Landscape a lot less bleak than it used to be Tracy Oliver on diversification of content

By Shubha Dubey
    New Delhi, Dec 5 (PTI) A friendship show featuring women of colour looked like an unrealistic gig a decade ago, but the entertainment industry has evolved for good, believes writer-creator Tracy Oliver.
    The critically-acclaimed scribe whose latest outing is comedy drama "Harlem", a story focusing on four Black women in their thirties navigating life in the New York neighbourhood, said diversity and inclusion were not points of consideration when she was in the film school in early 2000s.
    Crediting shows like "Black-ish", "How to Get Away with Murder" and "Atlanta" for changing the landscape for black actors and creators in television, the USC School of Cinematic Arts alumnus said the struggle has been real to come this far.
    "When I was in film school, it was really bleak. Just to put in perspective, that was like pre 'Blackish', pre 'Scandal', pre 'How to Get Away with Murder', pre 'Atlanta' era. So there was just nothing with people of colour," the writer told PTI in an Zoom interview.
    "When I think about it now, a lot of these people are my peers that I knew then and we were all struggling to see that a lot of us have shows and movies, starring people of colour. I think we've come a long way. Do I think that there's more work to do? Sure. But I do want to acknowledge that the landscape is a lot less bleak than it used to be," she added.
    "Harlem" is also product of the same wave, said Oliver as she lived with the idea for years before turning it into an Amazon Prime Video series.
    The writer recalls when she first wrote the show, there was a big "hole" in the marketplace, with serious dearth of stories on black female friendship.
    "When I first wrote it, I felt like there was a hole in the marketplace. I was kind of desperate to see more friendship shows and ensembles. But I was like, 'Why aren't there any on there with people of colour?' At the time, it was like 'Girls' and 'Sex and the City', and I love those shows, but they were set in New York and I just didn't see black and brown people of New York anywhere in those shows," she said.
    Rather than complaining about lack of diversity in films and television, Oliver said she decided to be a part of change with her 2017 movie, "Girls Trip", a comedy starring Regina Hall, Queen Latifah, Tiffany Haddish, and Jada Pinkett Smith.
    With the film's success she realised that it was the right time to put out "Harlem".
    "When 'Girls Trip' came out, all of a sudden it's like, 'oh, black friendship, things do work'. So at that point, we pulled the script back out. And we're like, maybe that's the time to kind of take it out."
    "Harlem", created, written and executive produced by Oliver, follows a group of stylish and ambitious girlfriends Camille (Meagan Good), a popular young anthropology professor at Columbia; Tye (Jerrie Johnson), a successful queer dating-app creator; fashion designer Quinn(Grace Byers); and singer-actor Angie (Shoniqua Shandai).
    As they level up to their 30s, the story captures the next phase of their careers, relationships, and big city dreams.    
    Oliver, who has penned successful comedy movies like 'Barbershop: The Next Cut" and "Little" as well as series "First Wives Club", said it is a difficult task to figure out a way to narrate a meaningful story and make people laugh at the same time.
    "Comedy writing is the hardest one. Because I've written dramas, I've written other genres as well. And I just always feel like comedy is the hardest because one has to find a way to tell a meaningful story, but also make people laugh.
    "I don't like comedy as much that is just 'jokey'. And there's not like any kind of meaning or anything behind it. And I think audiences kind of don't either. So I start there and then I put the jokes in last," she said.
    "Harlem", which is currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video, also features veteran actor-comedian Whoopi Goldberg, Tyler Lepley and Sullivan Jones.
    Actor-writer-comedienne Amy Poehler has executive produced the 10-episode show. PTI SHD BK
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(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)