WEBVTT - P-Valley w/ Katori Hall 0:00:03.520 --> 0:00:07.320 What's up, everybody. I'm Gammy and this is positively gam 0:00:07.520 --> 0:00:11.000 I'm so excited for today's guests because we're talking about 0:00:11.039 --> 0:00:14.600 the hit television show on Stars P Valley. I mean, 0:00:14.840 --> 0:00:17.840 I love that show like it was so innovative. I 0:00:17.920 --> 0:00:22.400 was like, what is happening? Oh my god? We love Yeah. 0:00:22.440 --> 0:00:26.320 The series is an adaptation of Katri halls play Pussy 0:00:26.400 --> 0:00:29.840 Valley and follow several people who work at a strip 0:00:29.880 --> 0:00:34.040 club in the Mississippi Delta. The critically acclaimed and record 0:00:34.080 --> 0:00:38.360 breaking series returned for its second season on June the three, 0:00:38.440 --> 0:00:41.639 So if you haven't already, you gotta get to it. 0:00:42.000 --> 0:00:45.560 Joining me today is my guest Katri Hall. She is 0:00:45.600 --> 0:00:51.440 a Pulitzer Prize, Olivier Award winning and Tony nominated playwright 0:00:51.600 --> 0:00:55.240 from Memphis, Tennessee. The play that I love so much 0:00:55.280 --> 0:00:59.760 that you wrote was Mountain Top, which was the fictionalized 0:01:00.080 --> 0:01:04.200 version of the Last Night of Martin Luther King's Life. 0:01:04.520 --> 0:01:08.679 I love that play. I didn't even know you had seen. Oh, 0:01:08.840 --> 0:01:12.679 of course, absolutely absolutely. I saw it in Baltimore. She 0:01:12.920 --> 0:01:16.320 is the showrunner and executive producer of the hit Stars 0:01:16.400 --> 0:01:21.440 drama series P Valley. So welcome, Kuturi to positively gam 0:01:21.480 --> 0:01:23.839 I'm so happy to be here. And like I said, 0:01:23.920 --> 0:01:26.600 I'm such a such a fan, but we are a 0:01:26.640 --> 0:01:30.000 fan of yours and definitely a fan of P Valley. 0:01:30.200 --> 0:01:33.800 So tell me what made you decide to write a 0:01:33.840 --> 0:01:38.080 play number one about strippers and then to then turn 0:01:38.160 --> 0:01:42.160 it into a television series like what Sparred that? So 0:01:42.319 --> 0:01:44.760 you know, I'm just a home girl from the South 0:01:45.160 --> 0:01:48.480 and I grew up going to trip last Okay, so 0:01:48.680 --> 0:01:53.320 I knew that it was this strong, vibrant culture. I think, 0:01:53.720 --> 0:01:55.920 you know, when most people think about a shrip club, 0:01:56.040 --> 0:01:59.440 they think, you know, it's a full of sad, struggling women. 0:01:59.640 --> 0:02:01.800 And and I would go to strip clubs, I would 0:02:01.800 --> 0:02:06.920 see athletes, I would see like do so latesque performers 0:02:06.920 --> 0:02:10.040 whipping around the pole and so fast forward. I was 0:02:10.080 --> 0:02:13.120 living in New York and I started taking pole dancing 0:02:13.120 --> 0:02:19.280 classes myself, and yeah, that's right, that's right. Yeah took 0:02:19.360 --> 0:02:23.079 pole dancing classes. Like. I didn't do it for very long, though, 0:02:23.120 --> 0:02:25.320 I have to say that I did not keep up 0:02:25.360 --> 0:02:28.040 with it. I only took it. I only took three classes. 0:02:28.200 --> 0:02:31.480 But it was very liberating. It really was absolutely and 0:02:31.480 --> 0:02:34.520 what you said right there liberating, and when I took 0:02:34.560 --> 0:02:39.920 those classes, I felt so sexually empowered. I felt limba, 0:02:40.440 --> 0:02:43.560 you know, I was just like such a beautiful art form, 0:02:44.040 --> 0:02:48.320 and so I really wanted to delve into the lives 0:02:48.440 --> 0:02:51.000 of the women who created this art form. And I 0:02:51.080 --> 0:02:54.280 knew that obviously, you know, it comes out of you know, 0:02:54.560 --> 0:02:58.600 the exotic dancing and the South, and so I just 0:02:58.720 --> 0:03:02.240 really wanted to do this fusion of my love for 0:03:02.400 --> 0:03:05.359 the South, my love for dancing, and my love for 0:03:05.520 --> 0:03:08.320 just you know, women who are about their hustle. So 0:03:08.560 --> 0:03:12.200 I ended up researching it for