Black Women Showrunners Making Their Mark on Television

There used to be a time when a television show like Living Single — the 1990s classic sitcom about the friendship between four African American women — would come along once a decade. Now, with the entertainment industry becoming more open to the power of diversity, more Black women than ever before are becoming showrunners to control the narrative of how Black women are seen on TV. Showrunners (who also hold the title of executive producer) make their shows’ hiring decisions, they are often the head writers of their shows, and they are sometimes the directors.

In the 1980s, Oprah Winfrey broke barriers in daytime television and beyond, while Debbie Allen became a showrunner for A Different World. In the 1990s, Living Single creator Yvette Lee Bowser made strides for Black women showrunners in American primetime television. In the 21st century, versatile Black women who are primetime TV showrunners and creators with scripted TV series — such as Shonda Rhimes, Ava DuVernay, Issa Rae, Lena Waithe, and Michaela Coel — have become celebrities in addition to having award-winning hits. And now, other Black women showrunners have been making their mark with scripted primetime TV series that not only focus on talented Black women in front of the camera but also give valuable opportunities to talented Black women for behind-the-scenes jobs.

These breakthrough showrunners of the past few years include Quinta Brunson of ABC’s comedy series Abbott Elementary; Katori Hall of Starz’s drama series P-Valley; Sam Jay of HBO’s comedic variety series Pause With Sam Jay, who leads the show with former Insecure showrunner Prentice Penny; Tracy Oliver of BET+’s comedy series First Wives Club and Prime Video’s comedy series Harlem; Amber Ruffin of Peacock’s comedic variety series The Amber Ruffin Show; and Robin Thede of HBO’s comedic variety series A Black Lady Sketch Show. Other breakthrough showrunners who’ve had their primetime TV series renewed for a second or third season include Nichelle Tramble Spellman of Apple TV+’s drama series Truth Be Told, Dee Harris-Lawrence of OWN’s drama series David Makes Man, and Raynelle Swilling and Teri Schaffer of OWN’s drama series Cherish the Day. And although HBO’s horror drama Lovecraft Country lasted for just one season, the show won two Primetime Emmys out of an impressive 18 Primetime Emmy nominations in 2021, including nods for Outstanding Drama Series and Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series for showrunner Misha Green.

Even with an increasing number of Black women becoming first-time showrunners, Black women who are longtime TV showrunners are making breakthroughs in other ways. In 2021, Meg DeLoatch (formerly of Netflix’s Family Reunion) replaced Jim Reynolds as showrunner of the CBS sitcom The Neighborhood (which premiered in 2018), thereby becoming the first Black woman comedy series showrunner in CBS history. Living Single creator Bowser headed up the first season of Starz’s comedy series Run the World, but has passed the showrunner torch to Rachelle Williams to lead Run the World’s second season.

Janine Sherman Barrois (former showrunner of the TNT comedy series Clawsand current showrunner of OWN’s drama series The Kings of Napa) has launched Folding Chair Productions at Warner Bros. Television Group. Ariana Jackson (with Sunil Nayar) is the co-showrunner of The CW’s 4400 reboot drama series that has a more racially diverse cast than the original 4400series. Meanwhile, Courtney Kemp has parlayed her showrunner success for Starz’s now-canceled drama series Powerinto several spinoff series, including Power Book II: Ghost, Power Book III: Raising Kanan, and Power Book IV: Force.

According to Nielsen’s Diverse Intelligence Series 2021 report Seeing and Believing: Meeting Black Audience Demand for Representation That Matters: “Black America is taking control of both the economic and media influence they wield and using it to invest in Black experiences, Black communities, and Black content.” The report adds, “Black women are twice as likely, compared to viewers overall, to seek out content where they’re seen on screen.” In addition, Black people’s buying power in 2020 totaled $1.75 trillion worldwide, according to the report.

When asked about Black women being represented on TV and behind the camera, A Black Lady Sketch Show chief Thede comments: “A lot of people feel like they have to fit into a system. But when the people who run the show look like you, what you bring to the table is valued, because that’s what the show’s about.” Thede adds that although anyone can enjoy A Black Lady Sketch Show’s comedy, it’s especially important to her that Black women can relate to the show and find it authentic.

P-Valley showrunner Hall also believes that authenticity is crucial when Black women are in charge of shows about Black women. Hall says that P-Valley — a TV adaptation of Hall’s play Pussy Valley — was rejected everywhere it was pitched, except for Starz, because the show is about Black women who are exotic dancers. Not only did Starz wholeheartedly support the show, Hall says there was no hesitation to make her the showrunner, even though she had no previous experience working as a producer/writer in television.

“They said, ‘This is your vision,’” Hall remembers. “They gave me the power, and I must say I took it with a sense of, ‘I am responsible for this world,’ but I think I was led by wanting this to be the most authentic portrayal of this world and these women as I can possibly make it. That was kind of like my guiding light and my ruling principle. … Starz was the only place that saw the potential of this show and understood that it was truly about lifting a veil and being authentic to a group of women who are worthy of their story being told.”

