16:29.751
And then, found out that
I was going to do Lawrence.
434
00:16:29.834 --> 00:16:33.584
-So, what're you sayin'?
-Issa: I didn't think that
Lawrence would make it past
435
00:16:33.667 --> 00:16:37.417
the first season,
let alone the first episode.
436
00:16:37.500 --> 00:16:40.250
Jay Ellis is so great.
Like I think about
"Breaking Bad."
437
00:16:40.334 --> 00:16:42.959
Jesse wasn't supposed
to be a main character.
438
00:16:43.042 --> 00:16:44.334
It was supposed
to just follow Walt,
439
00:16:44.417 --> 00:16:45.959
and Jesse is,
obviously, the show,
440
00:16:46.042 --> 00:16:47.584
and I think about
that with Jay Ellis.
441
00:16:47.667 --> 00:16:49.083
Like he was just so phenomenal
442
00:16:49.167 --> 00:16:50.375
that every single time
we'd break stories,
443
00:16:50.459 --> 00:16:52.334
we'd wanna see what
Lawrence was doing.
444
00:16:52.417 --> 00:16:55.876
The hands-down moment
I knew the show was a success
445
00:16:55.959 --> 00:16:57.876
was after our season finale.
446
00:16:57.959 --> 00:16:59.918
I remember Prentice bein' like,
447
00:17:00.000 --> 00:17:02.792
"Yo, the finale.
People gonna go crazy
when they see the finale."
448
00:17:02.876 --> 00:17:04.792
And I read it,
and I was like,
"I don't think so.
449
00:17:04.876 --> 00:17:06.792
"Like, it's, it's, it's
not that crazy of a ending.
450
00:17:06.876 --> 00:17:08.918
Like what are
you talkin' about?"
But I read the ending,
451
00:17:09.000 --> 00:17:11.334
and realized I was
gonna be butt naked.
452
00:17:11.417 --> 00:17:14.417
(moaning)
453
00:17:14.500 --> 00:17:18.292
Issa:
When I logged onto Twitter,
just independent of anything,
454
00:17:18.375 --> 00:17:20.959
saw people tweeting
about Issa and Lawrence.
455
00:17:21.042 --> 00:17:23.667
And I was like,
I'm not on the hashtag.
456
00:17:23.751 --> 00:17:26.250
It was just--
My entire timeline was
457
00:17:26.334 --> 00:17:28.083
people I followed
or people retweeting
458
00:17:28.167 --> 00:17:29.709
arguing about these
two characters.
459
00:17:29.792 --> 00:17:31.834
And I was like,
"This is incredible."
I'm getting chills now.
460
00:17:31.918 --> 00:17:33.375
Like, they're just talkin'
about these characters,
461
00:17:33.459 --> 00:17:35.626
and they're invested
in these characters.
462
00:17:35.709 --> 00:17:36.751
That was amazing.
463
00:17:36.834 --> 00:17:38.125
I didn't see it comin', man,
464
00:17:38.209 --> 00:17:39.792
but it hit people in a way that,
465
00:17:39.876 --> 00:17:42.042
still to this day,
I just don't know if I've seen
466
00:17:42.125 --> 00:17:43.959
a sex scene hit people
like that before.
467
00:17:44.042 --> 00:17:47.667
Issa:
We wanted to celebrate
the bodies of men on this show
468
00:17:47.751 --> 00:17:50.584
in the way that they weren't
celebrated on other shows,
469
00:17:50.667 --> 00:17:54.083
as opposed to the female body
'cause we've seen that before.
470
00:17:54.167 --> 00:17:56.918
(indistinct chatter)
471
00:17:57.000 --> 00:17:58.209
Prentice:
I like that wording.
472
00:17:58.292 --> 00:17:59.918
I did a interview
with a magazine, and--
473
00:18:00.000 --> 00:18:01.042
Did I ever tell you this?
474
00:18:01.125 --> 00:18:03.125
A woman asked me,
"Why...
475
00:18:03.209 --> 00:18:05.250
"is the sex so
graphic on the show?
476
00:18:05.334 --> 00:18:07.042
Is that the way
Black people do it?"
477
00:18:07.125 --> 00:18:10.125
-(laughing)
-What?
478
00:18:10.209 --> 00:18:11.834
Jay Ellis:
On God.
479
00:18:11.918 --> 00:18:13.751
-On--
-Amanda: A white woman?
480
00:18:13.834 --> 00:18:15.709
Like, but what
kind of white?
Like, Euro white?
481
00:18:15.792 --> 00:18:18.000
-Like, American white?
-Wade Allain-Marcus: Yeah,
you talkin' like Karen white?
482
00:18:18.083 --> 00:18:19.626
-A Karen.
-Kendrick Sampson:
I, literally, just
483
00:18:19.709 --> 00:18:20.834
told my family not to watch.
484
00:18:20.918 --> 00:18:22.500
I tried to tell my family,
they said--
485
00:18:22.584 --> 00:18:25.167
But you naked
half the time
on Instagram anyway.
486
00:18:25.250 --> 00:18:27.876
-What's the issue?
-But it's my titties,
not my dick.
487
00:18:27.959 --> 00:18:29.792
-Okay.
-Or like my ass.
488
00:18:32.751 --> 00:18:35.959
-Cue marker.
-Issa: Ahh!
489
00:18:36.042 --> 00:18:39.083
-Hey.
-Hey, sorry, I, I wasn't
tryin' to scare you.
490
00:18:39.167 --> 00:18:42.250
You know,
when you ended things,
I, I understood.
491
00:18:42.334 --> 00:18:43.626
You know, I had
a son on the way,
492
00:18:43.709 --> 00:18:44.959
and I was movin',
but...
493
00:18:45.042 --> 00:18:46.375
things are different now.
I'm different now.
494
00:18:46.459 --> 00:18:50.042
And... I would hate
to leave here tonight
495
00:18:50.125 --> 00:18:51.626
knowin' that,
I don't know,
496
00:18:51.709 --> 00:18:53.542
I could've said somethin'
and I didn't.
497
00:18:53.626 --> 00:18:56.542
Or like I didn't...
fight hard enough for you.
498
00:18:56.626 --> 00:18:58.542
(indistinct chatter)
499
00:18:58.626 --> 00:18:59.709
Issa:
That was passion!
500
00:18:59.792 --> 00:19:02.042
I loved how you were,
were makin' that point.
501
00:19:02.125 --> 00:19:05.125
I want to try a take where
time is of the essence,
502
00:19:05.209 --> 00:19:06.709
-the whole conversation for you.
-Run it?
503
00:19:06.792 --> 00:19:08.792
-Yeah, just, just run it
'cause you don't know--
-Okay.
504
00:19:08.876 --> 00:19:10.667
-how much of a window
you, actually, have.
-Yeah.
505
00:19:10.751 --> 00:19:13.167
-Okay. Okay.
-Okay? Cool.
506
00:19:13.250 --> 00:19:15.584
Kendrick:
Prentice is mad at me
'cause he's team Lawrence.
507
00:19:15.667 --> 00:19:18.334
It's very thinly veiled.
(chuckles)
508
00:19:18.417 --> 00:19:21.000
He be actin' like
he's unbiased,
but he's not.
509
00:19:21.083 --> 00:19:24.959
I'mma get it out of him.
I'm figurin' out what's
gonna go on in the finale.
510
00:19:26.375 --> 00:19:28.292
I always rooted
for Issa and Lawrence.
511
00:19:28.375 --> 00:19:30.375
And then,
I honestly believe,
in season four,
512
00:19:30.459 --> 00:19:31.709
I got to a point
where I was like,
513
00:19:31.792 --> 00:19:33.042
"Yo, some things
just don't work out.
514
00:19:33.125 --> 00:19:34.334
They tried and it didn't work."
515
00:19:34.417 --> 00:19:35.584
Going into season five,
516
00:19:35.667 --> 00:19:37.500
I don't know if
I was team Lawrence.
517
00:19:37.584 --> 00:19:41.209
Early on in our conversations,
just breaking the stories,
518
00:19:41.292 --> 00:19:43.167
Issa, the person, was like,
519
00:19:43.250 --> 00:19:46.709
"Issa, the character,
would be a dumb bitch
to stay with Lawrence."
520
00:19:46.792 --> 00:19:48.959
But, throughout
breaking the season,
521
00:19:49.042 --> 00:19:51.292
I think she started
to come around to,
522
00:19:51.375 --> 00:19:52.667
"Well, does that
have to be the way?"
523
00:19:52.751 --> 00:19:54.083
And as we started
breaking the season,
524
00:19:54.167 --> 00:19:57.209
Issa, the person,
also got on board
525
00:19:57.292 --> 00:19:59.542
with that ending, too.
526
00:19:59.626 --> 00:20:02.250
Laura: Last year,
once we did the episode
527
00:20:02.334 --> 00:20:05.459
where Lawrence and Issa have
the whole night together,
528
00:20:05.542 --> 00:20:07.959
we basically wrote an episode
about how they're soulmates,
529
00:20:08.042 --> 00:20:10.167
and so, by the time we got
to this season, it's like,
530
00:20:10.250 --> 00:20:11.667
we've told the world
that they're soulmates,
531
00:20:11.751 --> 00:20:13.667
so they have
to end up together,
or we're
532
00:20:13.751 --> 00:20:15.834
basically saying that
the protagonist of our show
533
00:20:15.918 --> 00:20:17.459
doesn't deserve to be
with her soulmate.
534
00:20:17.542 --> 00:20:18.876
So, I think there, ultimately,
535
00:20:18.959 --> 00:20:20.292
was no other way
to end the show.
536
00:20:20.375 --> 00:20:22.334
Tonight made me happy.
537
00:20:23.792 --> 00:20:25.584
You make me happy.
538
00:20:26.542 --> 00:20:27.792
When we first started as a room,
539
00:20:27.876 --> 00:20:31.292
and we were talking about
Issa's arc as a character,
540
00:20:31.375 --> 00:20:36.417
we actually talked a lot
about what it meant for her
to stay at We Got Y'all.
541
00:20:36.500 --> 00:20:38.751
There was something
really limiting about that,
542
00:20:38.834 --> 00:20:41.375
and we we're just like,
"Why is she still here
543
00:20:41.459 --> 00:20:43.250
"if she, herself,
has established
544
00:20:43.334 --> 00:20:44.918
that she don't wanna be here?"
545
00:20:45.000 --> 00:20:46.792
And it makes me think
even her romantic arc.
546
00:20:46.876 --> 00:20:48.250
In the beginning,
we were like,
547
00:20:48.334 --> 00:20:49.709
"Oh, by the end of season one,
548
00:20:49.792 --> 00:20:51.375
she's gonna kiss Daniel."
549
00:20:51.459 --> 00:20:55.000
And if our goal is to show
a Black woman who is flawed,
550
00:20:55.083 --> 00:20:58.167
and a Black woman who isn't all,
like, you know, white suits,
551
00:20:58.250 --> 00:20:59.709
red wine, no spills,
552
00:20:59.792 --> 00:21:02.876
then we have to show her
make flawed decisions.
553
00:21:02.959 --> 00:21:04.667
And that means
quitting your job
without knowing
554
00:21:04.751 --> 00:21:06.000
exactly what you're doing next.
555
00:21:06.083 --> 00:21:07.375
That means fuckin' the dude,
556
00:21:07.459 --> 00:21:08.626
not just kissin' the dude.
557
00:21:08.709 --> 00:21:10.000
That means lying
to your partner,
558
00:21:10.083 --> 00:21:11.500
and saying,
"I'm in this," and then,
559
00:21:11.584 --> 00:21:12.709
turning around,
and, like,
560
00:21:12.792 --> 00:21:14.250
talkin' to this guy
at your event.