six years. I visited 0:03:12.280 --> 0:03:16.040 over forty clubs, interviewed over forty dancers. I remember I 0:03:16.080 --> 0:03:20.000 celebrated my thirtieth birthday in the locker room of Sin 0:03:20.160 --> 0:03:24.760 City in New York City. I was just really in 0:03:24.919 --> 0:03:27.680 love with the strength of the women and how resilient 0:03:27.800 --> 0:03:30.680 they were, even though, as we all know, the choice 0:03:30.720 --> 0:03:33.200 is hard. It can be hard when it comes to 0:03:33.360 --> 0:03:35.640 deciding to be a part of that life. And so 0:03:35.840 --> 0:03:39.440 you know, Pussy Valley just ended up being this excavation 0:03:39.840 --> 0:03:44.000 of the hardships, the struggles, but also the dreams, Like 0:03:44.040 --> 0:03:47.880 these women are dreamers, their hustlers, and so I was 0:03:47.920 --> 0:03:51.360 just so grateful that I was able to research for 0:03:51.360 --> 0:03:54.160 so long so I can get all these details. And 0:03:54.200 --> 0:03:56.200 so I ended up doing this play, which ended up 0:03:56.240 --> 0:04:00.080 being produced at Mixed Blood Theater in Minneapolis. And and 0:04:00.120 --> 0:04:02.360 when I saw the play, I was like, oh, Ship, 0:04:03.080 --> 0:04:05.240 this is the wrong medium. This is supposed to be 0:04:05.320 --> 0:04:08.119 a TV show. Ah, So you saw that as soon 0:04:08.160 --> 0:04:10.800 as you saw the thought as soon as I saw 0:04:10.880 --> 0:04:13.680 the plays, like, there's so much going on, and I 0:04:13.760 --> 0:04:18.360 wanted people to have Uncle Clifford and Mercedes and Miss 0:04:18.400 --> 0:04:21.360 Mississippi in their living rooms, not just in the theater. 0:04:21.560 --> 0:04:23.440 I didn't want people to have to travel to a 0:04:23.520 --> 0:04:26.159 space to be in the same room with them. I 0:04:26.200 --> 0:04:29.240 wanted to bring those characters inside of people's houses. And 0:04:29.279 --> 0:04:31.640 so that's why I decided to flip it into a 0:04:31.720 --> 0:04:34.839 TV show, because TV is just such an accessible medium 0:04:35.200 --> 0:04:38.440 and quite frankly my favorite medium. Yeah, it's so interesting 0:04:38.480 --> 0:04:41.880 because I took that class, but I've never been to 0:04:42.000 --> 0:04:44.560 a strip Closs. Know what we gotta get you to 0:04:44.640 --> 0:04:47.720 the Closs. I know. Now I'm feeling like I've done 0:04:47.720 --> 0:04:52.080 myself and injustice, like I probably need to actually experience 0:04:52.160 --> 0:04:54.680 it live and see what it's really like. If I 0:04:54.720 --> 0:04:57.680 were to do that, Katri, where do you think I 0:04:57.720 --> 0:05:01.119 should go for that experience? You have to get down 0:05:01.200 --> 0:05:04.360 to Magic City and they lay on them. Okay, Okay, 0:05:04.400 --> 0:05:06.680 I was so inspired by that place. We actually have 0:05:07.040 --> 0:05:09.680 more than a few dancers who are our core dancers 0:05:09.680 --> 0:05:13.400 who actually work at Magic City Kingdom Diamonds down in 0:05:13.600 --> 0:05:16.279 Miami and in Atlanta. That got an Atlanta spot now 0:05:16.400 --> 0:05:18.680 is a really great place to go, just because it's 0:05:18.680 --> 0:05:24.359 a theatrical experience. It is, it's spectacle, its show. You know, 0:05:24.440 --> 0:05:26.520 there's new to the Yes that it's kind of the 0:05:26.560 --> 0:05:30.600 requirement being a stripper, but like I said, these women 0:05:30.640 --> 0:05:34.320 are athletes what they can do on the pole with 0:05:34.440 --> 0:05:38.040 their bodies and also together. Like I get blown away 0:05:38.040 --> 0:05:41.440 when I see two women on the pole together because 0:05:41.480 --> 0:05:44.680 they're literally holding each other up and the figure around 0:05:45.200 --> 0:05:48.240 like the wind. So those are the two places that 0:05:48.320 --> 0:05:50.360 I think, you know you should go. You gotta get 0:05:50.400 --> 0:05:53.440 down South because the other strip club culture is different. Yeah. 0:05:53.520 --> 0:05:58.160 I actually am trying to plan a trip to Atlanta 