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I'm a big fan of Nora Ephron, who believed everything is copy, and I agree.
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The reason I get so excited about 'Master of None' is because it's showing people of color as regular people.
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To be a black person is to come from a long bloodline of survivors and storytellers, with a resilience that people can't even comprehend.
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With success always comes mimicry.
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What's 'Atlanta' about? Technically, it's about a couple guys who are friends, but to me, 'Atlanta' is about black lives. I'm getting a real look at what black life means in Atlanta.
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I'm not asking for there to be all black writer's rooms or all Asian writer's rooms, or all white - I want them all to be diverse. When it's diverse, you're going to have a completely different dynamic. Everybody feels othered. Nobody feels like they've got the upper hand.
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I think that for the most part, black people specifically have sort of been used as props in TV shows as a way to move story along or as a way to make things more entertaining.
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All the writers for 'The Chi,' they're all phenomenal, so I'm just working on projects with them. They have great scripts.
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Growing up, I didn't just watch 'The Cosby Show.' I watched 'Growing Pains' and 'Family Ties,' too.
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I can't stop my comedic voice.
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I love basketball! When I'm flying, and I have on sweats, a hat, and sneakers, people always assume that I'm a high school kid going to an away game. And I always say no, I'm a fan of the game.
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I actually really liked 'The Help.' I know that may not be a popular thing, but I thought it was a solid film. It wasn't 'Roots.' It wasn't 'The Color Purple.' But you couldn't pick it apart in terms of storytelling, and I thought the characters were well written.
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I'm a big believer in writing really good dialogue.
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I actually don't like saying 'lead character,' which is an interesting thing. If you say there's a lead, then there has to be someone to follow.
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For me, my brand is good storytelling.
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I feel like I wanna have a series of moments. It's scary when they say you're having a moment, because moments are momentary.
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Being on Netflix lets us be experimental. We can do crazy things.
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I never thought I would write about Chicago, and I definitely never thought I would write a drama.
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People always go, 'Damn, how you got all this happening at once?' I tell them it's the Chicago in me.
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I got into the business because I love writing. When it came down to finding my voice, which every writer has to take time to do, I think I realized I write black people very well. I write us in a very honest way, and I want to hear the way we really talk.
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I don't need an Emmy to tell me to go to work. I've been working.
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The thing for me is to always tell the truth. Not to preach, but to tell the truth.
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Maybe some young girl seeing me on the Emmy stage may have meant something for them.
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For me, it's about making art that's not good but phenomenal. James Baldwin didn't want to just stay above the fray. Prince didn't think, 'I wonder what the industry is gonna think about 'Purple Rain.'' It's just, is this honest? Is this real? Does this move me? The rest is icing.