We currently stand at the crux of yet another Hollywood renaissance, though this one being much cooler, more profound and much more rhythmic than all the ones prior. Brown skinned women are pervading every mainstream platform of media and entertainment currently available. From podcasts, to streaming services, to networks and premium cable, Brown skin women are grasping the reins, creating their own opportunities to voice their stories.
At the top of June, it was reported that Netflix beat out several bidders to option the rights to Mother, an action thriller by Underground co-creator Misha Green. Green is a trailblazer, a powerful storyteller who envisioned the re-telling of slave narratives as high-octane thrilling adventures revolving around a group of plantation slaves escaping to the North. Misha Green was also tagged to write the pilot for Lovecraft Country, a one-hour drama ordered straight-to-series by HBO. Lovecraft Country, set in the Jim Crow era of the 1950’s, is geared to be an anthological horror series depicting the struggles to survive and overcome the racist terrors of White America. With that set to begin production in the near future, Misha Green is sure to become a household name in the likes of a Shonda Rhimes, another brilliant brown skinned woman whose ShondaLand production company owns the sole rights to our entire Thursday night.
Another pivotal voice for Brown skin millennials has also found a home at HBO. Issa Rae, show creator, author, director, actor, rap lyric spitting all-around badass, is a force to be reckoned with. The once Youtube darling, has boosted her influence by revamping The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl into the immensely popular HBO dramedy, Insecure. The best-selling author is currently producing her second season, which is sure to delve into our sense of tenacity in Trump’s America. Issa Rae is everyone’s cousin, Milly Rocking into our homes with a large bottle of something dark and that beaming grin that affirms Kendrick Lamar’s classic call to worship, “We gon’ be alright!” To compliment Insecure, HBO has also signed Sam Bailey and Fatimah Asghar of Brown Girls fame, to their own development deal for a show that will further expand on themes explored in their Brown Girls web series. Themes of sexuality, alternative lifestyle choices, and alcoholism. With the exit of HBO’s Girls, a White-washing of contemporary culture, HBO is fully investing in the voices of Brown skin women.
To name each way the new renaissance has unfolded would take more than the number of words allotted for this article. From FOX investing in Gina Prince-Bythewood’s Shots Fired, to Ava DuVernay’s Queen Sugar being housed on Oprah Winfrey’s network, to Lena Waithe being handed the mic on Master of None to narrate the ways in which her sexuality clashed with her family’s traditional Christian values, we are living in an unprecedented time. A time where the revolution, usually led by women of color, is actually being televised. Hollywood has much further ground to cover in regard to representation, but all signs point to the takeover of Hollywood by a cavalcade of beautiful Brown skin wonder women.
