What's up its lip service.

I'm Angela Yee, Jeordie, George the key Woods, and Terry J.

Vond Terry J.

Von in the building aka Lieutenant Governor Dunkerson.

Thank you so much for joining us today.

Come love when you say that, Well, congratulations to you because we are getting ready for a new Netflix series that's.

Coming out on May twenty second.

She the people, Yes, she is the people.

Now, talk to me about how it feels right now, because this is an amazing moment.

I can't even imagine what it is because this is your baby, and so imagine what it's like to see something go from an idea, a conception to actually about to be on Netflix as a series with Tyler Perry.

Yeah, well, of course, you know.

It's incredibly exciting.

Feel extremely blessed.

But to be honest, from the moment that this show idea came to me, which was about seven or six years old, I knew it was going to happen.

I just knew.

I didn't know when I thought it was gonna happen, way before now, but I just knew that the idea was it was something that we needed, something that I knew our community would appreciate that the world would appreciate it's you know, it's a it's a woman that is thriving but struggling at the same time.

Here yeah to that, a single mom like co parenting two teenage kids and her incredibly colorful family.

Uh, and then dealing in the world of politics.

And now because we need to see that type of flavor, we can we celebrate what you can you pop this champagne bottle?

I will, you will?

You will?

Okay, I'm so happy for you, honestly because you know, we've been watching you for I feel like, well definitely it's been decades and I could your personality I feel like comes through even in your acting.

Thank you, Like you just seem like a cool ast person.

Yeah, I think I am a coolst person.

I think so.

My kids told me I am.

Thank you And your kids are adorable because we've been seeing that.

We see them on social media too, And I just want to say, you've also been fighting for diversity, yes, when it comes to everything that's been happening in Georgia in particular, can you just give us a little brief about that too, because I just want to point out that not only is she lieutenant governor on this series.

But in real life, you are involved in politics in a way.

You are if you're fighting for some well, if we're talking about policy and fighting for justice and fighting for making that because I think a lot of times people can say what's wrong, but when you're really fighting to make change, that is still being involved in politics.

Yes, I do believe that we use our creativity to make a difference, and so I do use my platform to share the views that I believe in.

I think that there are so many people that need a voice for them and that our community, you know, is always struggling fighting.

So I will continue to lift my voice up for us at any cost.

And I think that right now, especially being a black woman, that we are each other's cheerleaders so hard.

Nobody loves us more than we love on each other.

And I think that that's just been what we had to do.

It's like we fight for each other, we love each other hard, and so I do that.

I believe in that it's just in me.

Give me, give cheers to she the people people.

I didn't touch his because that's bad luck, did you?

I got to put it on.

This So you said, you remember coming up with the idea seven years ago.

Do you remember like how it came to you, like what you what you were doing, or like the motions.

Well, what had happened was so I grew up in San Francisco, Okay, and my girlfriend, London Breed, became the first black female mayor of the city of San Francisco, which was oh wow, huge, that is huge, huge.

You know, it's one of the richest cities in the nation and the beautiful part of it.

And what made me think like, oh, this would be an interesting show was London, like me, grew up in the hood, you know, very drug infested communities.

We all know those par.

San Francisco is very like rich but also the.

Yeah, so she grew up in a neighborhood like that, just like I did.

And watching her work her way up through just being in politics, and we're always watching and cheering her on, watching her on the news and whatnot.

And when she became the when she became the mayor, it was so much pushback in the city against her, so much like they they made a special election have to happen because she was put in the position because the current mayor had died, and so she was superintendent of some I can't remember all her title, but she was to take over his position.

She was the one that would finish out.

Yeah, and they act like you don't deserve it, and.

So they yeah, they made her have a special election and all this stuff, everything that they were putting her through, and she won anyway, and then I was like, that is the ship.

Oh my god, yes.

So.

What she No, he was Asian actually an agent man, and so just watching what she went through, knowing her background, I was like, a character like that would be amazing.

And I'm a huge fan of Deep and so I was like, that would be great from our perspective, like our neighborhoods.

It's yeah, because you come in with a different viewpoint, fighting for your folks, but still having to represent a city that is very much to play the game exactly.

So I just thought it was prime for a perfect comedy and drama at the same time.

And so that's where the ideal sparked.

And that was like in twenty seventeen or something like that.

I can't remember the executive but so that's what sparked the idea, and I just started like writing it down, just writing it down over the years.

Then I wanted to team up with a writer.

I met with several writers and finally got to Nya Palmer, who we just get each other.

She's weird and wacky and super funny, and so we worked on it, developed it together during then, and then we just got busy with life, right, So I was working acting, I was directing, and so it was just kind of on the shelf.

