WEBVTT - Her Return is Worth the Waithe with Lena Waithe... (S3 E5 "No Ifs, Ands or Butts) 0:00:01.600 --> 0:00:04.840 Hi, I'm Kristin Davis, and I want to know are 0:00:04.880 --> 0:00:10.520 you a Charlotte. You guys, this is very, very, very exciting. 0:00:10.960 --> 0:00:14.640 We are having the very first return guest. I'm so 0:00:14.760 --> 0:00:19.479 thankful to Missalinate. It's brilliant. 0:00:20.040 --> 0:00:22.840 You back. I'm so honored and grateful to be back 0:00:22.880 --> 0:00:24.560 for my second time, my second appearance. 0:00:24.560 --> 0:00:26.440 You just count down the days so we can get 0:00:26.440 --> 0:00:26.759 you back. 0:00:26.960 --> 0:00:28.440 Let's go. It's my favorite season. 0:00:29.000 --> 0:00:30.640 Oh, it's my favorite season two. 0:00:30.720 --> 0:00:32.000 Season three is my favorite. 0:00:32.080 --> 0:00:34.920 Right, everything jelled. 0:00:34.640 --> 0:00:37.360 Everything jails. That's usually how it goes with the season 0:00:37.360 --> 0:00:42.320 three of shows. But I think for this, this particular series, 0:00:42.600 --> 0:00:44.920 I think something happens about season three, like even for 0:00:45.040 --> 0:00:47.800 me and I was watching it in real time at 0:00:47.880 --> 0:00:52.040 the time and just really experiencing what everybody else was experiencing. 0:00:52.120 --> 0:00:58.880 This this show that was very prolific but was very 0:00:58.960 --> 0:01:00.320 much a product of its time. 0:01:00.680 --> 0:01:04.840 Yes, yeah, yes, indeed, yeah, which you're going to discuss, guys, 0:01:04.880 --> 0:01:09.640 because this episode is called No ifs Ands or Butts. 0:01:09.760 --> 0:01:10.080 Yeah. 0:01:10.120 --> 0:01:13.479 It aired July fifth, in the year two thousand, twenty 0:01:13.520 --> 0:01:17.320 five years ago, so bonkers to me. Yeah, I mean 0:01:17.360 --> 0:01:19.440 it does seem like another lifetime ago. But on the 0:01:19.480 --> 0:01:22.400 other hand, like, would you literally think twenty five years? 0:01:22.400 --> 0:01:24.360 It's like it makes no sense. 0:01:24.200 --> 0:01:26.959 Right, I'm forty one, So I was like, you know, 0:01:27.240 --> 0:01:27.520 in my. 0:01:27.560 --> 0:01:30.240 Twenties, and where were you when you were in your twenties. 0:01:30.680 --> 0:01:35.759 I was still in Chicago, but you know, gearing up 0:01:35.800 --> 0:01:38.720 to come to La got it, but really with the 0:01:38.800 --> 0:01:43.640 desire and to be a television writer. And I've said 0:01:43.680 --> 0:01:45.639 this publicly before, but I think Sex and the City 0:01:46.360 --> 0:01:50.680 really made me want to take it very seriously. And 0:01:51.520 --> 0:01:56.400 I was very charmed and moved by the voiceover for sure, 0:01:57.840 --> 0:02:00.720 the character development, the friendships on the SHO show. I 0:02:00.720 --> 0:02:04.360 think it's why it's on Netflix and everywhere else. And 0:02:04.400 --> 0:02:06.280 we continue to go back, and you guys were able 0:02:06.320 --> 0:02:08.120 to keep going back for different bites at the Apple. 0:02:08.560 --> 0:02:12.320 No pun intended, but uh yeah, I think I was 0:02:12.320 --> 0:02:15.720 sort of really seeing a different kind of TV shows 0:02:15.720 --> 0:02:17.519 because I did grow up on multiicams, you know, whether 0:02:17.520 --> 0:02:21.400 it be Friends, Fresh Prince, you know, Cosby Show, a 0:02:21.400 --> 0:02:24.600 different world. And I think what was so special about 0:02:24.600 --> 0:02:26.280 this was like, oh no, this is like a mini 0:02:26.320 --> 0:02:29.919 movie every week. Yeah, and it is, but it's also 0:02:30.000 --> 0:02:34.360 like a novel. Yeah, And I'm just sort of so 0:02:34.680 --> 0:02:37.560 taken by these characters, and it really was I think 0:02:37.600 --> 0:02:40.760 my Generations, you know Mary Tyllenmore show, and how that 0:02:40.919 --> 0:02:45.520 was so significant for women in the seventies. This, I 0:02:45.520 --> 0:02:47.760 think the two thousands was sort of that was our 0:02:47.840 --> 0:02:48.919 new sort of awakening. 