Lena Waithe Is Developing a TBS Show About a Queer Black Girl
EntertainmentLena Waithe is working on another television series based on a comedy she wrote in 2009 about a queer black young woman’s coming of age.
It took a whole nine years to get the story made, but the show, titled Twenties, has landed a pilot order at TBS, partly off the success of Waithe’s standout Showtime series The Chi, which recently got a second season. (Winning an Emmy for Master of None may have helped, too.)
According to Deadline, Twenties “follows the adventures of a queer black girl, Hattie, and her two straight best friends, Marie, and Nia, who spend most of their days talking shit and chasing their dreams. It’s a show about friendship, finding love, and messing everything up along the way.”
For an idea of what the series might look like, see Waithe’s beautifully told Master of None episode, which focused on her character Denise and her family’s acceptance of her sexuality. “I always wanted to tell a story where a queer black woman was the protagonist,” Waithe said in a statement. “Queer black characters have been the sidekick for long enough; it’s time for us to finally take the lead.”