Robin Thede on 'A Black Lady Sketch Show'
The comedian on the latest season of the Emmy-winning show
Robin Thede, showrunner, creator and star of HBO's "A Black Lady Sketch Show." Tina Thorpe/HBO hide caption
Robin Thede, showrunner, creator and star of HBO's "A Black Lady Sketch Show."
Tina Thorpe/HBORobin Thede keeps busy.
One of her earliest gigs was as head writer on Queen Latifah's daytime talk show. Robin's a Second City alum, and former host of the BET show The Rundown. As an actor she's appeared on Key & Peele, Insecure and Central Park.
In 2015, she was the first ever Black woman to be a head writer on a late night talk show: The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore.
These days, Robin is the showrunner, creator and star of the Emmy-winning series A Black Lady Sketch Show. The show just wrapped up its third season on HBO. Like the title suggests – A Black Lady Sketch Show is a sketch show created by and starring Black women.
What makes the program so unique and rich is its specificity: Robin and her co-stars cover church politics, family reunion line dancing and hair-care specific weather forecasts.
We chat with Robin about the latest season of HBO's A Black Lady Sketch Show and her time as head writer on The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore. Plus, we get into her childhood. Robin grew up in a mostly white, suburban part of Iowa. She'll talk about the challenges that being biracial presented and why she identifies as Black today.