0:02:49.120 --> 0:02:52.280 Absolutely absolutely, and I think for us, like we were 0:02:52.320 --> 0:02:53.880 just in it, and like I was telling you that 0:02:53.919 --> 0:02:56.440 we had Kylon and I guess it won't have aired 0:02:56.440 --> 0:02:58.280 by the time everyone's listening to us, But it was 0:02:58.280 --> 0:03:01.080 super interesting to be reflecting back on it because we 0:03:01.120 --> 0:03:03.359 had never reflected together. We had never talked about it. 0:03:03.720 --> 0:03:05.440 Nothing crazy, you know, we were just. 0:03:05.440 --> 0:03:08.040 In it back then, and we didn't have social media, 0:03:08.080 --> 0:03:11.919 so we didn't have this immediate response in real time, 0:03:12.600 --> 0:03:16.600 which had we aired this particular episode where Samantha decides 0:03:16.919 --> 0:03:19.040 to date a black man for the first time ever, 0:03:19.080 --> 0:03:20.160 which is so bizarre. 0:03:20.360 --> 0:03:21.560 Okay, well the. 0:03:21.560 --> 0:03:25.320 First time she implies it greatly, okay, And I went 0:03:25.400 --> 0:03:27.919 and looked up a few things, like the actress who 0:03:27.960 --> 0:03:31.440 plays the sister who's so great. The actors are also great. 0:03:31.680 --> 0:03:33.880 Her name is Sandra Oakley. She's very good, and she 0:03:33.960 --> 0:03:37.240 was already friends with the guy Ossio high Smith, who 0:03:37.240 --> 0:03:40.480 plays the guy that Samantha dates Shabon. They were already friendly, 0:03:40.520 --> 0:03:42.960 which was so nice, nice, and they were very excited. 0:03:43.080 --> 0:03:45.240 And then she said later, like maybe even just a 0:03:45.280 --> 0:03:48.000 couple days later, she was like, oh, I wish it 0:03:48.040 --> 0:03:51.120 had been a different story. And I feel so bad 0:03:51.160 --> 0:03:53.280 that she felt that, like we just didn't do that. Well, 0:03:53.320 --> 0:03:54.440 I don't think Lena. 0:03:54.440 --> 0:03:58.000 Well, the actress, the actress playing his sister, wished it 0:03:58.000 --> 0:04:00.440 was a different story. I'm curious in terms of how meaning. 0:04:00.680 --> 0:04:03.760 I think basically it was for Vanity Fair. They did 0:04:03.800 --> 0:04:07.040 an article and Vanity Fair about it relatively recently. So 0:04:07.080 --> 0:04:08.920 she was reflecting back on how she was in her 0:04:08.960 --> 0:04:11.880 twenties and she was going to auditions and dancing and 0:04:11.880 --> 0:04:14.000 doing all different things, and it was a big part 0:04:14.040 --> 0:04:16.480 for her. She was excited to get it. She's excited 0:04:16.520 --> 0:04:17.839 to be on our set, and she said our set 0:04:17.880 --> 0:04:19.719 was a very positive experience. I was so happy to 0:04:19.720 --> 0:04:22.679 hear that always wonderful to hear. But then she said 0:04:23.040 --> 0:04:25.520 just the fact. I think the thing she was most 0:04:25.720 --> 0:04:29.240 lamenting was that she and Samantha fight, that it was 0:04:29.279 --> 0:04:32.440 an angry black woman type of a thing that wasn't 0:04:33.000 --> 0:04:35.760 And I think the problem with this episode and I 0:04:35.800 --> 0:04:37.919 can't wait to hear what you have to say. Is 0:04:37.960 --> 0:04:41.080 that for some reason, and I think I know what 0:04:41.560 --> 0:04:44.520 in my memory we were doing or what the idea was, 0:04:44.640 --> 0:04:46.800 we decided to try to tackle the fact that there 0:04:46.839 --> 0:04:49.159 were no people of color in the show, which is 0:04:49.200 --> 0:04:53.440 not how New York City is obviously, but this particular 0:04:53.520 --> 0:04:55.680 group of people, and we had discussed it. It had 0:04:55.720 --> 0:04:57.880 come up different people would bring it up in interview 0:04:57.920 --> 0:05:00.839 situations