0:05:59.080 --> 0:06:02.560 and this year for a different event. So I might 0:06:02.600 --> 0:06:06.240 have to include a trip to what was the name 0:06:06.279 --> 0:06:10.600 of it, magic Magic City City? Okay, I might have 0:06:10.640 --> 0:06:12.919 to do that. So when you were in the room 0:06:13.240 --> 0:06:17.320 pitching p Valley to the TV executives, you know what 0:06:17.400 --> 0:06:20.760 was their response? They're like, is this woman insane? Or 0:06:21.120 --> 0:06:23.760 was it well received? Did they jump on it right away? 0:06:23.880 --> 0:06:27.200 There was a lot of collection of pearls. I remember 0:06:27.760 --> 0:06:30.960 I brought this sizzle reel and it had that song 0:06:31.120 --> 0:06:38.320 as the background, like cut off together, and they were 0:06:38.360 --> 0:06:41.160 just like, whoa, this is a lot and you don't. 0:06:41.320 --> 0:06:45.400 It's understandable, but also frustrating, right, you know, I knew 0:06:45.440 --> 0:06:48.880 that the strip club culture was something to be celebrated 0:06:49.080 --> 0:06:51.960 and understood, and you know they were just looking at 0:06:52.000 --> 0:06:54.640 it with you know, something of their noses. Me I'm like, 0:06:54.680 --> 0:06:58.400 oh my gosh, it could be exploited. It could you know, 0:06:58.480 --> 0:07:00.839 it could. It could have easily gone in the complete 0:07:00.880 --> 0:07:04.080 wrong direction, in the wrong hands. I totally get that, 0:07:04.320 --> 0:07:07.279 totally got it. There are some places that wouldn't even 0:07:07.360 --> 0:07:09.880 let me come in and pitch. They were like, no, 0:07:10.000 --> 0:07:13.080 we're not stepping on that cultural land mind. But stars. 0:07:13.120 --> 0:07:15.280 I remember it was the last place I pitched, and 0:07:15.320 --> 0:07:18.640 I remember I was late, you know, the l A traffic, 0:07:18.640 --> 0:07:21.600 and I remember getting in there and I just poured out, 0:07:21.880 --> 0:07:25.120 you know, the why of why I wanted to do 0:07:25.160 --> 0:07:27.480 this series and tell this story. And I think at 0:07:27.480 --> 0:07:30.000 the core of it, you know, this is about celebrating 0:07:30.280 --> 0:07:33.680 the hard work and black women and black women who 0:07:33.680 --> 0:07:38.120 are survivors. Yes, you know, this particular profession is very 0:07:38.200 --> 0:07:42.240 complicated and not everyone understands it. It's very misunderstood. But 0:07:42.320 --> 0:07:45.360 they saw past the kind of lastidiousness. I think, you know, 0:07:45.440 --> 0:07:48.320 some people came to the pitch with in their mind 0:07:48.560 --> 0:07:50.400 and they really saw the truth of what I was 0:07:50.440 --> 0:07:53.400 trying to do, which was to humanize this world and 0:07:53.480 --> 0:07:56.080 these women. And I think the way that you do that, 0:07:56.520 --> 0:08:01.200 the way that you humanize the character is by making 0:08:01.200 --> 0:08:04.240 them so three dimensional, like we actually get into their 0:08:04.320 --> 0:08:09.520 lives so that we can relate to them. Is that right? Absolutely? Absolutely? 0:08:09.680 --> 0:08:12.080 You know that I was so blessed to have been 0:08:12.120 --> 0:08:15.600 able to sit in not only the locker room with 0:08:15.680 --> 0:08:18.160 a lot of these women, but also going to their homes, 0:08:18.560 --> 0:08:22.720 meeting their sons, meeting their husbands, you know, really just 0:08:22.880 --> 0:08:25.960 integrating myself into their lives like a fly on the wall. 0:08:26.040 --> 0:08:29.680 And so I really created that almost journalistic approach when 0:08:29.680 --> 0:08:32.240 it came to the research in helping me, you know, 0:08:32.400 --> 0:08:37.840 create this fictionalized world where everyone felt so human. Everyone 0:08:38.160 --> 0:08:42.120 feels like a sister or a cousin or a mama. 0:08:42.240 --> 0:08:45.400 You know, we know all of these women and all 0:08:45.480 --> 0:08:48.200 of these men. We've crossed paths with them many times, 0:08:48.200 --> 0:08:50.480 and I'm just so glad that our audience