Robin Thede on 'A Black Lady Sketch Show'

Bullseye with Jesse Thorn

NPR

Society & Culture

4.7 • 2.7K Ratings

🗓️ 21 June 2022

⏱️ 46 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Robin Thede 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. On the latest episode, 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.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Bullseye with Jesse Thorn is a production of MaximumFun.org and is distributed by NPR.
0:20.7	It's Bullseye, I'm Jesse Thorn.
0:23.2	Robin Thede works hard, incredibly hard.
0:27.0	She always hasn't, she probably always will.
0:29.8	She was the first ever Black woman to be a head writer on a late night talk show.
0:34.0	That was the nightly show with Larry Wilmore.
0:36.7	Before that she was head writer on Queen Latifa's daytime talk show.
0:41.1	Robin is a second city alum, the former host of the BET show The Run Down, an actor who's
0:47.6	appeared on Key and Peel, insecure, and central park.
0:52.0	And if all those credits weren't enough, Robin also co-created and stars in the Emmy-winning
0:57.1	series A Black Lady Sketch Show, which just wrapped its third season on HBO.
1:03.3	As the title suggests, A Black Lady Sketch Show is a sketch show created by N-starring Black
1:08.9	Ladies.
1:09.9	The show is hilarious, Robin and her team are the best at what they do, but what makes
1:14.3	it so unique is its specificity.
1:16.9	Thede and her co-stars cover church politics, family reunion line dancing, and as you're
1:22.5	about to hear in this clip, hair specific weather forecasts.
1:27.2	Thank you Cynthia.
1:28.3	While it also looks like we have more showers and storms in the forecast for today, as a
1:32.2	cold front makes its way across the state like a wide tooth comb on wash day.
1:37.5	The rain continues on Tuesday, so I'm not recommending a wash and go style just yet.
1:42.5	You need to go wash and go bundle up with some Malaysian Brazilian, Brazilian, kinky
	...

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