561
00:21:14.334 --> 00:21:15.709
We were like,
"What are the bad things
562
00:21:15.792 --> 00:21:18.000
"she can do that
she can correct from
563
00:21:18.083 --> 00:21:20.542
that make her more dynamic
and more believable
as a character?"
564
00:21:20.626 --> 00:21:23.125
(downtempo music playing)
565
00:21:23.209 --> 00:21:26.417
(indistinct chatter)
566
00:21:33.292 --> 00:21:35.000
Prentice:
One of the things
that I was looking for
567
00:21:35.083 --> 00:21:38.375
when I was assembling the room
was learning from the...
568
00:21:38.459 --> 00:21:41.959
certain way of things
I had been seeing
for the last seven years.
569
00:21:42.042 --> 00:21:46.083
I knew that I didn't
want repetitive voices.
570
00:21:46.167 --> 00:21:48.042
The thing is if--
"Oh, if I have a Black woman,
571
00:21:48.125 --> 00:21:49.584
I don't need any
other Black women."
572
00:21:49.667 --> 00:21:52.459
And no Black woman can speak
for all Black women, right?
573
00:21:52.542 --> 00:21:54.667
While the agents
were sending us
574
00:21:54.751 --> 00:21:56.500
voices that felt like,
575
00:21:56.584 --> 00:21:58.334
"Oh, I'm gonna send
you eight Issas."
576
00:21:58.417 --> 00:21:59.834
But I was like,
"I have Issa.
577
00:21:59.918 --> 00:22:01.125
"I don't need eight Issas.
578
00:22:01.209 --> 00:22:03.417
I need something that's
gonna be contrary to Issa."
579
00:22:03.500 --> 00:22:07.500
Writing on "Insecure" has been
one of the most fulfilling
experiences of my life.
580
00:22:07.584 --> 00:22:09.959
It's the safest
I've ever felt in a room.
581
00:22:10.042 --> 00:22:11.417
I never felt like...
582
00:22:11.500 --> 00:22:14.500
anything I pitched was
too stupid or, like, too bad.
583
00:22:14.584 --> 00:22:16.250
I felt like
I could say anything.
584
00:22:16.334 --> 00:22:17.667
Every season of the show,
585
00:22:17.751 --> 00:22:19.459
we just wanted to make
each other laugh,
586
00:22:19.542 --> 00:22:20.584
and make Issa laugh,
587
00:22:20.667 --> 00:22:22.417
and it just, honestly, felt like
588
00:22:22.500 --> 00:22:23.667
a conversation with friends
589
00:22:23.751 --> 00:22:26.334
where you happen to be
breaking plot at the same time.
590
00:22:26.417 --> 00:22:28.584
I always feel like you have
to let writers have lives.
591
00:22:28.667 --> 00:22:31.167
That's the tithe you have
to give to make a show.
592
00:22:31.250 --> 00:22:33.167
Otherwise, they're just
in a writers' room all the time.
593
00:22:33.250 --> 00:22:36.751
Prentice did a lot to be like,
"Okay, on Fridays, we're
gonna have a happy hour.
594
00:22:36.834 --> 00:22:40.042
We're going to have social
events on the weekends."
Like we went to Disneyland.
595
00:22:40.125 --> 00:22:42.542
We did things that made
us feel like friends,
596
00:22:42.626 --> 00:22:44.125
and it just made us
better at our jobs
597
00:22:44.209 --> 00:22:45.876
because we were
open and sharing,
598
00:22:45.959 --> 00:22:48.167
and, like, giving ourselves
to the content.
599
00:22:48.250 --> 00:22:51.000
I was very proud
of the rooms
that we assembled,
600
00:22:51.083 --> 00:22:52.584
and I think it spoke
to the fact that
601
00:22:52.667 --> 00:22:54.292
we didn't have a lot
of turnover in our room.
602
00:22:54.375 --> 00:22:57.000
From the first three seasons
were all the same writers,
603
00:22:57.083 --> 00:22:58.959
and then,
obviously as a blessing,
604
00:22:59.042 --> 00:23:00.459
those writers got
opportunities, right,
605
00:23:00.542 --> 00:23:01.792
as a part of being on the show,
606
00:23:01.876 --> 00:23:03.167
and then, we replenished with
607
00:23:03.250 --> 00:23:04.918
four more amazing writers,
and those writers
608
00:23:05.000 --> 00:23:06.125
stuck with us till the end.
609
00:23:30.125 --> 00:23:31.667
Issa:
Good morning.
610
00:23:40.918 --> 00:23:43.959
When Issa comes to me,
she goes on a vacation.
611
00:23:45.584 --> 00:23:47.709
She's on some island right now.
612
00:23:47.792 --> 00:23:50.500
I like early calls.
613
00:23:50.584 --> 00:23:54.542
Early calls mean
you get out earlier...
sometimes.
614
00:23:54.626 --> 00:23:56.876
It's always great
to be able to work,
615
00:23:56.959 --> 00:24:00.292
and my thing is...
this always starts at the top,
616
00:24:00.375 --> 00:24:04.083
and however the lead is,
is kinda what you get,
617
00:24:04.167 --> 00:24:09.459
and, I have to say,
we doin' really good
over here with our lead.
618
00:24:09.542 --> 00:24:10.959
I'm old-school.
619
00:24:11.042 --> 00:24:14.792
I can go back
to working on "Martin."
(chuckles)
620
00:24:14.876 --> 00:24:17.125
And I did
"The Bernie Mac Show."
621
00:24:17.209 --> 00:24:19.083
Been doin' this
for a minute,
622
00:24:19.167 --> 00:24:22.000
but this is such
an amazing talent
623
00:24:22.083 --> 00:24:25.542
because you're working
with younger, amazing
624
00:24:25.626 --> 00:24:30.375
group of people that's taken
this industry to another level.
625
00:24:32.626 --> 00:24:34.626
With their creativeness,
you know?
626
00:24:37.500 --> 00:24:38.709
I love that.
627
00:24:42.125 --> 00:24:45.834
This is my time
to make love to the hair.
628
00:24:45.918 --> 00:24:47.667
(laughing)
629
00:24:49.417 --> 00:24:54.292
I always say that...
her hair and my hands
have a love affair, so.
630
00:24:55.751 --> 00:24:58.292
(Issa speaking)
631
00:24:59.959 --> 00:25:01.751
(Felicia laughs)
I love you, too.
632
00:25:01.834 --> 00:25:04.167
You not gonna deny it? Wow.
633
00:25:04.250 --> 00:25:05.792
I love you, too.
634
00:25:05.876 --> 00:25:09.459
But this hair is everything.
It's my favorite.
635
00:25:09.542 --> 00:25:12.542
Now, I found out about,
uh, "Awkward Black Girl"
636
00:25:12.626 --> 00:25:16.083
because...
natural hair was emerging,
637
00:25:16.167 --> 00:25:19.417
and, uh... at that time,
I was runnin' around
638
00:25:19.500 --> 00:25:23.417
with Jill Scott who
really did help a lot of
639
00:25:23.500 --> 00:25:26.500
people to look at natural
hair very differently.
640
00:25:26.584 --> 00:25:29.209
I remember people sayin',
"Have you seen
'Awkward Black Girl'?
641
00:25:29.292 --> 00:25:31.209
You need to see it.
Her hair is natural."
642
00:25:31.292 --> 00:25:33.918
I just remember a time
in history where
643
00:25:34.000 --> 00:25:36.751
you would see a woman
with short hair or short afro,
644
00:25:36.834 --> 00:25:38.500
and not really
think much about it,
645
00:25:38.584 --> 00:25:41.209
but they made it
a really big deal...
646
00:25:41.292 --> 00:25:44.500
that Issa had natural hair
647
00:25:44.584 --> 00:25:47.083
and, um, and had cut it off.
648
00:25:47.167 --> 00:25:49.834
You know, and talked
about that on her show.
649
00:25:49.918 --> 00:25:53.125
So, I started watchin' it,
and I was like,
"Oh, this is good."
650
00:25:53.209 --> 00:25:55.292
You know... I get it,
651
00:25:55.375 --> 00:25:57.042
and then, every now and then,
652
00:25:57.125 --> 00:25:59.334
I'll get these messages...
653
00:25:59.417 --> 00:26:00.751
from women sayin'...
654
00:26:01.834 --> 00:26:03.167
"I can't wait
for the next season
655
00:26:03.250 --> 00:26:05.042
to see what you're
gonna do with the hair."
656
00:26:05.125 --> 00:26:07.709
'Cause then I get
ideas for work
657
00:26:07.792 --> 00:26:09.209
and goin' out,
and I'm like,
658
00:26:09.292 --> 00:26:11.500
"Well, that's great
that you really are
659
00:26:11.584 --> 00:26:13.834
"anticipating the next season,
660
00:26:13.918 --> 00:26:16.042
or the next episode
for the hair."
661
00:26:16.125 --> 00:26:18.334
When I look back
at all the photos...
662
00:26:18.417 --> 00:26:19.542
that I've taken
663
00:26:19.626 --> 00:26:22.334
of the hairstyles we've done,
it's like,
664
00:26:22.417 --> 00:26:24.918
it's like
a thousand hairstyles.
It's crazy.
665
00:26:25.042 --> 00:26:27.334
I do not plan
these styles, you guys.
666
00:26:27.417 --> 00:26:28.542
(Felicia laughs)
667
00:26:28.626 --> 00:26:30.167
They, literally, are
668
00:26:30.250 --> 00:26:33.083
kinda like a creation between
Issa and I in the morning.
669
00:26:33.167 --> 00:26:35.334
Sometimes, I have
an idea of what I want,
670
00:26:35.417 --> 00:26:37.876
but once I see the wardrobe,
it could change.
671
00:26:37.959 --> 00:26:40.042
Yeah, it's off the cuff.
672
00:26:40.125 --> 00:26:41.334
There's our superstar!
673
00:26:41.417 --> 00:26:43.500
-Hey, I'm so glad
we're doing this.
-Issa: Me too.
674
00:26:43.584 --> 00:26:48.000
Well... let me show you
what our brand partnership
looks like.
675
00:26:50.375 --> 00:26:53.626
Brand perception and awareness
are both up significantly
676
00:26:53.709 --> 00:26:55.375
coming off of the last
handful of events--
677
00:26:55.459 --> 00:26:57.292
Melina:
I didn't really
wanna make a comedy
678
00:26:57.375 --> 00:26:58.751
that looked like
any other comedy.
679
00:26:58.834 --> 00:27:00.167
Cinematically, I was like,
680
00:27:00.250 --> 00:27:02.542
"I think we can push this,
and we can allow it to live
681
00:27:02.626 --> 00:27:05.709
"in a different space
'cause it's a very
specific show,
682
00:27:05.792 --> 00:27:07.334
and so, it should
have its own look."
683
00:27:07.417 --> 00:27:09.626
Everything was kinda
based in authenticity,
684
00:27:09.709 --> 00:27:11.542
and having it feel
as real as possible,
685
00:27:11.626 --> 00:27:15.334
and lighting Black people
in a way that I was used to,
686
00:27:15.417 --> 00:27:17.209
where we're like
celebrating their bodies,
687
00:27:17.292 --> 00:27:19.083
and their skin,
and their joy.
688
00:27:19.167 --> 00:27:21.209
We were pretty
successful the first year.