not only 0:08:50.480 --> 0:08:53.120 they see, you know, their family members, but oftentimes they 0:08:53.160 --> 0:08:55.839 see themselves when they watch the value. Now, I want 0:08:55.880 --> 0:08:58.520 to talk a bit about the casting too, because I'm 0:08:58.600 --> 0:09:02.400 assuming the women and that are cast in the series 0:09:02.559 --> 0:09:06.680 are real strippers. Is that correct or no? Then how 0:09:06.840 --> 0:09:10.080 the hell did you so? How in the hell did 0:09:10.240 --> 0:09:14.280 they learn to day? It was a process? Listen, because 0:09:14.280 --> 0:09:18.040 what I have done is watch a pole dancing contest 0:09:18.960 --> 0:09:22.559 on YouTube and you have to be strong and powerful 0:09:22.679 --> 0:09:26.200 and it's no joke. It was crazy. What's so cool 0:09:27.080 --> 0:09:30.640 is that we have very long casting process because for me, 0:09:31.080 --> 0:09:35.079 as a writer, I'm very adamant that the soul matches 0:09:35.160 --> 0:09:38.600 the soul of the character that I've created. Quite frankly, 0:09:38.679 --> 0:09:40.960 the acting and who that person is, what they're going 0:09:41.000 --> 0:09:44.000 to bring to the role in terms of essence, it's 0:09:44.040 --> 0:09:47.680 the most important thing I left out in that. Let's 0:09:47.960 --> 0:09:51.800 talk about Brandy Evans, for example, she used to be 0:09:52.559 --> 0:09:55.800 a background dancer. She's danced for Snoop Dogg, She's danced 0:09:55.800 --> 0:09:58.880 for Katie Perry. She just she was a dancer. She 0:09:58.920 --> 0:10:01.520 had never you know, tripped, but you know she knows 0:10:01.559 --> 0:10:05.600 about a muscle memory and getting routines down and so, 0:10:06.000 --> 0:10:09.760 you know, for her, in terms of her particular trajectory, 0:10:10.120 --> 0:10:14.560 we just threw her in all dancing classes. She followed 0:10:14.640 --> 0:10:18.960 dancers like she studied and learned the art of it, 0:10:19.080 --> 0:10:21.559 just like she learned the art of hip hop dance. 0:10:22.200 --> 0:10:24.960 Then you had other people like Shannon Thornton, who has 0:10:25.040 --> 0:10:27.880 never been off the pole in our lives. Let's step 0:10:27.920 --> 0:10:31.800 back for a minute, because Brandy Evans plays Mercedes, so 0:10:31.840 --> 0:10:34.720 she's the main character. So who is this Shenon Thornton 0:10:34.720 --> 0:10:40.240 plays Miss Mississippi, right, yes, and so that's her thing. 0:10:41.040 --> 0:10:47.840 But now she trained so hard, gotten so sore. You know, 0:10:48.360 --> 0:10:50.679 we put them like in a boot camp, so if 0:10:50.679 --> 0:10:53.079 they were where of the city that they were living in. 0:10:53.320 --> 0:10:55.680 Once they got cast, we put them on a pole 0:10:55.760 --> 0:10:59.199 dancing program and so they learned, you know, from level 0:10:59.280 --> 0:11:01.640 one the way as far as they could go in 0:11:01.760 --> 0:11:05.120 terms of cultivating their skill set, so that when they 0:11:05.160 --> 0:11:09.160 got to set, they could do something, but of course 0:11:09.440 --> 0:11:12.760 we have these amazing dance doubles who step in and 0:11:12.840 --> 0:11:16.199 step up and do the way more complicated tricks. But 0:11:16.360 --> 0:11:19.240 let me tell you something, our ladies they sell it 0:11:19.320 --> 0:11:22.240 like you could. You cannot think that it's knocked them 0:11:22.360 --> 0:11:24.800 up on the pole, just because the way that it's 0:11:24.920 --> 0:11:27.800 edited and just how hard they work, Like we can 0:11:27.880 --> 0:11:31.760 really overlap a lot of their the dancing between them 0:11:31.800 --> 0:11:35.560 and the doubles when people are watching the show. So 0:11:35.760 --> 0:11:38.280 it's been a hard road, but they're hard workers. And 0:11:38.360 --> 0:11:41.360 so in terms of casting, you know, like I said, 0:11:41.400 --> 0:11:44.560 it's all about are they really good actors? They feel 0:11:44.600 --> 0:11:47.360 like the character that comes first, and you know, the 0:11:47.440 --> 0:11:50.880 skill set of pole