A shared characteristic that many Black women showrunners have is their commitment to diversity in their casts and crews that is not often seen with most other TV shows. Talented and qualified women are given opportunities for A Black Lady Sketch Show and P-Valley that are rare on other TV series. For example, all the directors for A Black Lady Sketch Show and P-Valley are women.

A Black Lady Sketch Show made TV history by winning the 2021 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Picture Editing for Variety Programming — a category that’s been dominated by white male nominees ever since the category was created in 1976. A Black Lady Sketch Show supervising editor Daysha Broadway, editor Stephanie Filo, and editor Jessica Hernández became the first women of color to win the prize. And it happened for A Black Lady Sketch Show’s first time nominated in this category.

Thede says recognition at the Primetime Emmys and other award shows is proof of what can happen when talented creators are allowed to do what they do best without too much interference from TV executives. She comments on HBO’s support, which included A Black Lady Sketch Show getting a straight-to-series order, instead of going the usual route of making a pilot episode as a test: “They just trusted the vision. … I think we’re bearing the fruit of that trust.”

And as someone who’s in a position to hire people, Thede says she’s very mindful of not putting up racist, sexist, and other bigoted barriers that exist at other shows: “I think there’s a misleading belief that if you hire a Black woman or a Black person, you’ll have to train them up and that they’re not experienced. I think that’s pervasive in the industry. And I don’t subscribe to that.”

At the same time, Thede and Hall both say that they will hire people who are relatively inexperienced if they are talented, willing to learn, and a good fit for the show. Hall comments on why it’s still difficult for Black women to get their first chance at becoming a TV showrunner: “I understand why. There are millions of dollars at stake, but white men get to fail all the time.”

Hall adds, “My particular lived experience of oftentimes being the only one of my kind in places, that probably has a lot to do with the fact that I’m very willing to take a chance on people, no matter who they are.” Hall says her way of choosing a team member comes down to one question: “Are you right for the show?”

As for how the COVID-19 pandemic has changed a showrunner’s perspective, Hall comments: “The stakes are higher because lives are at stake. … It makes me even more protective of [my co-workers], because they’re not just people I’m working with. They’re my family.”

Hall reveals the most important thing she’s learned as a showrunner: “You have to act as if you’re part of the crew. If there’s a Saturday, and everyone’s staying until 5 a.m. to get to the last shot, you’ve got to stay there with them, as the captain of the ship. You can’t abandon the people who are making the ship stay afloat.”

Thede has similar thoughts: “I’ve learned that because the bulk of the show has been made in the pandemic, empathy is the most important thing you can tap into as a showrunner. Because at the end of the day, what translates on screen is directly informed by the environment you create behind the scenes. … I’m first one in, last one out. And if you cannot tap into true empathy, it’s really hard to lead a team, especially since they’re going through a difficult time.”

The increasing number of Black women becoming showrunners could be attributed to a number of factors. According to Thede, one of those factors is “the Shonda [Rhimes] effect. I think we are all living in it.” Thede also has this observation about the TV industry for Black women showrunners in the 21st century, compared to the previous century: “The difference is now we are, by and large, working closely with the studios and running multiple projects.”

Thede has signed a deal with Amazon Studios to write and produce a zombie comedy film called Killing It, whose release date is to be announced. She adds, “We have learned that we have to expand beyond the greenlight of one show. We have to create these mini-empires where we have the ears of studio executives. And now, we actually have Black women studio executives.”

Some of these executives include Kathryn Busby, who became Starz president of original programming in 2021. Channing Dungey was named chair/CEO of Warner Bros. Television Studios in 2020. That same year, Pearlena Igbokwe became chair of Universal Studio Group, and Vanessa Morrison was appointed president of streaming at Walt Disney Studios. In addition, BET Studios launched in 2021, with Aisha Summers-Burke as president.

“There are so many great Black women who are working in the executive space,” Thede says. “At HBO, we have Natasha Foster-Owens, who’s [senior vice president] of production, who’s invaluable to our team. She’s so great! Without that support, we can’t continue to do what we do, no matter how much we try. When you’re under the thumb of a white man giving you notes on A Black Lady Sketch Show — which does not happen, by the way, because there isn’t [a white man] on our [show’s] executive team at the network — that would be much harder. We have only women, including women of color, who give us notes, such as [executive producer] Issa Rae.”

Thede continues, “We are working with people who are aligned with the creative vision, and just get out of your way, and let you do your thing. That’s important. I think that’s maybe what Black women showrunners of different generations didn’t have. And I hope that continues, because we need to be trusted to tell our stories authentically. It’s up to us, as Black women, to be excellent in what we’re doing if we’re going to pursue this at the highest levels. But it’s up to people who have the greenlighting power to trust our vision and our authenticity.”