or whatever, and they would say, like, you do 0:05:00.839 --> 0:05:02.840 do you feel to us, the actors, do you feel 0:05:02.880 --> 0:05:05.359 this is reflective of New York? And we would always 0:05:05.400 --> 0:05:08.080 kind of stammer, you know, and we'd say like, ah, 0:05:08.120 --> 0:05:09.920 you know, we don't write it, and you know, we're 0:05:09.960 --> 0:05:15.360 playing this kind of really specific group of people based 0:05:15.360 --> 0:05:18.080 on real people, and this is what their lives is like, 0:05:18.120 --> 0:05:20.120 which I don't really know if that's true, right because 0:05:20.120 --> 0:05:22.400 I don't really know those people that we were kind 0:05:22.400 --> 0:05:22.800 of playing. 0:05:24.080 --> 0:05:30.559 I mean, to me, it feels very authentic. Actually yeah, yeah, 0:05:30.800 --> 0:05:35.839 okay for white women hang out with each. 0:05:35.720 --> 0:05:40.680 Other, for sure, But what about one removed? Right, like 0:05:40.960 --> 0:05:43.800 my question would be, and we do start, you know, 0:05:43.880 --> 0:05:46.520 soon Sonya Brog is coming on right like soon, it 0:05:46.600 --> 0:05:49.520 does start to loosen up a bit, thank god, But like, 0:05:50.600 --> 0:05:53.479 are you only hanging out? Do you only ever see 0:05:53.520 --> 0:05:56.240 white people? Like if you look back, because now I'm 0:05:56.279 --> 0:05:59.000 watching every episode right like it is kind of amazing, 0:05:59.040 --> 0:06:01.880 Like in restaurants or in bars, it's just white people. 0:06:03.160 --> 0:06:06.920 Well, I it's interesting because there is a level of 0:06:07.279 --> 0:06:10.160 people people don't understand is that there's a uh, there 0:06:10.200 --> 0:06:14.320 are companies that actually do like day player casting or 0:06:14.360 --> 0:06:18.919 extras casting. And so I think what is also happening 0:06:18.920 --> 0:06:21.640 because oftentimes you guys are be in real restaurants and 0:06:21.760 --> 0:06:23.960 sometimes you're I think the place you guys usually go 0:06:24.040 --> 0:06:28.680 is a fictitious place obvious. Yes, yes, it's obviously there 0:06:28.680 --> 0:06:31.839 for that reason. So I think this sort of is 0:06:31.880 --> 0:06:34.120 its own world. I mean, there's another thing about sex 0:06:34.160 --> 0:06:36.440 and the City too, which is very specific. It's something 0:06:36.440 --> 0:06:37.960 I actually really like is that we never meet the 0:06:38.000 --> 0:06:42.080 character's parents and that intentional. It was intentional, and so 0:06:42.800 --> 0:06:45.560 this is it is a fantasy of New York in 0:06:45.600 --> 0:06:48.039 a way. But also what is sort of grappling with 0:06:48.200 --> 0:06:51.400 are all these different topics. And I feel the same 0:06:51.440 --> 0:06:56.200 way about girls. I don't want a black or brown 0:06:56.400 --> 0:07:02.400 character put into the frame for Quota's sake, true, I 0:07:02.480 --> 0:07:05.560 just don't good point. I don't enjoy it. I don't 0:07:05.640 --> 0:07:11.680 like it because either you're doing that to pacify or 0:07:11.840 --> 0:07:16.280 you're doing it in a way where if there's going 0:07:16.360 --> 0:07:21.200 to be some sort of specificity about the character, it 0:07:21.960 --> 0:07:25.000 depends on who's in the writer's room as well. So 0:07:25.280 --> 0:07:27.760 I don't I don't know in terms of for the 0:07:27.920 --> 0:07:29.320 And I know a lot of the writers that were 0:07:29.520 --> 0:07:31.920 on Sex Andicity, you know, I've gotten a chance to 0:07:31.920 --> 0:07:34.120 meet many of them. And yeah, I think for the 0:07:34.160 --> 0:07:36.640 most part, the room was mostly like white women. 