Mara Brock Akil. Shonda Rhimes. Issa Rae. Michaela Coel. Sasha Leigh Henry.
When I was in development for my original comedy series, Bria Mack Gets A Life, I would repeat these names to myself as a mantra, keeping my goal front and center. Mara, Shonda, Issa, Michaela, and me. Throughout my development journey, right up until I got the call that we had been greenlit, I kept these names in my head. Bria Mack Gets A Life would be my very first TV child and as it was going into production, I knew how rare of an opportunity it is as a Canadian creator to get to make a Black — with a capital ‘B’ — comedy series about a young, Jamaica-Canadian woman navigating life and the job market in the sea of whiteness that is the corporate world.
Likening myself to the Mount Rushmore of Black female creators dominating the TV space was less about feeding my ego (though, that was definitely part of it) and more about the idea that I would get to do what they did: introduce Black women on screen in a way that felt hilarious, real, at times raw, and undoubtedly groundbreaking in their eras. For far too long I had seen Black people be the sidekick, comedic relief, or simply nonexistent in Canadian media, and don’t even get me started on the limited and at times straight-up bad portrayals of Jamaican immigrants in film and TV across the globe. When Bria Mack was greenlit, I was given an opportunity I knew I could not waste.
And I didn’t.
From getting greenlit to production to the release of the show, my team and I created a 6-episode season that not only authentically represented the lived experience of a burnt-out young Black woman trying to live up to the expectations of her immigrant Jamaican mother, but it also pushed the boundary of what comedy could look like in the TV landscape. Our first season is fresh, bold, and most importantly, it’s fucking funny. I mean, my main character has an imaginary hype girl named Black Attack — need I say more?
We knew the show was ambitious for the budget and time we had, but we were down for the challenge. We committed to making noise with the show however we could. When it came to marketing, we pulled out all the stops. We debuted the first three episodes as a part of the Toronto International Film Festival’s primetime program to much critical acclaim, and hosted a live variety sketch show with the cast, crew, and a few of our favorite comedians from the city ahead of the premiere to get people excited.
Then came the release. Bria Mack Gets A Life premiered on Friday, October 13th, (which despite coming from a very strong “we nuh inna nuh obeah” Jamaican family, the date didn’t bump for me too much) and it premiered to rave reviews. All kinds of …read more
Source:: Refinery29