689
00:27:21.292 --> 00:27:23.083
Second year,
Ava came on board,
690
00:27:23.167 --> 00:27:24.834
and she came from indie film,
691
00:27:24.918 --> 00:27:27.083
and I really loved
her work and aesthetic.
692
00:27:27.167 --> 00:27:29.167
I already had strong ideas
693
00:27:29.250 --> 00:27:31.459
on what I would do differently.
694
00:27:31.542 --> 00:27:34.751
I felt like there were
some missed opportunities,
695
00:27:34.834 --> 00:27:36.792
visually, in terms
of how to incorporate
696
00:27:36.876 --> 00:27:39.500
cinematography into
the DNA of the show.
697
00:27:39.584 --> 00:27:42.417
One of the things that I said
when I kinda went in there was,
698
00:27:42.500 --> 00:27:44.792
"You're missing how
cool this show is.
699
00:27:44.876 --> 00:27:48.709
"You're missing literal
color in people's skin,
700
00:27:48.792 --> 00:27:51.876
in Los Angeles, the warmth,
the architecture."
701
00:27:51.959 --> 00:27:54.709
I just wanted to feel
the environment more
702
00:27:54.792 --> 00:27:56.792
in this visual storytelling.
703
00:27:56.876 --> 00:28:00.042
I just think that "Insecure"
is more than just a comedy.
704
00:28:00.125 --> 00:28:02.584
It's part of
a cultural movement.
705
00:28:02.667 --> 00:28:03.834
It's part of visual culture,
706
00:28:03.918 --> 00:28:05.709
and I just wanted it to be that,
707
00:28:05.792 --> 00:28:07.167
to show up for that.
708
00:28:07.250 --> 00:28:08.792
♪ ♪
709
00:28:10.000 --> 00:28:11.292
(indistinct chatter)
710
00:28:11.375 --> 00:28:12.584
Okay, so I want
everybody to look at me.
711
00:28:12.667 --> 00:28:14.500
I just wanna make sure
nobody's being blocked.
712
00:28:14.584 --> 00:28:15.709
(laughs)
713
00:28:15.792 --> 00:28:17.375
Just make sure
I don't lose you.
714
00:28:17.459 --> 00:28:18.876
-Nathan?
-Kendrick: Uh, yeah.
715
00:28:18.959 --> 00:28:20.709
Sorry, would you look at me?
716
00:28:20.792 --> 00:28:22.042
(Prentice speaking)
717
00:28:24.000 --> 00:28:26.209
-She looks good, right?
-(Prentice speaking)
718
00:28:26.292 --> 00:28:27.459
Did you tell her that?
719
00:28:27.542 --> 00:28:29.375
I told her soon
as she got here.
I said, "You look--"
720
00:28:29.459 --> 00:28:30.918
I said,
"You look beautiful."
721
00:28:31.042 --> 00:28:32.626
-I'm gonna tell her again.
-Go for it.
722
00:28:32.709 --> 00:28:34.792
I mean, I mean,
I love this floral.
723
00:28:34.876 --> 00:28:36.375
Yvonne looks great.
Yvonne looks great,
724
00:28:36.459 --> 00:28:38.918
Issa looks great,
I think Issa's shoes
really set that outfit.
725
00:28:39.000 --> 00:28:40.834
-I think... Huh?
-(Shiona speaking)
726
00:28:40.918 --> 00:28:42.125
(Prentice speaking)
727
00:28:42.209 --> 00:28:44.792
(laughing)
728
00:28:44.876 --> 00:28:46.792
I guess costumes,
to me, is-is just like
729
00:28:46.876 --> 00:28:48.959
cinematography which is
like production design, right?
730
00:28:49.042 --> 00:28:50.459
There's a story in all of it.
731
00:28:50.542 --> 00:28:53.125
And I really believe in
how we tell a story visually.
732
00:28:53.209 --> 00:28:56.292
The show is also about,
like, the diversity
of Black people and women.
733
00:28:56.375 --> 00:28:58.709
Each person has to have
their own style,
734
00:28:58.792 --> 00:29:00.083
and their own
sense of expression.
735
00:29:00.167 --> 00:29:01.459
You know your neck's
not long enough
736
00:29:01.542 --> 00:29:02.584
for these turtlenecks?
737
00:29:02.667 --> 00:29:04.667
Well, girl,
I'm exchangin' all these.
738
00:29:04.751 --> 00:29:06.709
Condola got me meetin'
in all these fancy spots,
739
00:29:06.792 --> 00:29:08.751
and I gotta rotate
my wardrobe to keep up.
740
00:29:08.834 --> 00:29:10.751
Melina:
I remember first
and second season,
741
00:29:10.834 --> 00:29:13.459
we would have clothes,
but, you know, we had
limited budgets,
742
00:29:13.542 --> 00:29:14.709
and I remember
in the pilot, like,
743
00:29:14.792 --> 00:29:16.500
Issa on stage,
that's my outfit.
744
00:29:16.584 --> 00:29:18.500
Wore that for New Year's
one year, and I was like,
745
00:29:18.584 --> 00:29:19.459
"This is perfect."
746
00:29:19.542 --> 00:29:21.209
-You love this.
-I love that.
747
00:29:21.292 --> 00:29:22.417
Shiona Turini:
I think it's cute.
748
00:29:22.500 --> 00:29:24.167
Woman:
And I think it
looks good on her.
749
00:29:24.250 --> 00:29:25.709
Shiona: But then,
are we wasting it here?
750
00:29:25.792 --> 00:29:27.167
-Well, it's never a waste.
-Yeah.
751
00:29:27.250 --> 00:29:30.918
I loved this...
but with a different shirt.
752
00:29:31.000 --> 00:29:32.500
Shiona:
When I started at "Insecure,"
753
00:29:32.584 --> 00:29:34.626
the aesthetics
of the main characters
754
00:29:34.709 --> 00:29:36.709
were pretty much
already carved out,
755
00:29:36.792 --> 00:29:38.459
which was a unique challenge
756
00:29:38.542 --> 00:29:40.792
because I continued
that narrative,
757
00:29:40.876 --> 00:29:44.375
but added my own twist,
my own personal touch.
758
00:29:44.459 --> 00:29:46.626
For Issa,
we elevated her
a little bit,
759
00:29:46.709 --> 00:29:49.083
and that was
really exciting to see.
760
00:29:49.167 --> 00:29:51.250
Diversity's always top of mind.
761
00:29:51.334 --> 00:29:54.500
In addition to just
the team that we hire,
762
00:29:54.584 --> 00:29:59.459
we really try and focus
on using, and shooting,
and purchasing
763
00:29:59.542 --> 00:30:02.042
designers of color,
Black women,
764
00:30:02.125 --> 00:30:05.250
um, young
up-and-comers in L.A.,
765
00:30:05.334 --> 00:30:07.959
and that's a way
that we can support,
766
00:30:08.042 --> 00:30:12.375
and support financially
just designers of color
within our community.
767
00:30:12.459 --> 00:30:16.125
When it came to work
on episode 507 with Amy,
768
00:30:16.209 --> 00:30:19.000
I pitched her the idea
of only featuring
769
00:30:19.083 --> 00:30:23.125
Black female designers
on our principles.
770
00:30:23.209 --> 00:30:25.834
I wanted to try and feature
Black female designers
771
00:30:25.918 --> 00:30:28.083
for, like, every aspect from
772
00:30:28.167 --> 00:30:29.792
the earrings to the shoes
773
00:30:29.876 --> 00:30:31.834
to, of course,
all of the clothing.
774
00:30:31.918 --> 00:30:34.250
She was really,
really up for it.
775
00:30:34.334 --> 00:30:36.542
It presented a lot
of different challenges,
776
00:30:36.626 --> 00:30:38.751
but at the same time,
it really gave us an opportunity
777
00:30:38.834 --> 00:30:42.209
to champion and support
Black female designers
778
00:30:42.292 --> 00:30:44.667
in a way that we haven't
really done on the show.
779
00:30:44.751 --> 00:30:47.417
We've, obviously, incorporated
them in different costumes,
780
00:30:47.500 --> 00:30:49.042
but never a true focal point.
781
00:30:49.125 --> 00:30:51.751
And I think it really played
into the story of these women
782
00:30:51.834 --> 00:30:53.626
coming together,
one of the last times,
783
00:30:53.709 --> 00:30:55.792
and supporting each other
as they are moving through
784
00:30:55.876 --> 00:31:01.083
the world and now moving
on to different experiences.
785
00:31:01.167 --> 00:31:02.792
Amy Aniobi:
I'm directing episode 507,
786
00:31:02.876 --> 00:31:04.042
which is called,
"Chillin', Okay?"
787
00:31:04.125 --> 00:31:05.959
It's a really special episode
788
00:31:06.042 --> 00:31:07.876
'cause it's all
the girls together
789
00:31:07.959 --> 00:31:09.542
almost the entire episode.
790
00:31:09.626 --> 00:31:11.167
It's basically
one of these times,
791
00:31:11.250 --> 00:31:12.876
like you're plannin'
to go out with your friends,
792
00:31:12.959 --> 00:31:14.542
and then, you just
never make it out.
793
00:31:14.626 --> 00:31:15.918
So, it's playback,
action, camera.
794
00:31:16.000 --> 00:31:18.250
You start smoking,
and then, on action, Issa,
795
00:31:18.334 --> 00:31:20.334
that's when you
deliver your line.
796
00:31:20.417 --> 00:31:22.459
I've been working
on "Insecure" since
the very beginning.
797
00:31:22.542 --> 00:31:24.209
I feel like I worked
on pre-"Insecure"
798
00:31:24.292 --> 00:31:27.042
because I wrote for
"Misadventures of
Awkward Black Girl."
799
00:31:27.125 --> 00:31:30.375
"Insecure" is a show that
has really different
800
00:31:30.459 --> 00:31:32.751
levels of directors,
and a lot of new talent.
801
00:31:32.834 --> 00:31:34.751
And I had so many
friends ask me
802
00:31:34.834 --> 00:31:36.250
from season one, like,
"Are you gonna direct?"
803
00:31:36.334 --> 00:31:38.626
And I was always like,
"Ooh, no. The show?
It's so hard."
804
00:31:38.709 --> 00:31:41.209
Really it was growing
as a producer on set,
805
00:31:41.292 --> 00:31:45.125
and supporting so many
different types of directors,
and seeing how they work.
806
00:31:45.209 --> 00:31:48.083
I felt like, for four seasons,
I was shadowing directors.
807
00:31:48.167 --> 00:31:49.667
Issa:
I'm not about to argue
with someone who went to
808
00:31:49.751 --> 00:31:51.250
Scared Straight for high school.
809
00:31:51.334 --> 00:31:52.792
(laughing)
810
00:31:52.876 --> 00:31:56.209
-Kelli: I went there, too, so.
-All right, let's cut.
811
00:31:56.292 --> 00:31:57.334
When I came to "Insecure,"
812
00:31:57.417 --> 00:31:58.792
it was the first time
I'd been on a set
813
00:31:58.876 --> 00:32:01.167
where people of color
were at the top,
814
00:32:01.250 --> 00:32:03.667
and the vibe on set,
and the people,
815
00:32:03.751 --> 00:32:05.000
it was diverse for real.
816
00:32:05.083 --> 00:32:06.334
It wasn't "PA diverse,"
817
00:32:06.417 --> 00:32:08.542
it wasn't "one person
over here diverse."
818
00:32:08.626 --> 00:32:10.584
It was diverse in all aspects.
819
00:32:10.667 --> 00:32:13.250
This is the first show
that I've ever been on where
820
00:32:13.334 --> 00:32:16.334
when I get into a scout van,
which includes director,
821
00:32:16.417 --> 00:32:18.876
cinematographer,
assistant director,
822
00:32:18.959 --> 00:32:20.709
that I'm the only
white guy in the van.