0:07:36.800 --> 0:07:39.720 It was all white women at this point except for Michael, right, Yeah, and. 0:07:39.640 --> 0:07:43.240 So that is a reflection of their experiences. And I 0:07:43.240 --> 0:07:47.160 think it would have felt a little false for them 0:07:47.160 --> 0:07:50.440 to say, well, let's let's put a black character in 0:07:50.480 --> 0:07:53.360 here because we think it's the right thing to do. 0:07:53.960 --> 0:07:58.120 I'd rather you do it because it feels organic and 0:07:58.160 --> 0:08:00.840 it feels honest. Well, then question about. 0:08:00.640 --> 0:08:03.040 This episode, because it do feel like at some point 0:08:03.240 --> 0:08:06.040 people pointed it out and we felt uncomfortable about it, 0:08:06.080 --> 0:08:08.720 I guess, right, or like is this their world or 0:08:09.320 --> 0:08:11.640 should it be there? What should we do? 0:08:11.640 --> 0:08:14.239 Do you know what I'm saying? A lot of I mean, look, 0:08:14.360 --> 0:08:16.400 I think there are a lot of people that hang 0:08:16.400 --> 0:08:19.280 out with people that look like them for sure. That's 0:08:19.320 --> 0:08:20.080 just sort of what it is. 0:08:20.160 --> 0:08:20.640 That's true. 0:08:20.720 --> 0:08:24.320 And especially when you look at our society now, people 0:08:24.360 --> 0:08:26.480 are in echo chambers. They only talk to people that 0:08:26.520 --> 0:08:27.120 they agree with. 0:08:27.360 --> 0:08:28.280 That's true. 0:08:28.720 --> 0:08:31.720 And so I think what Sex and the City represents 0:08:31.880 --> 0:08:38.040 are four women that, in my opinion, happened to be white. 0:08:38.679 --> 0:08:41.800 And what's interesting to me about it being Samantha who's 0:08:41.880 --> 0:08:44.800 dating a black guy. And I can't speak for all 0:08:44.960 --> 0:08:48.280 black women. I can speak for myself and that I 0:08:48.360 --> 0:08:50.960 look at Samantha as someone who is a woman of 0:08:51.000 --> 0:08:56.000 the world and who is very free and very open minded, 0:08:56.280 --> 0:08:59.839 and so her dating a black guy doesn't feel out 0:08:59.880 --> 0:09:02.319 of the ordinary. In my opinion, I agree. 0:09:02.320 --> 0:09:04.200 That's why it's weird that it seems like she never 0:09:04.360 --> 0:09:07.640 has based on our reaction, I think. 0:09:09.320 --> 0:09:14.000 Yeah, you guys are like, huh yeah. And it's interesting 0:09:14.000 --> 0:09:19.840 because he's also a man of means influence. He's very handsome, 0:09:20.440 --> 0:09:24.240 and that to me, they're very equally yoked. 0:09:24.640 --> 0:09:27.079 I thought they were fantastic. 0:09:26.480 --> 0:09:31.440 And I think the character, you know, his sister, well, 0:09:31.440 --> 0:09:34.240 I thought the actress plays her is really great. In 0:09:34.280 --> 0:09:38.480 the episode, I get the sort of cringy element of 0:09:38.520 --> 0:09:43.079 them fighting, but you know, look, Samantha says something pretty 0:09:43.120 --> 0:09:45.040 tough to her, so I'm kind of not mad at her. 0:09:45.200 --> 0:09:50.079 Like having a knee jerk reaction. People like we've witnessed 0:09:50.200 --> 0:09:53.240 someone have a knee jerk reaction at a very popular 0:09:53.280 --> 0:09:56.600 award show because of something that kind of startled them. 0:09:57.200 --> 0:10:00.160 So we have these moments where you kind of, you know, 0:10:00.240 --> 0:10:02.480 for lack of a better term, blackout, you know, and 0:10:02.520 --> 0:10:04.760 you kind of do something that you kind of regret. 0:10:05.360 --> 0:10:07.000 So I don't look at it as she was an 0:10:07.000 --> 0:10:09.319 angry black woman. I looked at it as a woman 0:10:09.360 --> 0:10:17.440 who was feeling very attacked and Samantha touched her first. Yeah, 0:10:17.480 --> 0:10:21.480 maybe it wasn't a violence thing, but look, if you 0:10:21.520 --> 0:10:23.559 put your hands, even if it's a finger. 