dancing, it's something that they've all 0:11:50.960 --> 0:12:02.360 kind of trained together. Now, the first season of the 0:12:02.400 --> 0:12:08.080 show was entirely directed by women. I'm sure that was intentional, 0:12:08.200 --> 0:12:13.040 and why it's interesting. I was open men directing, I 0:12:13.080 --> 0:12:15.400 really was, but you know, I have a very tough 0:12:15.440 --> 0:12:19.559 interview process. So I remember during the interview process, I 0:12:19.559 --> 0:12:22.520 would be like, so what's your idea of the female gays? 0:12:22.840 --> 0:12:26.680 And also interesting was that the male directors that I 0:12:26.800 --> 0:12:29.839 you know, asked this question too. They never really have 0:12:30.040 --> 0:12:32.640 thought about it. They had never really done it in 0:12:32.720 --> 0:12:35.760 their work. They felt like it was necessary. And for me, 0:12:36.160 --> 0:12:40.240 the Female Gays is about centering the female experience looking 0:12:40.240 --> 0:12:43.440 through a woman's eyes. And it just so you know, 0:12:43.480 --> 0:12:45.559 every time a woman director, you know, stepped up to 0:12:45.600 --> 0:12:48.400 the play, they had already been dealing with it within 0:12:48.440 --> 0:12:51.040 their own work. And they also understood that, you know, 0:12:51.160 --> 0:12:56.760 historically women have not been framed so particularly women like 0:12:56.920 --> 0:13:00.720 strippers or or prostitute sex workers, and so you can 0:13:00.880 --> 0:13:04.720 very easily just center on the sexiness of a woman 0:13:04.880 --> 0:13:07.880 instead of who a woman is, who that character is. 0:13:08.360 --> 0:13:12.480 And so because this show is so much it's filtered 0:13:12.480 --> 0:13:15.280 through the female games, it's you know, those women, those 0:13:15.280 --> 0:13:18.520 female directors, they just answered that question so well that 0:13:18.960 --> 0:13:21.200 it was just obvious that those were the women who 0:13:21.280 --> 0:13:23.160 were the right folks for the job. Yeah, and like 0:13:23.200 --> 0:13:27.120 you said, it is a topic and how it's portrayed, 0:13:27.600 --> 0:13:31.280 you know, is extremely important because it can go left 0:13:31.320 --> 0:13:34.199 and they can go straight to the sex and the 0:13:34.760 --> 0:13:38.800 sibiousness that tends to come along when you think about 0:13:38.880 --> 0:13:43.080 strip clubs. For example, I remember asking a guy if 0:13:43.080 --> 0:13:46.480 you were, you know, lensing a beautiful dance, what would 0:13:46.480 --> 0:13:48.800 your focus on. And the guy was like, yeah, we'll 0:13:48.800 --> 0:13:51.280 travel the camera will travel down her body and we 0:13:51.320 --> 0:13:54.319 will see her shape and then we'll go behind her 0:13:54.360 --> 0:13:56.280 and to see how plump she is. And it was 0:13:56.360 --> 0:14:01.800 just like, nah, dog, that's what we need. So what 0:14:02.040 --> 0:14:05.840 were the kinds of comments and that you've gotten from 0:14:05.920 --> 0:14:08.600 fans of the show, Like when you're walking down the street, 0:14:08.720 --> 0:14:10.680 I don't really be walking down the street too much. 0:14:12.440 --> 0:14:14.680 I'm like I'd been holed up in the house trying 0:14:14.679 --> 0:14:17.640 to finish these scripts. But you know, when I have 0:14:18.160 --> 0:14:20.840 been able to, like it's usually like my you know, 0:14:20.960 --> 0:14:24.520 my family like it like gatherings, you know. Unfortunately, hitter 0:14:24.760 --> 0:14:28.200 or whatever, they're just like, oh my god, look cause 0:14:28.520 --> 0:14:31.840 listen you did. That's like my life. That's my uncle, 0:14:32.080 --> 0:14:34.640 that's actually me. You know, there's a lot of, like 0:14:34.720 --> 0:14:38.920 I said, people feeling reflective that you know, sometimes people 0:14:38.920 --> 0:14:41.640 are like, okay, episode two, there was too much. There's 0:14:41.680 --> 0:14:43.720 a lot of lou y'all went there. Now. I saw 0:14:43.800 --> 0:14:47.120 an interview when you said that like Uncle Clifford was 