Robin Thede says she knew plenty of talented African-American female comedians, but only a few were getting hired on popular television comedy shows.
So Thede created her own show featuring some of the industry’s funniest black women. The actress-comedian is breaking new ground with her HBO comedy series, “A Black Lady Sketch Show,” which airs Friday nights.
The six-episode series offers sketches written and performed by an all-black female cast. It stars Thede, Ashley Nicole Black, Gabrielle Dennis and Quinta Brunson. It will also have guests, mostly black women, including Angela Bassett, Kelly Rowland, Marsai Martin, Lena Waithe, Patti LaBelle and Natasha Rothwell.
Thede became the first African-American woman head writer of a late-night talk show in 2015, with “The Nightly Show with Larry Whitmore.”