0:10:23.520 --> 0:10:27.000 On meet, I agree, you. 0:10:25.440 --> 0:10:28.839 Know, you know. But here's the thing. I think there 0:10:28.880 --> 0:10:33.760 is an authenticity to what's happening, and that not every 0:10:33.800 --> 0:10:36.000 black woman who has a black brother would have a 0:10:36.040 --> 0:10:38.600 problem with him dating a white woman. But I think 0:10:38.640 --> 0:10:41.480 if you there are probably some black women who would say, 0:10:41.640 --> 0:10:44.920 would I prefer him not be with a white woman? Yes, 0:10:45.080 --> 0:10:47.959 of course, But I think where I sit and again, 0:10:48.000 --> 0:10:51.440 this is Lena Waite's opinion. I think love is so 0:10:51.640 --> 0:10:56.000 hard to figure out and come by. I don't care 0:10:56.440 --> 0:11:03.000 what race, nationality, religion a person is. If they accept 0:11:03.040 --> 0:11:05.240 you for who you are, you accept them for who 0:11:05.240 --> 0:11:07.360 they are, and you both are willing to invest in 0:11:07.360 --> 0:11:10.280 your own spiritual growth and each other's. I'm all for it. 0:11:10.440 --> 0:11:15.320 I agree now that that is you know, that's my opinion, 0:11:15.640 --> 0:11:19.400 but I also have to respect if someone says because 0:11:19.600 --> 0:11:21.480 it's it's a thing we took on on the shot 0:11:21.600 --> 0:11:24.720 we tackled. We're like that was a Season seven, you know, 0:11:24.760 --> 0:11:26.640 where a black man was dating a white woman, and 0:11:26.679 --> 0:11:29.040 it is literally a conversation where Felicia Rashad is at 0:11:29.080 --> 0:11:31.439 the table and saying, this goes all the way back 0:11:31.440 --> 0:11:35.320 to Emmitt till there's a history that is steeped in it. 0:11:35.920 --> 0:11:39.400 And the thing about our past is that it still 0:11:39.559 --> 0:11:42.800 haunts us. And that's why, you know, there's a reason 0:11:42.800 --> 0:11:46.360 why there's a million O. J. Simpson documentaries, you know, 0:11:46.920 --> 0:11:52.400 and and the retelling of it, yes, re examining, re examiner, 0:11:53.120 --> 0:11:55.600 you know what I'm saying. And so it is a 0:11:55.720 --> 0:11:58.840 conversation that will continue. 0:11:58.960 --> 0:12:00.360 Absolutely well, it's so worked out. 0:12:01.400 --> 0:12:03.560 No one, Yes, we have not figured it out. This 0:12:03.640 --> 0:12:06.560 is not a wound that is healed. No. So when 0:12:06.559 --> 0:12:09.360 you look at this episode, it is it is a 0:12:09.440 --> 0:12:14.400 valid one, Okay, And I think it's it's it's it's fair, 0:12:14.679 --> 0:12:19.160 it's fair game. And so this is something that that 0:12:19.320 --> 0:12:21.800 comes up in a racial dating is a thing. I 0:12:21.840 --> 0:12:24.400 have many friends who are the products of inter racial love. 0:12:24.720 --> 0:12:26.280 Absolutely, absolutely, we. 0:12:26.280 --> 0:12:30.440 All do you know, and so yes, look if people want. 0:12:30.320 --> 0:12:32.400 To be upset, but how do we handle it? 0:12:32.440 --> 0:12:35.559 Though? That's my did you handle how did this show handled? Yeah? 0:12:35.600 --> 0:12:37.760 Like I didn't feel like like when I I kind 0:12:37.760 --> 0:12:40.040 of vaguely remember it, and then of course I rewatched 0:12:40.040 --> 0:12:42.480 it and I was like, oh, like, I think also 0:12:42.520 --> 0:12:44.960 because we're trying to do for storylines, as you know, 0:12:45.000 --> 0:12:47.040 we've talked about the structure, you know, the structure is 0:12:47.080 --> 0:12:49.839 always a challenge. And the big the sorry, the big 0:12:50.240 --> 0:12:54.720 big storyline exactly is Aiden and Aiden's new It's very exciting. 