0:14:47.200 --> 0:14:50.360 based on some members of your family or people that 0:14:50.440 --> 0:14:53.480 you know. Is that true? Absolutely true? So Uncle Clifford 0:14:53.600 --> 0:14:56.240 is a fusion of my real uncle Clifford, and my 0:14:56.320 --> 0:14:59.400 mom and my dad. I wanted this character to feel 0:14:59.720 --> 0:15:03.760 very feminine and masculine and equal measure, and so I 0:15:03.880 --> 0:15:07.400 just pulled the best and the worst attributes from those 0:15:07.440 --> 0:15:09.720 three people and like put it in a pot, mix 0:15:09.800 --> 0:15:12.720 it together, and then out pop the fiction of Uncle Clifford. 0:15:13.040 --> 0:15:14.600 And something that I like to do in my work 0:15:14.720 --> 0:15:18.200 is I always love to name a really great character 0:15:18.360 --> 0:15:20.400 after a family member. It's a way to you know, 0:15:20.440 --> 0:15:24.240 pay homage to my living ancestors, the people who are 0:15:24.320 --> 0:15:28.240 with me, who raised me, who you know, make me 0:15:28.920 --> 0:15:31.480 right the way that I do, which is you know, 0:15:31.680 --> 0:15:34.120 steeped in Southern nous and just those kind of like 0:15:34.200 --> 0:15:38.080 quick witty things that Uncle Clifford says and the rules. 0:15:38.440 --> 0:15:40.960 So it's the way that people talk in the show 0:15:41.240 --> 0:15:45.800 is how I grew up speaking. And the people who 0:15:45.920 --> 0:15:48.360 you know, my closest family members, they just really poured 0:15:48.440 --> 0:15:50.480 that sound into me, and so it comes out of 0:15:50.520 --> 0:15:53.200 my fingertips every time that I write. Now for the listeners, 0:15:53.240 --> 0:15:56.600 in case you don't know, Uncle Clifford runs the Pink. 0:15:57.400 --> 0:16:00.920 The Pink is the club and un Clifford is the 0:16:01.000 --> 0:16:04.280 one who runs the club. Are there any other characters 0:16:04.360 --> 0:16:07.360 that were plucked from your life. Really feel like every 0:16:07.400 --> 0:16:12.440 single character feels like someone I've known, or there's a 0:16:12.480 --> 0:16:16.600 sliver of me inside of all of the characters, yes, 0:16:16.680 --> 0:16:19.840 in terms of their personalities. And I grew up with 0:16:19.880 --> 0:16:23.280 all sisters, and so the sisterhood that happens in the 0:16:23.320 --> 0:16:26.000 locker room and on stage and on the main floor 0:16:26.080 --> 0:16:29.120 is something that I know very well, having grown up 0:16:29.240 --> 0:16:31.840 with a lot of women and a lot of extrogens 0:16:31.840 --> 0:16:34.600 in the house, you know, for good or or bad. 0:16:34.760 --> 0:16:38.600 It's inspired by everything that I've experienced in my life, 0:16:38.760 --> 0:16:41.000 in addition to all of the research that I've done 0:16:41.040 --> 0:16:44.080 over the years. When it comes to strip club and strippers. Okay, 0:16:44.120 --> 0:16:48.040 then let's talk a little bit about the relationship between 0:16:48.400 --> 0:16:53.520 Uncle Clifford and Little Murder the rapper on there. I 0:16:53.640 --> 0:16:56.600 was surprised by that. Why were you surprised? It just 0:16:56.640 --> 0:17:00.520 seemed like a hook up to me. I just it's like, 0:17:00.600 --> 0:17:03.680 he's a rapper, Like, okay, so what was that about. 0:17:04.440 --> 0:17:07.160 So that's exactly because I wanted people to be like, 0:17:07.280 --> 0:17:10.040 oh my god, what is this? They feel like a 0:17:10.160 --> 0:17:14.280 very odd couple. And yet yeah, and all the undercover 0:17:14.880 --> 0:17:17.880 you know, because that's real it is some folks out 0:17:17.880 --> 0:17:20.360 here any streets and they're trying to figure out who 0:17:20.400 --> 0:17:24.840 they are, who they're attracted to. And it was very surprising, 0:17:25.000 --> 0:17:27.720 I think, you know, in in that first episode to 0:17:27.880 --> 0:17:31.639 Uncle Clifford for a homeboy, Little Murder played by j 0:17:31.720 --> 0:17:35.399 Alfons Nicholson to be like, you know, all just like 0:17:35.520 --> 0:17:38.639 lovey dovey, like just looking Uncle