Urn yes, because when I did mention it to people and try to put it out into the world, everybody was like, no, we don't want to touch a political show.

We don't want to do anything in politics.

And I was like, okay, whatever, And just whenever people say that, I don't know.

Because I just feel like it's part of every day, like politics is.

Entertainment, Like yeah, it's unfortunately hilarious.

Yeah yeah, Well that's why I think God's divine time, because it is the perfect time.

It is the perfect time to come out now rather than seven years ago.

Even if you look at our mayor here in New York, Eric Adams, and even if you look at like, look Mayor Cantrell, She's a black woman in New Orleans, and I feel like they target her because of that, Like you know, because I've actually seen her out and about.

It's interesting because people will tell me, like I see her getting criticism for like being out being but it's New Orleans, how like the mayor should be out?

I see, Yeah, it's like, what do you mean New Orleans.

You're supposed to be a hermit, right.

No, But but a large part of that is tourism too in New Orleans, like a large part of what happens, so going out and supporting business, Oh, the mayor's Like, if I own a business in New Orleans, I would be so excited for the mayor to come to my established and you know and toast to me like that's a big deal.

And I think New York the same thing.

Though I will say that because they call our mayor.

There's other issues there.

But earlier on, like the party mayor, I do think that having a mayor in New York, because nightlife is so big and small businesses are so big, and a lot of these establishments are small businesses, I do think any mayor we have should like, I don't see a problem with that, as long as you're not well.

The thing is to me, man And also what I thought would be so interesting to tell this story is she's just a human being.

She's still a woman, She's still you know, our character.

She has kids, she has two teenage kids that she's co parenting with her ex husband.

So we wanted to make her have to deal with real life stuff.

But she still has a job that has an image that she has to uphold.

But she still has regular stuff.

And sometimes people will look down on you on politics as a woman who is not married.

Oh yeah, we touch on all that.

We touch on all the things.

Bottom's former mayor in Atlanta, so she's part of this project too.

She's a yes.

So I mean how that happened?

So what had happened was during the strike.

When the strike happens in twenty twenty three, when everybody, all our jobs went away in the entertainment business.

I called Naya and I was like, Naya, look, I know we're on strike, but what do you think about shooting a proof of concept now while we're on strike, So when the strike is over, we'll actually have something to show people as a pitch instead of us.

Yeah, instead of just trying to tell people how to see our vision, let's show them the vision.

And so she agreed, so we got to work on developing the show to shoot a proof of concept and I was like, well, if I want to stack it with as much gun power as possible, I need to attach somebody that is in this space to give our show some yes.

So I tentively called Kisha Land's Bottoms and was like, Hey, this is Terry Javon.

We do meet with me.

She was like, yes, let's meet up.

Let's go to breakfast, and so we met.

I told her the idea, pitched the whole thing to her and she loved it and she was like, absolutely, I will join you.

I want to be a part of this amazing and so once we got her on board, it was we were able to get the funding to shoot the proof of concept that we wanted to shoot, and I was like, look, I only want to shoot it if it can look like it could air.

I needed to look exactly how we wanted to be, and so I got the team together.

We have a dope ass team of people in Atlanta.

Game together helped me shoot this, and we shot it.

It came out exactly how I wanted to see it, and once the strike was over, my red agents sent it out and we got calls left and right.

And you went with Tyler Perry and we did.

We chose Skyler Perry.

Now tell me why, I mean, and I'm not us.

I just want to know.

Yeah, tell me what was in your thinking when you said we got calls but Taler Perry's.

And it was a tough decision not to, you know, because this is had never happened to me before.

So I've been doing this for a long time, right, I have pitched shows I saw you, Yeah, hundreds of shows, yes, And it's always, you know, the pitch.

We get ourselves ready.

So I'm getting me, Naya and Keisha.

We're like getting our pitch together.

We're rehearsing it so that we're ready for our meetings.

First meet our first meeting actually was with Tyler Perry Studios.

And so we get on the call and immediately we're ready to jump in and they are.

They jump in and start telling us everything they love about the show and why we need to go with them.

Oh wow.

And that's so they made offer right there in our first meeting.

Oh wow.

And I was like, so this is like an offer, like y'all want the show?

And they were like.

Yeah, because the truth is I also don't mean it's gonna actually happen.

Could keep you tied up one thousand percent.

So they laid out all the reasons why we should go with them, and we were like, okay, we can.

We get right back to you.

We have some other meetings, right, and so we in every meeting and after that was the same thing that we were like, we already have tables and they were like, well, consider this offer number two.

And it kept happening like it kept happening and.

Was part of investing in doing that that it would have not run that way if we did not do that.

So thank God for the thought dropping in my soul to do it.