0:12:54.760 --> 0:12:57.520 He wants her not to smoke. This is so fascinating 0:12:57.520 --> 0:13:00.000 when you think about their long, long history, right, yeah, 0:13:00.120 --> 0:13:02.480 already wants her not to be doing something she's doing right, 0:13:02.679 --> 0:13:06.280 whether Smokey's good or not. Easton pointed out, he already 0:13:06.320 --> 0:13:10.520 is trying to control her, which is interesting. We either yes, 0:13:10.800 --> 0:13:13.680 both both, let's say listen, but it's interesting, right, So 0:13:13.720 --> 0:13:16.679 that's the main storyline, and so Samantha's is this well, 0:13:16.679 --> 0:13:18.160 I don't even know, and then there's yes, it would 0:13:18.160 --> 0:13:22.040 probably be yeah, And I think I'm the bad kischer 0:13:22.040 --> 0:13:24.920 who's also very bizarre. Weble talking about that, very different 0:13:24.920 --> 0:13:27.320 on the page than what Nicole Hallafson or the director 0:13:27.360 --> 0:13:30.319 had happened, Like the dialogue doesn't match. But that's okay. 0:13:30.600 --> 0:13:33.280 If it were on now, people would be online talking about, 0:13:33.480 --> 0:13:36.080 you know, he didn't do what she said, you know, 0:13:36.200 --> 0:13:37.960 because he's licking my face. But then I have a big, 0:13:38.240 --> 0:13:42.360 big wound on my chin and attacked, but he's just 0:13:42.400 --> 0:13:43.040 licking it. 0:13:42.960 --> 0:13:46.679 Like he was. Okay. 0:13:46.760 --> 0:13:48.440 I mean I know what it was like how I 0:13:48.559 --> 0:13:50.280 remember it feeling or whatever, and it was just like 0:13:50.320 --> 0:13:51.960 a lot. It was wet. It was very wet. There's 0:13:51.960 --> 0:13:54.319 so much wet it's bad. But it wasn't like I 0:13:54.360 --> 0:13:56.680 would have a wound, right, And I'll get to that 0:13:56.720 --> 0:13:58.679 in a second. I know why Michael Patrick did that, 0:13:58.679 --> 0:14:00.840 because he's so bad and some to put things in 0:14:00.840 --> 0:14:04.959 from life but we'll get to this. I think when 0:14:05.000 --> 0:14:07.000 I look back on it, one of the things that 0:14:07.080 --> 0:14:12.000 I think is glaring, Like Samantha says to us at lunch, 0:14:12.360 --> 0:14:16.720 I don't see color. I see conquest, which is like 0:14:16.960 --> 0:14:19.640 a very Samantha's statement, but also like that's a problem 0:14:19.680 --> 0:14:21.320 if you don't see color, because you do see color 0:14:21.320 --> 0:14:23.720 because everything else, you say, she talks about his big 0:14:23.760 --> 0:14:25.800 black cock. You know, she talked, you know, we talked 0:14:25.800 --> 0:14:28.560 about him wearing jewelry, but like Aiden's wearing more jewelry 0:14:29.040 --> 0:14:31.840 than chivone. Do you know what I mean? Is it interesting? 0:14:32.560 --> 0:14:34.160 Well, I mean, is there just because you asked the question, 0:14:34.200 --> 0:14:36.880 how did you guys handle it? Yeah? And I think 0:14:36.960 --> 0:14:41.280 that's a very it's sort of an interesting question because 0:14:42.240 --> 0:14:45.800 it's like it really depends on what you mean by handle. 0:14:46.560 --> 0:14:49.920 And I think with you know, television series, because somebody 0:14:49.960 --> 0:14:52.120 could ask us, like, how do we think we handled 0:14:52.200 --> 0:14:55.600 my characters coming out on a Master of None. Yeah, 0:14:56.080 --> 0:14:59.480 we did not necessarily handle it. What we did was 0:14:59.560 --> 0:15:01.720 we are broached it in a way that made sense 0:15:01.760 --> 0:15:05.680 for us as artists at that time. And so I 0:15:05.720 --> 0:15:08.600 think we kind of get caught up in these ideas 0:15:08.680 --> 0:15:11.560 of what is the right way to handle something? Okay, 0:15:11.680 --> 0:15:14.080 what is the wrong way to handle something? And I 0:15:14.200 --> 0:15:16.800 just don't believe in either of those things. 0:15:16.880 --> 0:15:30.440 Okay, But let me ask you this, So when if 0:15:30.440 --> 0:15:32.600 you bring up your own storyline, like you lived that 0:15:32.680 --> 0:15:36.120 storyline and you were there writing and acting, right, so 0:15:36.160 --> 0:15:41.520 you had your own authority about the experience. And I 0:15:41.520 --> 0:15:46.240 think that's you know, gold, you know what I'm saying. 