Remember the “Bad Bitch Support Group” sketch from A Black Lady Sketch Show (ABLSS)? Well, the show’s writers are also “bad bitches” because ABLSS has been renewed for a second season at HBO!
The show, created by Robin Thede, stars four powerhouse black women, Thede, Quinta Brunson, Ashley Nicole Black and Gabrielle Dennis. Thede executive produces along with Issa Rae.
“It’s been thrilling to see the audience embrace the characters that Robin, Ashley, Gabrielle and Quinta have brought to life,” Amy Gravitt, executive vice president, HBO Programming said in a statement via the official press release. “We had a blast making this groundbreaking sketch show with Robin, Dime and all of the writers and producers, and I can’t wait to see what next season holds.”
As the show synopsis states:
Laugh-out-loud funny and not afraid to be controversial, A Black Lady Sketch Show touches on such culturally relevant themes as social norms, anxiety, religion, sex, dating and relationships. Each episode consists of five to six sketches, showcasing the comedic talents of Robin, Quinta, Ashley and Gabrielle portraying an array of dynamic and varied characters, as well as hyper versions of themselves in interstitials featuring four friends stuck in a house during an end-of-the-world event. Unprecedented in sketch comedy TV history, the show is created by, written by, directed by and starring an array of black women.
The sheer existence of ABLSS is history-making, as the show boasts the first black woman director and black woman head writer of a sketch comedy show. While I have my critiques (some of the sketches seemed unfinished despite their funny concepts and I believe Brunson is underused in favor of Thede, as Brunson’s physical comedy brilliance is reminiscent of Carol Burnett), I have enjoyed a few of the sketches. Plus, the cultural impact of a black-woman-led sketch show actually getting the chance to evolve with a second season makes me happy.
A Black Lady Sketch Show airs Fridays at 11 p.m. ET on HBO.