In late August, Thede was awaiting the green light for taping of the show that boasts Issa Rae (an Emmy nominee for her series “Insecure”) as an executive producer.
For Thede, who grew up in Davenport, Iowa, the series reflects a childhood embrace of comedy and the escape it provided. She shares that passion with her father, an educator who named her after his favorite comedian, Robin Williams. (Phyllis Thede, her mother, has served as an Iowa state representative since 2009 and is running again).
Growing up, Thede said, she was a “nerd,” a stutterer and one of the few Black youngsters at school, especially in the primary grades. She found refuge among TV characters.
“I really mean it when I say TV was a friend of mine,” she said, recalling how she would copycat those she saw on the small screen from newscasters to sitcom characters, including Jackée Harry’s Sandra on “227” (an impersonation Thede revived on her show).
She kept up the mimicry as a teenager, started shooting sketches and earned the kind of reaction that made her think, “’OK, maybe I’m kind of good at this,'” she recalled. She graduated from Northwestern University, honed her improv skills at The Second City in Chicago and built TV credits that include “The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore” and “The Rundown with Robin Thede.”
The TV industry is gradually opening doors to women and people of color, who have long pushed for a fair shot at work and the chance to make shows with diverse voices and points of view. That’s also led to a more inclusive Emmys, with a record number of African Americans nominated in 2020.
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