823
00:32:20.792 --> 00:32:22.792
And that is the first
time in 30 years
824
00:32:22.876 --> 00:32:24.125
that that's ever happened,
825
00:32:24.209 --> 00:32:25.959
and I'm not straight,
826
00:32:26.042 --> 00:32:27.792
so there were no straight
white guys in the van.
827
00:32:27.876 --> 00:32:30.626
Ava Berkofsky:
I see a lot of women
in the camera department
828
00:32:30.709 --> 00:32:32.876
'cause I make it that way.
829
00:32:32.959 --> 00:32:35.876
This show has been all
about giving people that shot,
830
00:32:35.959 --> 00:32:39.459
and I was given that shot,
and I want to give that shot
to other people.
831
00:32:39.542 --> 00:32:41.584
When it comes
to giving people chances,
832
00:32:41.667 --> 00:32:43.459
people will show you
that they're ready,
833
00:32:43.542 --> 00:32:45.292
and I just love
passionate people.
834
00:32:45.375 --> 00:32:49.209
I love to be around people
who love to do the work,
who are about it.
835
00:32:49.292 --> 00:32:52.042
That kind of tells you
all you need to know.
836
00:32:52.125 --> 00:32:54.876
First time I met Issa was 2009,
837
00:32:54.959 --> 00:32:56.125
Issa did this workshop.
838
00:32:56.209 --> 00:32:57.918
I won the "Insecure"
On Set Contest
839
00:32:58.000 --> 00:32:59.167
that HBO put on.
840
00:32:59.250 --> 00:33:00.626
At the end of 2016,
841
00:33:00.709 --> 00:33:02.709
the winners of the contest
got to move to LA,
842
00:33:02.792 --> 00:33:05.000
and work on the show as set PAs.
843
00:33:05.083 --> 00:33:07.167
Afterwards, I,
like, stood in line
to talk to her.
844
00:33:07.250 --> 00:33:08.584
I'm like,
"Hey, you know,
I'm writing now."
845
00:33:08.667 --> 00:33:11.250
I really hadn't had any
real eyes on my work yet.
846
00:33:11.334 --> 00:33:12.542
I was so bold.
847
00:33:12.626 --> 00:33:14.500
Even though I was PA-ing,
I tried to let people know,
848
00:33:14.584 --> 00:33:16.626
"I'm a writer, and that's
what I'm trying to do,"
849
00:33:16.709 --> 00:33:19.042
talkin' to Issa whenever
I got an opportunity to do so.
850
00:33:19.125 --> 00:33:22.083
She read my pilot script,
and...
851
00:33:22.167 --> 00:33:23.709
Kindsey Young:
Issa personally emails me,
852
00:33:23.792 --> 00:33:26.417
"and she was like,
"Hey Kindsey, not sure
what you're up to,
853
00:33:26.500 --> 00:33:28.751
"but we, potentially,
have a spot opening up
854
00:33:28.834 --> 00:33:31.542
for writer's assistant
in the writers' room
if you're interested."
855
00:33:31.626 --> 00:33:33.500
And I'm like,
"Duh, of course,
I'm interested."
856
00:33:33.584 --> 00:33:37.042
I dropped everything,
and I came to become
a showrunner's assistant,
857
00:33:37.125 --> 00:33:39.918
and a writer's PA for
season one of "Insecure."
858
00:33:40.000 --> 00:33:42.667
Now I'm a showrunner
of "Rap Shit" for HBO Max,
859
00:33:42.751 --> 00:33:45.334
so, I mean, I don't know.
(laughs) It's crazy.
860
00:33:45.417 --> 00:33:47.000
Prentice:
Six years ago,
none of those people
861
00:33:47.083 --> 00:33:48.375
had professional writing jobs,
862
00:33:48.459 --> 00:33:49.626
and now they're showrunners
863
00:33:49.709 --> 00:33:51.000
and writers on other shows.
864
00:33:51.083 --> 00:33:53.542
You know, I see how,
in five seasons,
865
00:33:53.626 --> 00:33:56.459
we've given, uh, eight
first-time directors,
866
00:33:56.542 --> 00:33:59.125
their, their opportunity
to direct their first
episode of TV.
867
00:33:59.209 --> 00:34:03.584
I think seven...
I think seven writers
over the last five seasons,
868
00:34:03.667 --> 00:34:05.459
go on to get
their own overall deals.
869
00:34:05.542 --> 00:34:08.542
We've seen six of our writers
from these five seasons,
870
00:34:08.626 --> 00:34:11.167
go on to become showrunners,
post-"Insecure."
871
00:34:11.250 --> 00:34:12.959
You know,
we've hired and broken in
872
00:34:13.042 --> 00:34:15.834
two costume designers,
a new DP to television,
873
00:34:15.918 --> 00:34:19.209
and across the board,
you really do see growth.
874
00:34:19.292 --> 00:34:21.042
That is a true testament
to their legacy,
875
00:34:21.125 --> 00:34:23.626
and to the legacy of the show,
is that we always, always,
876
00:34:23.709 --> 00:34:28.459
always tried to open many doors
for as many people as possible.
877
00:34:28.542 --> 00:34:31.626
Anthony Sims:
So, I met Issa Rae
at a 7-Eleven, randomly,
878
00:34:31.709 --> 00:34:33.542
years ago, before "Insecure."
879
00:34:33.626 --> 00:34:36.417
We talked about Hollywood,
and what we each do.
880
00:34:36.500 --> 00:34:39.375
So, fast forward years later.
She's very successful.
881
00:34:39.459 --> 00:34:42.000
I have a wife and kids,
and I'm tryin' to figure out
882
00:34:42.083 --> 00:34:44.042
the best way
to support my family.
883
00:34:44.125 --> 00:34:45.709
I thought getting into a union
884
00:34:45.792 --> 00:34:47.792
is probably one of
my best opportunities.
885
00:34:47.876 --> 00:34:49.292
When COVID hit,
I was pretty discouraged,
886
00:34:49.375 --> 00:34:50.709
didn't think it
was gonna happen.
887
00:34:50.792 --> 00:34:52.292
So, I happened to work on a show
888
00:34:52.375 --> 00:34:54.125
with one of the producers
from "Insecure."
889
00:34:54.209 --> 00:34:57.500
I was wearing, I think,
an "Insecure" hoodie or a hat.
890
00:34:57.584 --> 00:34:59.626
And he asked and said,
"Oh, do you know Issa?"
891
00:34:59.709 --> 00:35:02.667
Like, "Do you work on the show?"
And I said, you know, "I do."
892
00:35:02.751 --> 00:35:05.000
Was tellin' her about how
hard it is to get into a union,
893
00:35:05.083 --> 00:35:07.834
and she said to me,
"There's always a way."
894
00:35:07.918 --> 00:35:09.459
Let me see what I can do.
If I can get you on the show,
895
00:35:09.542 --> 00:35:12.125
and help count towards
your days, like,
that's a win, right?
896
00:35:12.209 --> 00:35:14.375
And it's also
a win for inclusion,
897
00:35:14.459 --> 00:35:17.918
and making sure that, again,
this show is continuing to
898
00:35:18.000 --> 00:35:19.125
create opportunities.
899
00:35:19.209 --> 00:35:22.459
Uh, fast forward a few months
and I got a call.
900
00:35:22.542 --> 00:35:25.876
It worked out.
This show means
so much to me.
901
00:35:25.959 --> 00:35:27.459
It's helpin' me
take care of my family.
902
00:35:27.542 --> 00:35:30.626
I can go home,
and look at my wife,
and she's proud of me.
903
00:35:31.876 --> 00:35:36.042
(smooth R&B playing)
904
00:35:44.792 --> 00:35:46.667
Amber Haley:
We were told at the beginning
of this season
905
00:35:46.751 --> 00:35:49.083
that we were going to have
an art walk in this area,
906
00:35:49.167 --> 00:35:52.667
and so, that we
should look for artists
in Crenshaw and Inglewood,
907
00:35:52.751 --> 00:35:54.334
Black artists in particular.
908
00:35:54.417 --> 00:35:56.000
Kay Lee: Creatively,
to put this all together,
909
00:35:56.083 --> 00:35:58.000
took a good three weeks,
910
00:35:58.083 --> 00:36:00.334
but to really, physically,
put it together,
911
00:36:00.417 --> 00:36:01.459
we did it in two days.
912
00:36:01.542 --> 00:36:04.125
Issa is very specific
in embracing
913
00:36:04.209 --> 00:36:06.375
all the locations
that we've seen
914
00:36:06.459 --> 00:36:09.000
in all five seasons
of "Insecure."
915
00:36:09.083 --> 00:36:12.584
If it wasn't gonna be
Leimert Park Plaza,
it wasn't gonna be--
916
00:36:12.667 --> 00:36:13.792
There wasn't really an option.
917
00:36:13.876 --> 00:36:17.250
(laughs) There wasn't
really an option.
918
00:36:17.334 --> 00:36:20.209
Hey, look who's
over here shoppin'--
919
00:36:20.292 --> 00:36:21.918
Kevin Bray:
The Black Art Walk is
920
00:36:22.000 --> 00:36:25.292
an event where Los Angelian
African-American artists
921
00:36:25.375 --> 00:36:26.626
are able to show
off their work.
922
00:36:26.709 --> 00:36:28.459
And as with everything
Issa does,
923
00:36:28.542 --> 00:36:30.876
there's a verisimilitude
that has to do with
924
00:36:30.959 --> 00:36:32.626
what the real world is doing,
925
00:36:32.709 --> 00:36:34.125
and what she's
doing in the show.
926
00:36:34.209 --> 00:36:37.042
Her master plan was she
was gonna come down here,
927
00:36:37.125 --> 00:36:38.834
and she was gonna
spend the money
928
00:36:38.918 --> 00:36:40.959
for us to be workin'
in this community.
929
00:36:41.042 --> 00:36:43.667
It ain't "Insecure" if we
don't have a block party,
930
00:36:43.751 --> 00:36:47.125
if we don't have--
In the neighborhood
where the Blacks are.
931
00:36:47.209 --> 00:36:49.292
(loud beeping)
Ooh... ooh. Hello?
932
00:36:49.375 --> 00:36:50.876
I'm tryna shoot over here.
933
00:36:51.000 --> 00:36:53.834
Oh, it's a black Yukon...
Suge Knight is comin' through.
934
00:36:53.918 --> 00:36:55.792
I don't know who's there,
but here we are.
935
00:36:55.876 --> 00:36:59.709
-I said, it's not "Insecure"
if we don't have a big--
-(speaker feedback)
936
00:37:01.417 --> 00:37:03.334
Y'all didn't disrespect
other actresses like this.
937
00:37:03.417 --> 00:37:05.959
-(rap music plays)
-Oh, oh, now it's a party.
938
00:37:06.042 --> 00:37:08.834
You know what?
This is, this is why
we do what we do.
939
00:37:08.918 --> 00:37:12.083
They said,
"Oh, the cameras is rolling?
We havin' a party."
940
00:37:12.167 --> 00:37:15.500
(laughs)
I love it!
941
00:37:15.584 --> 00:37:19.083
So, you were saying,
how does it feel to be shooting
in a Black neighborhood?
942
00:37:19.167 --> 00:37:21.334
(laughs)
This is, this is how it feels.
943
00:37:21.417 --> 00:37:23.584
They're like,
"It's a cookout.
It's a party.
944
00:37:23.667 --> 00:37:25.042
Well, we gon' get
in on it, too."