Clifford up and down. 0:17:38.800 --> 0:17:43.399 And so we really wanted to center a black queer 0:17:43.720 --> 0:17:49.920 relationship in the show's still very undercover, undercover, particularly in 0:17:50.040 --> 0:17:54.000 season one, and you know, Uncle Clifford being much older 0:17:54.080 --> 0:17:59.440 than the Murder, having gone through a lifegown south where 0:17:59.480 --> 0:18:01.720 the home of be it just extremely ranked to the 0:18:01.720 --> 0:18:03.639 point where you know, you know, you can get killed 0:18:03.920 --> 0:18:06.280 for being who you are, still can be killed for 0:18:06.359 --> 0:18:09.639 being who you are, right And so really did not 0:18:09.880 --> 0:18:12.720 want to put their relationship out on front Street, and 0:18:12.720 --> 0:18:15.880 the Little Murder was all trying to you know, take 0:18:15.920 --> 0:18:19.880 care out on dates and whatnot. And so if anyone 0:18:19.960 --> 0:18:22.360 has seen you know, the first season, at the end, 0:18:23.000 --> 0:18:26.160 Lt Murder actually shuts her after all that kind of 0:18:26.400 --> 0:18:29.639 you know, rolling up on her, and that really is 0:18:29.640 --> 0:18:32.080 a slap in the face to the character of Uncle 0:18:32.119 --> 0:18:35.800 Clifford because it's just, oh my gosh, my my worst 0:18:35.880 --> 0:18:39.800 fear of not being recognized and embraced by someone that 0:18:39.840 --> 0:18:43.560 I could potentially love. You know, it's traumatizing. And so 0:18:43.720 --> 0:18:47.000 we spent the first season really looking into that, that 0:18:47.119 --> 0:18:51.280 down lowness and how it's very hurtful on an emotional level. Um, 0:18:51.320 --> 0:18:53.639 and we're gonna pull that thread into season two, and 0:18:53.680 --> 0:18:56.280 I hope people are ready for the roller coaster that 0:18:56.320 --> 0:18:59.359 we're about to take them off. In regards to those 0:18:59.440 --> 0:19:01.960 two write there, Yeah, I'm ready. Now I want to 0:19:01.960 --> 0:19:04.920 talk a little bit about Mercedes and her mom because 0:19:04.960 --> 0:19:07.080 I was sick of her. I was sick to her 0:19:07.119 --> 0:19:12.840 mom at the end of Look girl, what church lady. Yes, 0:19:13.119 --> 0:19:16.280 it's poor Mercedes. Is she ever gonna be without I 0:19:16.359 --> 0:19:19.199 guess you can't really give everything away, But is she 0:19:19.320 --> 0:19:21.879 ever be able to recoup from that? Because I'm like, 0:19:21.920 --> 0:19:24.280 that was everything. It was all her money. But for 0:19:24.359 --> 0:19:27.440 all y'all who don't know, like Mercedes, who was our handline, 0:19:27.440 --> 0:19:30.000 our best dancer at the club, you know, she had 0:19:30.119 --> 0:19:33.639 been trying to retire for years in order to you know, 0:19:33.920 --> 0:19:36.920 cultivate a relationship with her daughter and to get this 0:19:37.040 --> 0:19:39.720 gym for these major retes. You know, she was a 0:19:39.720 --> 0:19:42.600 coach for a major scene, and so she had say 0:19:42.640 --> 0:19:48.320 to all her scuirrell, all her money and her hypocritical bible, 0:19:48.520 --> 0:19:53.320 something relot of a mama, her trees would find deals, 0:19:53.480 --> 0:19:56.719 all of her money for the dance studio. And so 0:19:56.880 --> 0:20:02.080 her dream wiped out by her mother is trauma like 0:20:02.080 --> 0:20:06.480 like on on twenty five, like it just up ended 0:20:06.720 --> 0:20:10.520 everything that she'd have been working for. And so the audience, 0:20:10.560 --> 0:20:15.760 which totally made sense, hates her truths were by included, 0:20:16.560 --> 0:20:18.879 you know, And I think it's because you know, there 0:20:18.920 --> 0:20:22.280 are a lot of mother daughter relationships that are very 0:20:22.320 --> 0:20:26.399 traumatic and they're toxic, right, and I think that storyline, 0:20:26.440 --> 0:20:32.600 in particular, those two characters really allow us to see 0:20:32.640 --> 0:20:36.160 our own relationships with our mother's and them and beyond 0:20:36.200 --> 0:20:38.640 the relationship with the