Approximately three months ago, writer/producer Lena Waithe’s unveiled the pilot episode for a new series called TWENTIES. The show is funny, irreverent and comically sincere. The following clips are four, carefully chosen, scenes from a pilot which had the goal of giving networks an idea of what we want this show to be. And while I discovered these gems on YouTube, this is not intended to be a web-based series. The hope is to bring this groundbreaking show to a TV screen near you. The producers tell us that they don’t want money from to get the series made. They ask that we share this link (http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCb-yjP0ipCqzP28ZNDSRTUgyE46xUl_z) with 20 amazing people. And then ask them to share it with twenty more people and so on and so on.
In an interview with Marsha Dowell of Shadow and Act, Lena was asked what inspired her to create the series. Waithe had this to say: “An unhealthy relationship, Lena Dunham, and my friends. And I’ll be honest; I didn’t write this pilot just because I wasn’t seeing myself on television. I wrote it because it was a story I needed to tell. And usually when a writer sits down with that kind of fire in their belly it always strikes a chord with audiences. TWENTIES is the most personal script I’ve ever written and I don’t think it’s a surprise that it’s also gotten me the most attention. People like it when you tell the truth. And this is mine. But I also think it’s universal. Because who can’t relate to being in your twenties and sucking at life? It’s a magical time when you don’t have to have everything figured out. It’s a ten-year window when you’re free to have awkward sex, unhealthy friendships, and a boss you can’t stand. Usually when you see young black women on television they’re either perfect and pristine, or they’re trying to accidentally get pregnant by a professional athlete. There’s very little middle ground. And the truth is that’s where most of us live. Somewhere in the middle.”
Even at these early stages, the show has gotten some heavyweight support. Queen Latifah’s company Flavor Unit is behind the production of the series. When asked about their involvement by Shadow and Act, Lena said, “I was lucky, because a lot of production companies were interested, but Flavor Unit made me feel like they would be in it for the long haul. And as a young up and coming writer that’s what I wanted. I knew selling a single camera comedy about three black women in their twenties wasn’t going to be easy, but Queen Latifah, Shakim Compere, and Shelby Stone made me feel like it wasn’t impossible. We knew we had to be creative and that we couldn’t take “no” for an answer. And that’s really how the pilot presentation came about.”
Written/Created by Lena Waithe
Directed by Justin Simien
Executive Produced by: Queen Latifah, Shakim Compere, and Shelby Stone
Follow the writer on Twitter: @hillmangrad ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Act one: Hattie uploads her blog & gets bad news
Act two: Hattie is interrogated by her friends at Nia’s birthday party.
Act three: Lauren gives a tampon tutorial & Hattie gives Nia her birthday gift.
Act four: Hattie gets real.
Personally, I thought the show was hilarious and thought it was worth sharing. But what do y’all think? Do you think it could make it on the air? Do you think it would make a great web series? (Maybe on Netflix or HULU or something like that) Do you want to see more episodes?