945
00:37:25.125 --> 00:37:26.584
I think that's
not only Issa Dee,
946
00:37:26.667 --> 00:37:28.417
but Issa Rae's
desire and mission
947
00:37:28.500 --> 00:37:29.876
is to promote
the Black community,
948
00:37:29.959 --> 00:37:32.417
especially, you know, one
where there's so much culture,
949
00:37:32.500 --> 00:37:34.000
and there's so much art,
and there's so much
950
00:37:34.083 --> 00:37:36.292
feeling here,
and that's what
"Insecure" does best.
951
00:37:36.375 --> 00:37:38.125
Like, we bring people
into this neighborhood,
952
00:37:38.209 --> 00:37:39.626
and we show how live it is.
953
00:37:39.709 --> 00:37:42.083
It's not just
the Hollywood Hills
or Sunset Boulevard.
954
00:37:42.167 --> 00:37:44.542
It's like,
"Yo, Inglewood, Leimert Park.
955
00:37:44.626 --> 00:37:46.125
We got stuff here, too."
956
00:37:48.083 --> 00:37:49.500
Alex Burns:
Three weeks ago,
957
00:37:49.584 --> 00:37:51.000
we were shootin' down
in Manhattan Beach,
958
00:37:51.083 --> 00:37:53.542
and I happened to go down
this street called Hyde Park,
959
00:37:53.626 --> 00:37:56.417
where The Dunes
apartment is located,
960
00:37:56.500 --> 00:37:59.626
and, literally, there was
three families takin' photos,
961
00:37:59.709 --> 00:38:03.000
and we shot The Dunes
like season two or three,
962
00:38:03.083 --> 00:38:04.584
and people are still
963
00:38:04.667 --> 00:38:08.292
goin' to The Dunes,
takin' photos of "Insecure."
964
00:38:08.375 --> 00:38:13.167
So, it has proven to be
a lot of positivity,
965
00:38:13.250 --> 00:38:15.709
acceptance from this show.
966
00:38:15.792 --> 00:38:18.834
I'm extremely proud of Issa,
extremely proud.
967
00:38:18.918 --> 00:38:21.334
It's wild to me
that The Dunes is
a cultural landmark,
968
00:38:21.417 --> 00:38:24.709
just 'cause you don't
think about those things
when you're filming.
969
00:38:24.792 --> 00:38:27.167
We moved out of those
apartments by season two.
970
00:38:27.250 --> 00:38:30.500
I get tagged at least
three or four times a day,
and people in pictures,
971
00:38:30.584 --> 00:38:32.042
and I think it's
the dopest thing ever.
972
00:38:32.125 --> 00:38:34.292
They treat it like
the Hollywood Sign.
973
00:38:35.959 --> 00:38:37.626
You know,
when "Insecure" started,
974
00:38:37.709 --> 00:38:39.334
I would say it was
like pulling teeth
975
00:38:39.417 --> 00:38:41.834
because we were
really dead set on
976
00:38:41.918 --> 00:38:43.959
creating a certain
authentic look to the show
977
00:38:44.042 --> 00:38:46.959
that we realized,
workin' with older people
in this industry
978
00:38:47.042 --> 00:38:50.834
who had been very
seasoned vets in their jobs,
weren't really used to.
979
00:38:50.918 --> 00:38:52.584
We were askin' them
to go to neighborhoods
980
00:38:52.667 --> 00:38:54.334
that other shows
didn't film in.
981
00:38:54.417 --> 00:38:56.417
We were askin'
them to show us
982
00:38:56.500 --> 00:38:59.417
locations that they
never even thought
about being filmed at.
983
00:38:59.500 --> 00:39:00.751
We fought really hard for that.
984
00:39:00.834 --> 00:39:04.667
It's really refreshing
being able to show new places,
985
00:39:04.751 --> 00:39:08.709
whether it's neighborhoods,
or businesses on television.
986
00:39:08.792 --> 00:39:11.083
It's a little different
in South LA than other places.
987
00:39:11.167 --> 00:39:12.959
It's different protocols
you have to go by.
988
00:39:13.042 --> 00:39:14.417
You go into
certain neighborhoods,
989
00:39:14.500 --> 00:39:17.542
it's the hood logistics
that needs to be dealt with.
990
00:39:17.626 --> 00:39:19.959
You have to have
somebody that knows
the politics of Leimert Park
991
00:39:20.042 --> 00:39:21.542
in order to go
in there and just film.
992
00:39:21.626 --> 00:39:23.334
Everybody knows Issa,
everybody loves Issa.
993
00:39:23.417 --> 00:39:25.584
She employs a lot
of Black people
in the community.
994
00:39:25.667 --> 00:39:29.334
She puts a spotlight
on a lot of communities
that other TV shows don't.
995
00:39:29.417 --> 00:39:31.250
We got to see
the wonderful people
996
00:39:31.334 --> 00:39:32.959
who live and make
this community work,
997
00:39:33.042 --> 00:39:36.709
and all of the great cultural
things that it has to offer.
998
00:39:36.792 --> 00:39:38.334
Kira Talise:
I grew up on Normandie
and Florence,
999
00:39:38.417 --> 00:39:40.417
so for anyone who's
outside of L.A.,
1000
00:39:40.500 --> 00:39:41.792
the only reason why they
know my neighborhood is
1001
00:39:41.876 --> 00:39:44.167
because that's where
the riots started in the '90s.
1002
00:39:44.250 --> 00:39:46.626
That's not the best
representation of
1003
00:39:46.709 --> 00:39:48.209
the city of Los Angeles,
but it is what it is.
1004
00:39:48.292 --> 00:39:50.792
I rep my city pretty hard,
and it just feels really good
1005
00:39:50.876 --> 00:39:53.918
to see the L.A. that we
know and love represented,
1006
00:39:54.000 --> 00:39:57.000
as opposed to the one
that Hollywood, typically,
portrays for us.
1007
00:39:57.083 --> 00:39:59.459
Everywhere we shoot
is my stomping ground.
1008
00:39:59.542 --> 00:40:01.334
When we were
in the Baldwin Hills Plaza,
1009
00:40:01.417 --> 00:40:03.500
people that I grew up with
is our security.
1010
00:40:03.584 --> 00:40:05.667
To be able to work,
and see my friends,
1011
00:40:05.751 --> 00:40:08.626
and they see me
doing this, it--
1012
00:40:08.709 --> 00:40:11.417
Look at my smile.
You know what I mean?
It's really dope.
1013
00:40:11.500 --> 00:40:14.751
I love the Thug Yoda
representation because
it's humanizing
1014
00:40:14.834 --> 00:40:17.167
somebody who's
quote unquote "blood"
from our neighborhood.
1015
00:40:17.250 --> 00:40:20.292
-Me and Nala was just about
to go watch the Bear Bears.
-"Care Bears," Daddy.
1016
00:40:20.375 --> 00:40:21.792
Chris Sanford:
You have these
type of relationships
1017
00:40:21.876 --> 00:40:23.334
with these people,
and it's a very
1018
00:40:23.417 --> 00:40:25.042
accurate description
because it represents
1019
00:40:25.125 --> 00:40:26.334
the side that's not shown.
1020
00:40:26.417 --> 00:40:28.000
Thug Yoda was based
off of someone
1021
00:40:28.083 --> 00:40:30.000
I had seen at
the post office when--
1022
00:40:30.083 --> 00:40:32.918
in Inglewood when I was
tryna drop my mail off.
1023
00:40:33.000 --> 00:40:34.876
Super, super hood post office.
1024
00:40:34.959 --> 00:40:36.834
And it was this dude
on the phone in a wifebeater
1025
00:40:36.918 --> 00:40:39.500
with his daughter in his arm
just cussin', like...
1026
00:40:39.584 --> 00:40:42.459
like, "Yeah, nigga.
Don't, don't, don't
fuckin' play me, my guy."
1027
00:40:42.542 --> 00:40:44.292
And he would be like,
"You good, baby girl?
You good?"
1028
00:40:44.375 --> 00:40:47.542
"All right, yeah, so..."
and I was like,
"This is a character."
1029
00:40:47.626 --> 00:40:50.125
I'm goin' to
the Crenshaw Mall.
1030
00:40:50.209 --> 00:40:53.334
Both:
Oh shit!
1031
00:40:53.417 --> 00:40:56.167
So glad when I see
a cafe that I go to,
1032
00:40:56.250 --> 00:40:59.209
or a barber shop
that my son goes to
1033
00:40:59.292 --> 00:41:01.500
on my street on, on HBO,
1034
00:41:01.584 --> 00:41:04.000
and with a whole bunch
of white people watchin'.
1035
00:41:04.083 --> 00:41:07.125
But just, you know, let's not
continue all the gentrification.
1036
00:41:07.209 --> 00:41:09.626
South L.A. is wonderful,
but if maybe you wanna
stay in another neighborhood,
1037
00:41:09.709 --> 00:41:10.918
that's also fine.
1038
00:41:11.000 --> 00:41:12.751
I don't know why I told
you about this neighborhood
1039
00:41:12.834 --> 00:41:15.709
because y'all take everything.
Can we have anything? Leave!
1040
00:41:15.792 --> 00:41:17.626
I've been blamed
for gentrification.
1041
00:41:17.709 --> 00:41:19.542
The show has been blamed
for gentrification.
1042
00:41:19.626 --> 00:41:21.709
Somethin' went
L.A. viral on Twitter
1043
00:41:21.792 --> 00:41:23.000
where this girl posted,
1044
00:41:23.083 --> 00:41:24.375
"I went to Worldwide Tacos.
1045
00:41:24.459 --> 00:41:26.667
"It was a four-hour wait
and I got the tacos,
1046
00:41:26.751 --> 00:41:27.959
and I didn't like it."
1047
00:41:28.042 --> 00:41:29.459
And she misquoted
1048
00:41:29.542 --> 00:41:31.792
Worldwide Tacos as
being in Inglewood,
1049
00:41:31.876 --> 00:41:34.000
so people were like,
"Bitch, you don't even know
what you talkin' about.
1050
00:41:34.083 --> 00:41:36.042
"Take your ass home.
That's why you
watchin' the show.
1051
00:41:36.125 --> 00:41:37.459
"This is Issa's fault.
1052
00:41:37.542 --> 00:41:40.792
Like, didn't nobody tell you
to review these tacos anyway."
1053
00:41:40.876 --> 00:41:44.334
And I was like,
"Damn, like, that's the..."
1054
00:41:44.417 --> 00:41:47.250
it's the beauty
and the blessin' of, like,
exposin' these businesses,
1055
00:41:47.334 --> 00:41:52.292
but then, residents and locals
being mad that people
are coming in here...
1056
00:41:52.375 --> 00:41:55.083
being overly familiar
with these places
1057
00:41:55.167 --> 00:41:56.584
that are so dear to us.
1058
00:41:56.667 --> 00:42:00.542
("Feng Shui" by Jidenna playing)
1059
00:42:02.500 --> 00:42:04.626
♪ Talk down,
niggas call it luck ♪
1060
00:42:06.292 --> 00:42:08.626
♪ Rubber band,
baby wanna fuck ♪
1061
00:42:10.000 --> 00:42:12.292
♪ I been doing well,
up andup ♪
1062
00:42:13.792 --> 00:42:15.375
♪ Caught'em in aspell,
fuck you up ♪
1063
00:42:15.459 --> 00:42:18.000
Issa:
We had a night shoot
on Saturday...