mother. For me, what was so 0:20:38.960 --> 0:20:42.760 off putting was the hypocritical nature of her of the 0:20:42.880 --> 0:20:46.239 mother with the church, the whole church thing, and you know, 0:20:46.359 --> 0:20:50.040 the thing of being down south where there's these respectability 0:20:50.080 --> 0:20:54.000 of politics at play, where you know, I ran into 0:20:54.000 --> 0:20:56.119 that when I was even pitching the series, right in 0:20:56.160 --> 0:20:59.120 these rooms where people were thumbing their nose I don't 0:20:59.119 --> 0:21:01.639 know if we should do a know about strippers there, 0:21:01.680 --> 0:21:04.800 you know, are these women who have family members who 0:21:04.920 --> 0:21:08.919 they'll take the money that they're making, you know, shaking 0:21:08.960 --> 0:21:12.640 it because right, they'll talk about them the next second, 0:21:12.800 --> 0:21:16.919 because it's not seen as something that's moral. Um. And 0:21:16.960 --> 0:21:19.720 I really wanted to highlight that because I just think 0:21:19.760 --> 0:21:23.080 that there's a lot of judgment in our community, in 0:21:23.119 --> 0:21:26.320 every community, real talk, and so I think this particular 0:21:26.400 --> 0:21:32.080 relationship allows us to really deconstruct those feelings and those 0:21:32.119 --> 0:21:35.960 tensions when it comes to how religion oftentimes plays a 0:21:36.200 --> 0:21:39.920 very unfortunate role when it comes to how there's divides 0:21:40.119 --> 0:21:43.639 and like moral judgment communities and our families. To lastly, 0:21:43.680 --> 0:21:47.880 but not least, I love the relationship between Mississippi and Diamond. 0:21:48.320 --> 0:21:52.479 Is that right? Yeah? Because I think Diamond is so sweet. 0:21:52.560 --> 0:21:56.040 Are we gonna see that blossom more? We're gonna see something. 0:21:56.200 --> 0:21:58.560 We're gonna see something. Okay, We're not gonna give it away. 0:21:58.600 --> 0:22:09.679 I understand, I totally understanding. Before we wrap up, Cotri, 0:22:09.920 --> 0:22:12.000 I want to focus a little bit just on your 0:22:12.000 --> 0:22:14.679 own career, and I wanted to know if there was 0:22:14.760 --> 0:22:18.520 anyone growing up as you were coming and navigating your 0:22:18.520 --> 0:22:22.160 career that you emulated. I actually had a conversation with 0:22:22.320 --> 0:22:25.679 some folks and entertainment directors, and I was saying how 0:22:25.720 --> 0:22:30.720 important writing is, and I just feel like we need 0:22:31.040 --> 0:22:35.560 more writers, We need more Black writers, because I think 0:22:35.560 --> 0:22:39.520 there's just such an array. We have, this an abundance 0:22:39.680 --> 0:22:43.560 of stories that we could be telling about our lives. 0:22:43.800 --> 0:22:47.840 And it's not all just about slavery. It's all just 0:22:48.000 --> 0:22:52.280 about you know, drugs and gangs. We live full lives 0:22:52.480 --> 0:22:55.560 as a culture, just like anybody else, but the stories 0:22:55.560 --> 0:22:58.440 aren't being told. So I just think writing is so 0:22:58.520 --> 0:23:02.480 important because can't you gotta start from somewhere, and it 0:23:02.520 --> 0:23:05.400 starts with the writing. To me, I love this question 0:23:05.440 --> 0:23:10.119 because as a Black writer, I am stepping into such 0:23:10.320 --> 0:23:14.800 a beautiful tradition. There's so many amazing Black writers that 0:23:14.840 --> 0:23:20.160 have come before me, whether it's Tony Morrison, Augus Wilson. 0:23:20.680 --> 0:23:23.119 I would say, growing up, I thought I was going 0:23:23.160 --> 0:23:25.639 to be a novelist. I didn't think that I was 0:23:25.720 --> 0:23:29.680 going to step into the world of drama just because 0:23:29.840 --> 0:23:32.360 you know, I'd like to be by myself. But then 0:23:32.400 --> 0:23:35.320 as I grew up, I love the idea of community 0:23:35.359 --> 0:23:38.040 and that's what drew me to theater. So I think 0:23:38.119 --> 0:23:41.160 one of the writers that probably has influenced me the 0:23:41.240 --> 0:23:45.560