Save this article to read it later.
Find this story in your accountsSaved for Latersection.
BET+, which is owned by ViacomCBS, seemed to spare no expense on this big swing.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
As much fun asThe Ms. Pat Showis, it tackles some very serious topics of our time.
In the very first scene, you talk to a fellow first-class passenger on a flight about school shootings.
I had two other writers before Jordan who kind of wouldnt listen to me, but Jordan did.
That plane scene really happened.
It came out great.
How closely does she resemble you, really?[Laughs.]
Thats me, baby.
My kids tell me all the time, You an undercover Republican.
I am a little conservative.
We got a right to vote the way we want.
And thats whats wrong with this world.
We wont sit down and have a conversation.
My next-door neighbor in real life is a Trump supporter, but I like him.
When hes not watching Fox News, hes okay.
Ms. Pat cant process what it means for someone to not identify with a gender.
My daughter brought home this tall white kid.
Im thinking: He gay.
I was just confused because I had never heard of that.
Theres so many branches of being different in this world, I cant really keep up with them.
So thats why we wrote the episode.
Thats 100 percent true.
I dont feel like fuckin bein out here.
But I watched Jordans play and I was like, He got an old-ass spirit.
Immediately, my spirit and his connected.
He immediately became me, which is so crazy.
He knew my personality, he knew what I would and wouldnt say.
The other writers didnt do this.
They were like, We cant hire Jordan, hes never done anything.
But Im from the streets, and I truly believe you dont take the first no.
I said to Jordan, Listen to me, baby.
Theyre not going to give you this job even though were trying.
But were going to make them give you this job.
Lets write a script.
When I thought it was good enough, I made him take his name off it.
Me and Jordan came up with the ideas, what the episodes were going to be about.
We picked the writers room.
Usually the star and the head writer are not this close.
We were a team from the start.
I was scared, I didnt want to cuss on TV.
Jordan said, But thats how you cuss every day.
People are tired of seeing a fake momma on TV; lets try and give them something different.
Thats my real life.
I said, Okay.
Jordan, if this doesnt work, Im gon kill you.
I pulled Jordan aside and told him.
It took six months for Hulu to drop it.
Lee calls me the next day and says, I promise you, were going to sell this thing.
BET+ picked it up, and Im not going to lie to you, I never heard of BET+.
Why are they trying to make me like Clair Huxtable?
But Ill tell you one thing: I stuck to what I believe in and it worked out.
BET+ seems like theyre not sparing any expense, surrounding you with great front-of-the-camera talent and behind-the-camera talent.
Tell me about the team?Lee Daniels and Brian Grazer, theyre like the big dogs.
If you need something done, you call them.
Lee pretty much said, Look, you country-ass people.
I dont know if this shit is gon work.
But no matter what, he stayed there with us.
Jordan asked for Debbie Allen to be the director.
I thought he was crazy.
I said, Boy, you gotta stop askin for all this stuff.
We flew to Atlanta to meet her and my spirit connected again.
My manager got the pilot to him and he said he wanted to meet me.
We talked over Zoom.
It was like a blessing.
That kinda made me cry.
Nobody paid attention to Hulu untilHandmaids Tale, baby.
I can tell from the promotion that BET+ put behind this show that they really care about it.
I told them, Dude, I feel like we at Netflix, but we at BET+.