1064
00:42:18.083 --> 00:42:20.125
which means, you know,
I got called at 6:00 PM,
1065
00:42:20.209 --> 00:42:22.751
and we didn't finish until--
1066
00:42:22.834 --> 00:42:24.918
5:50, we were in the van
going back to set.
1067
00:42:25.042 --> 00:42:29.125
6:05, I was on my way home.
1068
00:42:29.209 --> 00:42:32.667
And then... here we are.
Today is Monday,
1069
00:42:32.751 --> 00:42:35.792
and I got picked up
at 3:54 AM to come here.
1070
00:42:35.876 --> 00:42:37.834
-Tristen J. Winger:
It's Wednesday.
-"Hi, I'm Issa Rae.
1071
00:42:37.918 --> 00:42:40.709
Life is so hard.
Oh my god.
I didn't have a--"
1072
00:42:40.792 --> 00:42:42.959
She didn't work on Saturday.
She didn't work on Saturday.
1073
00:42:43.042 --> 00:42:46.250
She was getting a massage,
posting shirtless pictures
of her doctor.
1074
00:42:46.334 --> 00:42:48.417
-That's what she was doin'.
-Sounds like hatred.
1075
00:42:48.500 --> 00:42:50.667
Sounds like someone's
mad at my life.
1076
00:42:50.751 --> 00:42:53.792
"But I'm just Issa Rae.
I own everything, boo-hoo."
1077
00:42:53.876 --> 00:42:58.083
-(all laughing)
-Why you have to laugh?
1078
00:42:58.167 --> 00:43:01.250
-Laughin' that hard
in the background.
-(indistinct chatter)
1079
00:43:01.334 --> 00:43:04.292
-(mocking laughter)
-(chatter continues)
1080
00:43:04.375 --> 00:43:06.834
Kendrick: You know
you gotta make it worse.
1081
00:43:08.667 --> 00:43:12.250
-What happened to you?
-Yvonne: He's so bad.
1082
00:43:12.334 --> 00:43:14.167
Kendrick:
"I own everything."
1083
00:43:14.250 --> 00:43:16.417
(indistinct chatter, laughter)
1084
00:43:19.167 --> 00:43:22.834
(James speaking)
1085
00:43:22.918 --> 00:43:23.918
It did.
1086
00:43:24.000 --> 00:43:25.375
(James speaking)
1087
00:43:25.459 --> 00:43:27.334
Good, it's out there.
You know, we can retweak--
1088
00:43:27.417 --> 00:43:29.125
We're gonna keep retweaking it.
1089
00:43:29.209 --> 00:43:33.000
You can ask Kira,
our script coordinator,
but I hit her up.
1090
00:43:33.083 --> 00:43:36.584
I finished it on Saturday...
1091
00:43:36.667 --> 00:43:38.876
and then, was like,
"Cool, bet. We'll send
it out in the morning."
1092
00:43:38.959 --> 00:43:41.459
And then, I dreamt about it,
and I was like, "Oh fuck,
I want change something."
1093
00:43:41.542 --> 00:43:42.959
I was like,
"Kira, did you send it?"
She was like,
1094
00:43:43.042 --> 00:43:45.292
"I sent it,
but I can recall it."
1095
00:43:45.375 --> 00:43:48.751
And so, I made another change,
and then, had another idea.
1096
00:43:48.834 --> 00:43:50.042
I was like,
"Kira, did you send it?"
1097
00:43:50.125 --> 00:43:51.876
And she was like,
"I was just about to press send.
1098
00:43:51.959 --> 00:43:53.209
I can send it back."
1099
00:43:53.292 --> 00:43:54.334
And then,
I read something else--
1100
00:43:54.417 --> 00:43:55.959
Like, like,
literally, three times
1101
00:43:56.042 --> 00:43:58.375
just 'cause I was like,
this is the cast
and crew seeing it,
1102
00:43:58.459 --> 00:44:02.334
and I, I want the first
impression to at least be--
1103
00:44:02.417 --> 00:44:04.709
Like, we know that we're
gonna continue to work on this,
1104
00:44:04.792 --> 00:44:06.709
but, like, I still
feel confident in it.
1105
00:44:06.792 --> 00:44:08.667
And when I think about,
1106
00:44:08.751 --> 00:44:10.500
you know, actors who
have dedicated five years
1107
00:44:10.584 --> 00:44:13.375
of their lives to this show,
and crew members,
1108
00:44:13.459 --> 00:44:16.667
if it just ends with a,
"Aw, man, that's it?"
1109
00:44:16.751 --> 00:44:18.500
Like, I don't want
that feeling of,
1110
00:44:18.584 --> 00:44:21.042
"I dedicated my life
for five years. This is it?"
1111
00:44:21.125 --> 00:44:23.709
So, I just wanted to make sure
that it was all represented,
1112
00:44:23.792 --> 00:44:26.667
um, and I'm excited that we
get to do a table read for it,
1113
00:44:26.751 --> 00:44:29.459
but it feels like a weight has
been lifted off my shoulders.
1114
00:44:29.542 --> 00:44:34.584
("Cold War" by
Cautious Clay playing)
1115
00:44:34.667 --> 00:44:37.417
Amy Aniobi:
"Issa sighs as Quoia opens
the door wide to Crenshawn's
1116
00:44:37.500 --> 00:44:38.834
"warehouse main room.
1117
00:44:38.918 --> 00:44:40.918
It's completely dark.
Issa steps inside."
1118
00:44:41.000 --> 00:44:43.667
Quoia, why is it so dark?
You got a night plumber?
1119
00:44:43.751 --> 00:44:46.083
Amy Aniobi:
She flips on a switch and...
1120
00:44:46.167 --> 00:44:47.918
Cast:
Surprise!
1121
00:44:48.000 --> 00:44:49.250
Amy Aniobi:
It's Issa's 33rd birthday,
1122
00:44:49.334 --> 00:44:51.083
and they're all gathered
to celebrate her.
1123
00:44:51.167 --> 00:44:53.000
(indistinct chatter)
1124
00:44:53.083 --> 00:44:55.459
("Black Truck"
by Mereba playing)
1125
00:44:55.542 --> 00:44:58.209
♪ Ooh... ♪
1126
00:45:00.209 --> 00:45:03.292
(laughs)
1127
00:45:03.375 --> 00:45:05.792
With this show, I'm most proud
of the doors that it's opened.
1128
00:45:05.876 --> 00:45:08.876
It's showing Black
people's humanity and
1129
00:45:08.959 --> 00:45:11.417
regular-ness during a time when
1130
00:45:11.500 --> 00:45:15.042
that wasn't the focus
for anything else
on television.
1131
00:45:15.125 --> 00:45:20.125
And opening doors for so much
other talent behind the scenes,
1132
00:45:20.209 --> 00:45:21.167
in front of the camera.
1133
00:45:21.250 --> 00:45:22.834
I think that's what
we'll be known for
1134
00:45:22.918 --> 00:45:25.042
in the same way that,
you know, "Girlfriends" did,
1135
00:45:25.125 --> 00:45:29.292
and all these other
legendary shows that,
that came before us.
1136
00:45:29.375 --> 00:45:30.959
Thank you guys
so much for coming,
1137
00:45:31.042 --> 00:45:33.083
and making me look good
in front of my new client.
1138
00:45:33.167 --> 00:45:34.292
-No problem.
-We got you.
1139
00:45:34.375 --> 00:45:35.667
Let's take a photo.
1140
00:45:35.751 --> 00:45:37.125
You got it.
1141
00:45:38.375 --> 00:45:40.042
-(camera clicks)
-Now, let's do a fun one.
1142
00:45:40.125 --> 00:45:41.751
-Nah.
-Nah, we're good.
1143
00:45:41.834 --> 00:45:43.334
Like, I love that
I got to play Tiffany.
1144
00:45:43.417 --> 00:45:45.167
I think
in the beginning,
it was more
1145
00:45:45.250 --> 00:45:47.500
a trope of like
the bougie, light skin, AKA.
1146
00:45:47.584 --> 00:45:49.083
Where's Tiffany?
Is she mad at me?!
1147
00:45:49.167 --> 00:45:51.167
-I don't know.
She hide in the closet.
-Tiffany: Yes, I know
1148
00:45:51.250 --> 00:45:53.125
he's our little weed baby.
1149
00:45:53.209 --> 00:45:55.542
(Tiffany cries)
1150
00:45:55.626 --> 00:45:58.500
But I just wanna
be home with you.
1151
00:45:58.584 --> 00:46:01.292
And we really got to see her
1152
00:46:01.375 --> 00:46:03.792
develop into a mom,
1153
00:46:03.876 --> 00:46:06.334
into a more
compassionate friend,
1154
00:46:06.417 --> 00:46:08.167
into, like,
the truth-teller
of the gang.
1155
00:46:08.250 --> 00:46:11.751
We're all doing great things.
Look at you getting fit.
Look at Kelli.
1156
00:46:11.834 --> 00:46:14.834
Look at Molly,
taking interviews,
taking names.
1157
00:46:14.918 --> 00:46:17.417
Look at Issa... hmm.
1158
00:46:17.500 --> 00:46:20.042
I feel like people
have come to see Tiffany
1159
00:46:20.125 --> 00:46:23.125
as part of this legacy of
1160
00:46:23.209 --> 00:46:25.250
bougie Black women in television
1161
00:46:25.334 --> 00:46:28.792
from Hilary Banks
to Whitley Gilbert,
1162
00:46:28.876 --> 00:46:31.209
and so, like, to be
in the company of that
1163
00:46:31.292 --> 00:46:34.584
within the African-American
cultural canon is just like
1164
00:46:34.667 --> 00:46:35.751
a dream.
1165
00:46:37.125 --> 00:46:38.542
Melina: All right.
Let's do it, everybody.
1166
00:46:38.626 --> 00:46:39.709
Picture's up.
1167
00:46:43.334 --> 00:46:46.375
(indistinct chatter)
1168
00:46:50.876 --> 00:46:53.334
-Prentice: Good, cut.
-Speaker: It is time to say...
1169
00:46:53.417 --> 00:46:58.125
series wrap on...
Natasha Rothwell.
1170
00:46:58.209 --> 00:47:01.334
(cheering and applause)
1171
00:47:05.167 --> 00:47:07.000
Natasha Rothwell:
I remember when
I first got the show,
1172
00:47:07.083 --> 00:47:08.459
and I was just like,
"I don't know if
1173
00:47:08.542 --> 00:47:10.667
Issa's made a huge mistake,
or if I can do this."
1174
00:47:10.751 --> 00:47:12.626
It's very vulnerable
for me to say,
1175
00:47:12.709 --> 00:47:14.042
but it's just true.
1176
00:47:14.125 --> 00:47:16.000
What the show has taught
me over six years
1177
00:47:16.083 --> 00:47:19.083
is that you can grow
into those positions,
1178
00:47:19.167 --> 00:47:21.542
and into those--
You know, to meet
those expectations,
1179
00:47:21.626 --> 00:47:23.250
and that we're only
limiting ourselves
1180
00:47:23.334 --> 00:47:25.626
when we don't, sort of,
take those risks and chances,
1181
00:47:25.709 --> 00:47:28.000
and have the courage
to just try.
1182
00:47:28.083 --> 00:47:31.125
And I think that, again,
it's about visibility, right,
1183
00:47:31.209 --> 00:47:35.709
and not one singular
Black female voice.
1184
00:47:35.792 --> 00:47:37.459
And yet,
Issa's voice is singular,
1185
00:47:37.542 --> 00:47:40.542
and I think I'm excited
for... disruption,
1186
00:47:40.626 --> 00:47:43.292
shaking the table,
and infusing the culture
1187
00:47:43.375 --> 00:47:46.334
of Hollywood with more
Black female voices.