0:15:46.320 --> 0:15:51.840 And obviously it was and the worthy of it. But 0:15:52.040 --> 0:15:53.960 in our case, what I kind of mean and I 0:15:54.040 --> 0:15:57.160 maybe didn't say it well. I wish if we were 0:15:57.200 --> 0:16:02.560 going to do this that they had gone more in depth. 0:16:02.640 --> 0:16:05.200 Possibly what the actress who played the sister were saying 0:16:05.400 --> 0:16:07.800 was that when they are in the bar, in the 0:16:07.800 --> 0:16:10.840 scene where they get in the fight, that Samantha says 0:16:10.880 --> 0:16:12.800 something to her like why can't you just you know, 0:16:12.880 --> 0:16:14.760 get to know me or let me whatever, let me 0:16:15.880 --> 0:16:17.640 go down the road and see what you think or something, 0:16:17.680 --> 0:16:19.800 and she said, it's a black thing. The sister says, 0:16:19.840 --> 0:16:21.960 it's a black thing, and she was saying something like 0:16:22.000 --> 0:16:26.480 she thought that was like simple and pat, I guess, 0:16:26.560 --> 0:16:32.400 you know, rather than possibly exploring it more, The. 0:16:32.360 --> 0:16:34.920 Truth is, you only have so much real estate on 0:16:34.960 --> 0:16:38.040 the page. And also I think first of all, like 0:16:38.120 --> 0:16:41.000 it's a black thing is was something that was a 0:16:41.040 --> 0:16:43.960 bit of a popular saying for a short beat amongst 0:16:44.280 --> 0:16:47.800 within the black community. And like I remember when I 0:16:47.840 --> 0:16:50.320 was young, I would hear like people say it within 0:16:50.360 --> 0:16:52.520 the black folks to say it, but the way it 0:16:52.600 --> 0:16:55.800 was kind of as a short cut as saying it'll 0:16:55.960 --> 0:16:58.600 I can never make you understand, got it? You know, 0:16:58.720 --> 0:17:01.720 like you will never understand that. Okay, Okay, that's interesting 0:17:02.080 --> 0:17:06.400 And I think you know you don't because also they're 0:17:06.400 --> 0:17:08.040 in the middle of this club, you don't. She doesn't 0:17:08.040 --> 0:17:11.040 want to go down into the history of our you know, nation, 0:17:11.800 --> 0:17:14.280 But she really is sort of telling Samantha like, you 0:17:14.359 --> 0:17:17.680 don't you'll never get in, you know. And and in essence, 0:17:17.880 --> 0:17:20.600 because what I know as a television writer, both characters 0:17:20.680 --> 0:17:25.359 have to be right, and in essence they are because 0:17:25.359 --> 0:17:29.479 Samantha is saying, well, okay, yeah, I'm not black, but like, 0:17:29.520 --> 0:17:31.480 you don't know me. You haven't gotten a chance to 0:17:31.480 --> 0:17:35.240 spend time. And the interesting thing is, as a person 0:17:35.240 --> 0:17:38.760 who really likes the Samantha character, I wouldn't mind hanging 0:17:38.760 --> 0:17:41.159 out with her and getting to know her and vibing 0:17:41.160 --> 0:17:43.480 with her. She's the fun friend. She's the one that's 0:17:43.520 --> 0:17:45.560 not gonna judge you. You're gonna go, You're gonna get 0:17:45.600 --> 0:17:48.959 into some exclusive place. You know, She's a vibe and 0:17:49.040 --> 0:17:52.280 so what what breaks my heart the most about the 0:17:52.440 --> 0:17:56.240 episode is that we don't get to explore Samantha dating 0:17:56.320 --> 0:17:57.080 this black guy. 0:17:57.160 --> 0:17:59.919 I agree also because they are so good together. 0:18:00.880 --> 0:18:02.879 That's what always breks. But that's it's always broken my 0:18:02.920 --> 0:18:05.679 heart about the episode. Interest is not about how it 0:18:05.720 --> 0:18:08.399 was that's a handle per se, but rather like, it 0:18:08.440 --> 0:18:11.439 would have been cool if we could have that actress, 0:18:11.440 --> 0:18:13.480 could have had maybe a three episode art because that's 0:18:13.640 --> 0:18:16.760 how long the relationships last of the city. But and 0:18:16.760 --> 0:18:18.920 then had them break up over something that had nothing 0:18:18.960 --> 0:18:19.640 to do with race. 0:18:19.880 --> 0:18:20.920 That would have