1188
00:47:46.417 --> 00:47:49.042
Amy Aniobi:
"Now we are inside
of an international hotel.
1189
00:47:49.125 --> 00:47:51.375
"We're at a poppin' ass party.
Everyone's dressed to the nines,
1190
00:47:51.459 --> 00:47:53.542
drinking and mingling as
the DJ hypes the crowd."
1191
00:47:53.626 --> 00:47:55.876
(indistinct chatter)
1192
00:47:58.876 --> 00:48:00.000
(laughs)
1193
00:48:02.542 --> 00:48:04.834
At a certain point,
I'll crane back out,
but we're craning in.
1194
00:48:04.918 --> 00:48:06.959
-So, it'll just be super loose,
and then--
-Yvonne: Okay.
1195
00:48:07.042 --> 00:48:09.334
That's just what the scene is.
It'll be like getting
in on steadicam.
1196
00:48:09.417 --> 00:48:11.125
-Yeah, yeah, yeah.
-Like, coming behind you guys.
1197
00:48:11.209 --> 00:48:12.334
All right, let's make a wedding.
1198
00:48:12.417 --> 00:48:14.417
(cheering and applause)
1199
00:48:17.709 --> 00:48:19.083
Smile, Leonard, yeah.
1200
00:48:19.167 --> 00:48:23.709
Just listen to me-- Don't--
Just smile. Smile at her.
1201
00:48:23.792 --> 00:48:28.125
Molly has really been
a delicious character
to embody.
1202
00:48:28.209 --> 00:48:31.250
She has taught me things.
I think I've taught
her some things,
1203
00:48:31.334 --> 00:48:33.083
though these
are writers' words,
1204
00:48:33.167 --> 00:48:35.542
but I would like
to think that I brought
1205
00:48:35.626 --> 00:48:37.584
my growth
and my healing to her,
1206
00:48:37.667 --> 00:48:40.125
but she also brought her growth
and her healing to me.
1207
00:48:40.209 --> 00:48:43.792
By the time we get
to the end of season five,
1208
00:48:43.876 --> 00:48:46.918
it's just like...
she found herself.
1209
00:48:47.000 --> 00:48:49.500
Prentice:
And... cue Jay.
1210
00:48:49.584 --> 00:48:51.375
Jay:
I don't think
I've ever thought about
1211
00:48:51.459 --> 00:48:53.167
where Lawrence's
story should go
1212
00:48:53.250 --> 00:48:55.167
as we've gone
from season to season.
1213
00:48:55.250 --> 00:48:57.584
In my mind, it was always like,
"Yo, I'm here for Issa's story."
1214
00:48:57.667 --> 00:49:01.500
So, whatever Issa wants
at the end of the day
is, like, what I wanna do.
1215
00:49:01.584 --> 00:49:03.459
And being able to bring...
1216
00:49:03.542 --> 00:49:07.792
Lawrence's journey
full circle from who he was
in the beginning,
1217
00:49:07.876 --> 00:49:11.000
from a dude sittin'
on the couch,
crippled in fear,
1218
00:49:11.083 --> 00:49:12.542
who couldn't take
care of himself,
1219
00:49:12.626 --> 00:49:14.792
much less take care
of anyone else.
1220
00:49:14.876 --> 00:49:18.209
To see him come full circle,
to being a father,
1221
00:49:18.292 --> 00:49:20.042
going after what he wants,
1222
00:49:20.125 --> 00:49:22.500
being okay with just who he is,
1223
00:49:22.584 --> 00:49:24.959
and, like, knowin' that
I have figured myself out,
1224
00:49:25.042 --> 00:49:28.918
and this is the type
of relationship that
I want in my life.
1225
00:49:29.000 --> 00:49:31.834
And it's crazy 'cause
it just feels so real.
1226
00:49:31.918 --> 00:49:34.751
Speaker:
We have to wrap
up this day with
1227
00:49:34.834 --> 00:49:38.709
the very multifaceted,
emotional news
1228
00:49:38.792 --> 00:49:45.167
that this is an "Insecure"
series wrap on Jay Ellis.
1229
00:49:45.250 --> 00:49:48.292
(cheering and applause)
1230
00:49:51.959 --> 00:49:53.918
Jay: You know,
now that we're done...
1231
00:49:55.083 --> 00:49:57.167
it's the people, man.
1232
00:49:58.834 --> 00:50:01.292
(indistinct chatter)
1233
00:50:02.459 --> 00:50:04.167
Nigga, we did it.
1234
00:50:04.250 --> 00:50:05.334
Nigga, that shit.
1235
00:50:05.417 --> 00:50:08.083
(all laughing)
1236
00:50:08.167 --> 00:50:09.417
He did it.
1237
00:50:09.500 --> 00:50:12.667
You still got--
Y'all still got somethin' to do.
1238
00:50:12.751 --> 00:50:15.417
It's really rare to go
to work every day...
1239
00:50:16.542 --> 00:50:17.667
and love...
1240
00:50:19.250 --> 00:50:20.667
not only the work...
1241
00:50:21.709 --> 00:50:23.292
but, like...
1242
00:50:23.375 --> 00:50:24.667
the people that you're with,
1243
00:50:24.751 --> 00:50:26.834
and for all of us...
1244
00:50:26.918 --> 00:50:28.626
to walk out of this show
six years later,
1245
00:50:28.709 --> 00:50:30.334
and still love each other?
1246
00:50:32.959 --> 00:50:35.500
It's all you could dream for.
Like, it's all you could--
1247
00:50:36.292 --> 00:50:37.417
Thank you.
1248
00:50:37.500 --> 00:50:39.334
It's all, uh...
1249
00:50:41.667 --> 00:50:43.542
It's all you could
dream for in a show.
1250
00:50:43.626 --> 00:50:44.876
...more wrap gifts, man.
1251
00:50:45.000 --> 00:50:47.542
It's the Black Santa.
You know what I'm sayin'?
Boom.
1252
00:50:47.626 --> 00:50:51.417
I'mma miss every single person
we've had on our production,
1253
00:50:51.500 --> 00:50:55.042
from sound to camera and Issa.
1254
00:50:55.626 --> 00:50:56.709
Um...
1255
00:50:58.834 --> 00:51:00.500
and Issa.
1256
00:51:00.584 --> 00:51:02.918
It is very rare to have...
1257
00:51:05.209 --> 00:51:08.250
the creator of your show
also be your co-star,
1258
00:51:08.334 --> 00:51:09.792
also be your biggest champion,
1259
00:51:09.876 --> 00:51:11.918
and I'mma miss
the shit out of that.
1260
00:51:12.000 --> 00:51:13.667
Amy Aniobi:
"We're in the hotel room.
The party's over.
1261
00:51:13.751 --> 00:51:15.626
"Issa helps Molly take
her wedding dress off.
1262
00:51:15.709 --> 00:51:18.417
"As Issa unzips and unclips
the complicated dress,
1263
00:51:18.500 --> 00:51:20.042
and Molly sways, still tipsy."
1264
00:51:20.125 --> 00:51:23.417
Okay, just one more row.
How you feelin', girl?
1265
00:51:23.500 --> 00:51:29.292
Happy.
Like really, really,
really happy.
1266
00:51:29.375 --> 00:51:33.667
(sighs)
As long as you're around,
I'mma be okay.
1267
00:51:33.751 --> 00:51:35.375
Yeah.
1268
00:51:38.125 --> 00:51:39.375
Me too.
1269
00:51:41.125 --> 00:51:44.375
-I love you.
-I love you, too.
1270
00:51:46.083 --> 00:51:48.125
And, uh, cut.
1271
00:51:48.209 --> 00:51:50.083
Speaker:
All right, let's cut.
Let's keep it quiet, yeah?
1272
00:51:50.167 --> 00:51:51.792
-And that's it.
-(bells rings)
1273
00:51:51.876 --> 00:51:53.209
Speaker:
All right, everybody.
1274
00:51:53.292 --> 00:51:55.292
Bring up the house lights,
and come on out here.
1275
00:51:55.375 --> 00:51:59.292
I'm gonna stay lyin'
or I'm gonna start cryin'.
Let's go. Come out here.
1276
00:52:02.334 --> 00:52:04.918
Oh no.
1277
00:52:06.709 --> 00:52:09.542
This is a series wrap--
Damnit.
1278
00:52:09.626 --> 00:52:12.834
This is series wrap
on Yvonne Orji.
1279
00:52:12.918 --> 00:52:15.375
(applause)
1280
00:52:21.459 --> 00:52:23.500
Man, thank you all so mu--
1281
00:52:23.584 --> 00:52:27.542
Come on, man... um, for real,
thank you guys so much.
1282
00:52:27.626 --> 00:52:32.125
Issa, I owe
so much to you.
We all do.
1283
00:52:32.209 --> 00:52:35.751
I'm so grateful that I got
to rock with you by your side
1284
00:52:35.834 --> 00:52:38.667
as your number two
for six years.
1285
00:52:38.751 --> 00:52:41.626
You changed the heck
outta my life.
1286
00:52:41.709 --> 00:52:45.792
Everybody, cast, crew,
writers, Prentice...
1287
00:52:45.876 --> 00:52:47.167
I love the heck outta y'all.
1288
00:52:47.250 --> 00:52:50.042
Like, we did it.
We made a show.
1289
00:52:50.125 --> 00:52:54.500
The role that I'm most proud of
is not even really being Molly,
1290
00:52:54.584 --> 00:52:57.125
it's just being
able to serve you.
1291
00:52:57.209 --> 00:52:59.667
That's what I take
so much pride in.
1292
00:52:59.751 --> 00:53:01.959
I wanted to protect you
1293
00:53:02.042 --> 00:53:04.876
'cause you, literally,
were the head,
1294
00:53:04.959 --> 00:53:08.918
and I know that
heavy is the head
that wears the crown.
1295
00:53:09.000 --> 00:53:12.876
We did it.
We did it, yo!
We did it!
1296
00:53:12.959 --> 00:53:14.417
We always discussed in the room
1297
00:53:14.500 --> 00:53:16.876
that the true love story
of "Insecure" is Issa and Molly,
1298
00:53:16.959 --> 00:53:20.083
and we wanted to show that
you can get to a place, like,
1299
00:53:20.167 --> 00:53:23.375
not with every friend,
but in this friendship
at least,
1300
00:53:23.459 --> 00:53:26.209
that they were growing
at different paces,
1301
00:53:26.292 --> 00:53:29.626
and, eventually, lined up
and grew in sync again
by the end of the show,
1302
00:53:29.709 --> 00:53:32.375
that they really realized that,
"No, you're my person.
1303
00:53:32.459 --> 00:53:35.209
You're my friend...
for life."
1304
00:53:35.292 --> 00:53:38.000
This wasn't a friendship
for a reason or a season.
1305
00:53:38.083 --> 00:53:39.876
This is a friendship
for a lifetime.
1306
00:53:39.959 --> 00:53:43.292
We ain't shit
but some tricks.
Hello, what?
1307
00:53:43.375 --> 00:53:45.834
-Pick up the phone. Hello?
-Oh, you so stupid.
1308
00:53:45.918 --> 00:53:49.292
-(both laughing)
-Bottoms up.
1309
00:53:50.334 --> 00:53:51.959
This spiked?
1310
00:53:52.042 --> 00:53:53.000
I love you.
1311
00:53:55.584 --> 00:53:58.125
Speaker:
We are saying
goodbye and goodnight
1312
00:53:58.209 --> 00:54:00.125
and a series finale
to Prentice Penny.
1313
00:54:00.209 --> 00:54:03.334
(cheering and applause)
1314
00:54:07.375 --> 00:54:10.334
I don't know why
I still have this on.
I'm COVID tested.
1315
00:54:10.417 --> 00:54:12.125
Um...
1316
00:54:12.209 --> 00:54:16.334
When we met, I always felt
like if I was a young Issa,
1317
00:54:16.417 --> 00:54:19.417
how would I want my person,
a showrunner to be?
1318
00:54:19.500 --> 00:54:22.876
And, uh, I--
It was very important
for me that...
1319
00:54:22.959 --> 00:54:26.542
I walk away from this,
that you could always say,
1320
00:54:26.626 --> 00:54:29.542
"He helped me make the show
I wanted to make...
1321
00:54:29.626 --> 00:54:31.250
and he never got
in the way once."
1322
00:54:31.334 --> 00:54:34.083
And that was always
like my North Star.
1323
00:54:34.167 --> 00:54:38.292
And, you know, you realize,
sometimes, you're just a brick
in somebody else's story,
1324
00:54:38.375 --> 00:54:40.500
and you have a bigger
function to serve.
1325
00:54:40.584 --> 00:54:43.834
I would think about all
the times I was the only
Black writer in rooms,
1326
00:54:43.918 --> 00:54:48.542
and goin' through the things
I went through for 17 years,
good and bad,
1327
00:54:48.626 --> 00:54:50.959
I tried to pour...
1328
00:54:51.042 --> 00:54:55.459
all of what I knew,
everything I learned,
every skill set I had
1329
00:54:55.542 --> 00:54:57.375
was just to pour it into you,
1330
00:54:57.459 --> 00:55:02.375
and you have exceeded,
and have gone farther than
I could've dreamed for you.
1331
00:55:02.459 --> 00:55:05.626
And the beauty is
that you'll never know
those things that I saw,
1332
00:55:05.709 --> 00:55:10.334
you only create a new path,
and I will miss you...
1333
00:55:11.500 --> 00:55:14.709
so much.
I love you.
And, um...
1334
00:55:14.792 --> 00:55:17.167
yeah, I don't know.
I love you.
1335
00:55:17.250 --> 00:55:19.667
I love you so much.
Thank you.
1336
00:55:19.751 --> 00:55:22.834
(applause)
1337
00:55:22.918 --> 00:55:27.250
-What I'mma do without you now?
-You fine. You got 18 shows.
1338
00:55:27.334 --> 00:55:29.792
-You good.
-(all laughing)
1339
00:55:32.751 --> 00:55:37.042
(indistinct chatter)
1340
00:55:38.876 --> 00:55:41.918
Melina:
And... action.
1341
00:55:42.000 --> 00:55:44.500
Poor thing.
She went to bed at 4:00.
1342
00:55:44.584 --> 00:55:48.834
Had a 8:42 call time,
I just looked at it.
1343
00:55:48.918 --> 00:55:52.167
That's what happens when
you have your own show.
1344
00:55:53.500 --> 00:55:55.334
(laughter)
1345
00:55:55.417 --> 00:55:56.918
Speaker:
Go lie down, baby.
1346
00:55:57.000 --> 00:55:59.292
Anthony:
Y'all got her talent ready.
1347
00:56:02.542 --> 00:56:04.751
Melina:
I hope, in the future, that
1348
00:56:04.834 --> 00:56:08.042
people can take away from this,
that it was a classic.
1349
00:56:08.125 --> 00:56:13.250
I really feel like it
was a beautiful picture
of how we live now.
1350
00:56:13.334 --> 00:56:16.500
When you think back to our era,
you'll think back to "Insecure."
1351
00:56:16.584 --> 00:56:20.042
But I also hope that there's
so many other shows that
1352
00:56:20.125 --> 00:56:25.375
follow in our footsteps,
and really diversify
that landscape.
1353
00:56:27.542 --> 00:56:29.375
And that's a cut...
1354
00:56:29.459 --> 00:56:34.459
of the last shot of "Insecure,"
the HBO series.
1355
00:56:34.542 --> 00:56:37.959
Speaker:
That is... a series wrap
1356
00:56:38.042 --> 00:56:41.292
-on our queen, Issa Rae.
-Let's go!
1357
00:56:41.375 --> 00:56:47.250
You guys, I am just
incredibly humbled, blessed.
1358
00:56:47.334 --> 00:56:48.250
Uh...
1359
00:56:54.500 --> 00:56:57.292
but I'm just honored
to know a lot of you.
1360
00:56:59.417 --> 00:57:04.125
When I, when I
set out to do this--
Y'all know me.
1361
00:57:04.209 --> 00:57:06.167
I'm not, I'm not
the topmost talented person,
1362
00:57:06.250 --> 00:57:07.792
I'm not the funniest person.
1363
00:57:07.876 --> 00:57:10.542
I'm not... I'm not
1364
00:57:10.626 --> 00:57:13.834
-the, the best person--
-You're Issa Rae!
1365
00:57:13.918 --> 00:57:18.751
But, you know, you aspire
and you dream and you imagine,
1366
00:57:18.834 --> 00:57:22.083
and, and I never imagined
that I would get to work
1367
00:57:22.167 --> 00:57:25.876
with all of you...
in support of this,
1368
00:57:25.959 --> 00:57:28.626
and to meet so many
amazing, talented people.
1369
00:57:28.709 --> 00:57:31.709
I think about my loved ones,
1370
00:57:31.792 --> 00:57:34.918
uh, my brothers
and sisters in cast,
1371
00:57:35.000 --> 00:57:37.918
and how you guys
have elevated me,
1372
00:57:38.000 --> 00:57:40.542
how I've learned so much
from you along the way.
1373
00:57:40.626 --> 00:57:43.500
I've learned so much
about myself through you,
1374
00:57:43.584 --> 00:57:46.792
and am just so blessed
1375
00:57:46.876 --> 00:57:48.042
to, to be in your presence,
1376
00:57:48.125 --> 00:57:50.083
and to know that
I have family for life.
1377
00:57:50.167 --> 00:57:53.250
-That's a wrap!
-(cheering)
1378
00:57:53.334 --> 00:57:56.375
("Kinda Love" by
TeaMarrr playing)
1379
00:58:03.792 --> 00:58:05.709
Prentice:
When I look at other
shows growing up,
1380
00:58:05.792 --> 00:58:07.459
I had not seen a family
that looked like mine
1381
00:58:07.542 --> 00:58:10.000
in Black television till
I saw "Cosby," right?
1382
00:58:10.083 --> 00:58:11.626
So, when I look
at that show, I'm like,
1383
00:58:11.709 --> 00:58:13.334
that show inspired me
to think that, like,
1384
00:58:13.417 --> 00:58:16.292
my representation of life
can be on screen,
1385
00:58:16.375 --> 00:58:18.375
and it just made me
believe it was possible.
1386
00:58:18.459 --> 00:58:20.292
So, if I had
to distill it down,
1387
00:58:20.375 --> 00:58:23.083
I would hope that people
would watch "Insecure" and go,
1388
00:58:23.167 --> 00:58:25.000
"Oh, like, achieving
1389
00:58:25.083 --> 00:58:29.751
at a high level, creatively,
opportunity-wise is possible."
1390
00:58:29.834 --> 00:58:31.626
And, sometimes,
in this country,
1391
00:58:31.709 --> 00:58:35.209
you don't always get
to think that things that
look like you are possible.
1392
00:58:35.292 --> 00:58:37.751
So, that's what I would hope
the legacy behind it is,
1393
00:58:37.834 --> 00:58:41.918
whatever people need it to be,
to know that it's possible.
1394
00:58:42.000 --> 00:58:45.250
(cheering)
1395
00:58:47.959 --> 00:58:51.209
(laughing)
1396
00:58:51.292 --> 00:58:55.083
-How you feel to be done, baby?
-Baby, I'm tired, aight.
1397
00:58:55.167 --> 00:58:56.417
You too pretty, baby,
you too pretty.
1398
00:58:56.500 --> 00:58:59.042
I started this shit,
I poured out into this shit.
1399
00:58:59.125 --> 00:59:01.667
-We done, baby.
"Insecure," bitch!
-We done!
1400
00:59:01.751 --> 00:59:03.834
Yay!
1401
00:59:07.417 --> 00:59:11.375
-I love you.
-I love you. I love you.
1402
00:59:12.375 --> 00:59:14.000
Can we go eat?
1403
00:59:16.209 --> 00:59:18.751
All: Hey!
1404
00:59:18.834 --> 00:59:21.959
-The hardest-working people
in, in show business.
-We did it!
1405
00:59:22.042 --> 00:59:23.709
Yvonne:
Right here!
Right here!
1406
00:59:26.542 --> 00:59:29.250
-Love you, boo.
-I love you more.
1407
00:59:29.334 --> 00:59:32.167
I just wanna go down
as people's favorite show.
It's super simple.
1408
00:59:32.250 --> 00:59:36.584
Like, in the way that
I talk nostalgically about
the shows that shaped me,
1409
00:59:36.667 --> 00:59:38.876
that make me smile
when I think about them,
1410
00:59:38.959 --> 00:59:43.000
that I reflect on a specific
time in my life, happily.
1411
00:59:43.083 --> 00:59:45.250
Like, I want our show
to do the same for people.
1412
00:59:45.334 --> 00:59:49.459
I want them to think about
scenes and the first time
they watched something,
1413
00:59:49.542 --> 00:59:52.792
and imagine where
they were at the time
that they watched it,
1414
00:59:52.876 --> 00:59:54.083
where they were
in their lives.
1415
00:59:54.167 --> 00:59:57.000
I want it to be
a part of who they are.
1416
00:59:57.083 --> 00:59:58.334
That would make me happy.
1417
00:59:58.417 --> 01:00:00.500
("Kinda Love" continues)
1418
01:00:09.751 --> 01:00:13.709
♪ I want that won't creep,
won't sneak kinda love ♪
1419
01:00:13.792 --> 01:00:17.167
♪ That so deep,
I'm freak kinda love ♪
1420
01:00:17.250 --> 01:00:19.542
♪ That, ooh ♪
1421
01:00:19.626 --> 01:00:23.209
♪ Yeah, I want you ♪
1422
01:00:23.292 --> 01:00:26.500
♪ Can you give me
one good reason ♪
1423
01:00:26.584 --> 01:00:29.667
♪ Not to f...
with you like that ♪
1424
01:00:29.751 --> 01:00:33.083
♪ Can you give me
one good reason ♪
1425
01:00:33.167 --> 01:00:36.417
♪ Not to f...
with you like that ♪
1426
01:00:36.500 --> 01:00:39.792
♪ Can you give me
one good reason ♪
1427
01:00:39.876 --> 01:00:43.042
♪ Not to f...
with you like that ♪
1428
01:00:43.125 --> 01:00:49.667
♪ Can you give me one good,
one good, one good reason ♪
1429
01:00:49.751 --> 01:00:53.000
♪ Not to f... it
up like that, oh ♪
1430
01:00:53.083 --> 01:00:56.083
♪ No, no, no, no, no, no ♪
1431
01:00:56.167 --> 01:00:59.334
♪ Don't wanna f...
this up like that ♪
1432
01:01:03.584 --> 01:01:05.209
♪ You're the boom to the bang ♪
1433
01:01:05.292 --> 01:01:06.918
♪ When my front
side get close ♪
1434
01:01:07.000 --> 01:01:08.375
♪ When we bang
when we boom ♪
1435
01:01:08.459 --> 01:01:11.209
♪ What's the punchline
for (pop)... ♪