been so good. 0:18:21.200 --> 0:18:24.160 But now, look, I think for whatever reason, they didn't 0:18:24.160 --> 0:18:25.760 want to go down their road. And that's fair because 0:18:25.800 --> 0:18:27.919 there wasn't a black writer in the writer's room and 0:18:27.960 --> 0:18:30.720 it does get tricky where if you have black actors 0:18:30.760 --> 0:18:36.560 speaking and there's no black person around, then my for me, 0:18:36.800 --> 0:18:41.080 I'd rather like then don't even deal with race at all, Like, 0:18:41.119 --> 0:18:42.520 don't let that be a part of it. If you 0:18:42.600 --> 0:18:44.320 guys are too scared to like kind of go down 0:18:44.400 --> 0:18:47.800 that road, just let it be, you know whatever, you know. 0:18:47.920 --> 0:18:51.080 And but but because I think they didn't want to 0:18:51.119 --> 0:18:54.879 ignore the glaring fact that this is a black woman, 0:18:55.000 --> 0:18:57.639 that she's got this restaurant, she's talking about Okra and whatnot. 0:18:57.960 --> 0:19:00.520 You got the brother, he's got the Jennifer Lopez party. 0:19:00.920 --> 0:19:05.000 So they're very much sort of culturally you know, intelligent, 0:19:05.040 --> 0:19:07.080 and they know what's going on. They're not unaware of 0:19:07.119 --> 0:19:11.000 who they are, where they come from. I just think 0:19:11.000 --> 0:19:14.199 it's important. I like the episode. I think, yeah, of 0:19:14.200 --> 0:19:15.920 course it maybe you could go back and tweak or 0:19:15.920 --> 0:19:19.920 adjust things, but I just feel like it's a time capsule. 0:19:20.560 --> 0:19:23.119 All entertainment as a time capsule. I don't want to 0:19:23.160 --> 0:19:25.480 go back and say, well, let's fix this for our comfort. 0:19:25.720 --> 0:19:27.720 No, of course, and I mean we can't. So it 0:19:27.720 --> 0:19:29.000 doesn't even matter if we want to. 0:19:29.119 --> 0:19:31.560 And it's reflective. It's reflected. You get to go back 0:19:31.600 --> 0:19:34.159 and reflect and say yeah, okay, because I'm telling you 0:19:34.240 --> 0:19:37.159 it could have been a lot worse. It could have 0:19:37.160 --> 0:19:39.400 been a situation where you look at it and go, okay, 0:19:39.440 --> 0:19:41.199 well we got to talk about this and we talk 0:19:41.240 --> 0:19:45.960 about that. I really do you want to see women fighting, like, no, 0:19:46.160 --> 0:19:53.080 but most reality shows that most people watch involve grown women, 0:19:53.880 --> 0:20:01.160 professional women, well dressed women. Yeah, physically fighting each other. 0:20:01.280 --> 0:20:04.280 It's just so weird, throwing tables, throwing like, you know, 0:20:04.840 --> 0:20:10.160 like drinks, and so that I can't be offended by 0:20:10.280 --> 0:20:14.439 that episode and acts as if that women kind of 0:20:14.480 --> 0:20:16.959 going back and forth at each other isn't something that 0:20:17.080 --> 0:20:21.480 is pushed by some powers that be that are not us. 0:20:21.640 --> 0:20:23.160 That's a good point. That's a good point. I hadn't 0:20:23.160 --> 0:20:24.840 thought about it in that way. I did think about 0:20:24.880 --> 0:20:26.760 the year two thousand a little bit, and that was 0:20:26.840 --> 0:20:30.639 like the Survivor had started was really vague. You know, 0:20:30.720 --> 0:20:33.280 Friends is obviously big er is you know, it's pretty 0:20:33.359 --> 0:20:36.640 much white network television. Sure, and then we're over there 0:20:36.640 --> 0:20:38.280 on HBO. But I think that is one of the 0:20:38.280 --> 0:20:40.640 frustrations that people would express to us at the time 0:20:40.840 --> 0:20:42.119 was you guys are on HBO and you can do 0:20:42.119 --> 0:20:46.720 whatever you want, So why is it so you know white? Basically, 0:20:47.000 --> 0:20:47.720 people would say. 0:20:47.800 --> 0:20:51.480 But here's the deal. Our entertainment, our media is a 0:20:51.520 --> 0:20:53.720