And so after you know, meeting with everybody, and these are all like amazing people, people that I have been wanting to work with for years, all of them.

So it was a very hard decision for me.

But just after all the conversations, going back to what you said about the offer and getting a deal doesn't mean that the show is actually gonna happen, right right.

It could actually destroy it, can it can?

It just can hold you up.

And though everybody, I think everybody went in it with great intentions and I do think that they were really, you know, going to push for the show and support the show.

The only one that really had the power to pull the trigger and go now.

And after having like a couple of more meetings with Tyler himself and how he was just so supportive and wanted to be collaborative and asking us all these amazing questions, we were like, we feel safe with him.

Yeah, we feel safe with him and so and you know, this is a part of a new entity for Tyler, his deal with Netflix, and it's been going well, it's been going amazing.

Beauty Black, Yeah, yeah, And I was like, when are we gonna finish this?

We were the first comedy that he was bringing to the network, and so we were it was all everything was fresh and new and exciting, and you know, they were the perfect partners for us.

Just been amazing.

Well again, congratulations, But I love like a lot of things that you touched on in that story, because, like you said, you've been pitching, pitching, pitching, prepping things, but then also having something to show, because sometimes a lot of people will have ideas, but having something to actually be like, here's what it's going.

To look like.

Yeah, that makes all the difference, right.

Yeah, facts, I think so, because when you're you're trying to get somebody to see what you see in your head and you're telling them you're talking.

Talk to imagine it.

Look at this film that Yeah, so that made the huge difference.

That made the huge difference.

And then going with him and him seeing our what our vision was, and then Tyler adding his sauce.

It just it was just you know, you talk a lot about mental health awareness as well, and I've seen that's something that you platform too.

How is it because I can't imagine what it's like when you're like, it's like going on job interviews and you have to keep on pitching yourself and then you.

Feel like, you know, you're amazing.

You know you have an amazing idea and sometimes people just can't see it.

You know what does that do?

Because Akim, I know you're also like, look, put me on a TV show.

But it is.

Sometimes like we can laugh about it, but sometimes it is really really difficult, and it's not easy on your ego too.

It's a little I mean, it's a difficult business.

It really is, because like this project and many other ones, it's like we're putting ourselves like, this is my heart, this is my you know, my my voice, my heart, my vision, and I'm giving it to you.

I'm pouring it out to you and you're like, Nope, don't want it.

Yeah, don't want it.

Yeah, it is a strike to your ego.

But it's the business.

That's why I think for everybody, you've got to have thick skin, and it is super important to take care of yourself mentally, spiritually, physically, because it takes a toll.

It totally takes a toll.

So I am an advocate of my my exercise, my mental workouts, my meditation, what I read, what I listen to, my prayer time, all of it is is a huge part of my life.

You look amazing, Thank you.

I can't enough.

And then also being married, Yes, how does that?

And that's stressful too.

No, because last night I was I was my favorite restaurant and these two guys were having a little kiki and one of them said that he doesn't believe that there's any such thing as a happy marriage.

When you think about that, I mean, he.

Was like, yeah, is he married?

He was married?

Yeah, damn well he's unhappy.

Yeah he's unhappy.

No, I think that I am extremely happy in my marriage right now.

I think it goes through stages like life, like life one thousand percent, and there's there's growth.

It's two different human beings, two different journeys have come together, two different upbringings to different thought patterns.

And then you also have things happening in your life that you can bring back into a relations We're like to whole people coming into you know, kind of coming together, and sometimes you might have something, he might have something going on.

Yep, and it just kind of rocks the boat.

It does.

But it's but you have to realize that that is just a normal progression in life.

Whether you're by yourself or you're with somebody, you're still gonna grow.

You're still gonna uh.

You know, you used to do this, but now you don't do that anymore.

Now you do this, but you're always gonna do that.

As long as you're living, you're going to grow and change constantly.

And in a marriage, that's what makes marriage so difficult.

It's because now it's two people and everybody nobody is growing at the same exact time.

Sometimes you're up here and they're down here, and then they come up here and they go up there, and then it's about giving grace.

It's about knowing that that is a natural human way of being.

So let me let you be a natural human and grow at your time and I'll step back.

Do you think you know whatever it is?

And I also think that people go into marriage with the particular ideas of what marriage is supposed to be.

I'm like, you got to throw everything out that you have never learned, whatever church I told you, your mom told you.

You throw it all out and create what marriage is for you in your house.

That that's what I think why people are in unhappy marriages because they're trying to fit into a box that doesn't fit them.

How did you know he was the one?

I didn't.

He told me how long have you guys been married?

Seventeen years?

Yeah, we've been married seventeen years.

But this is my second marriage, and so I always said I would never get married again.

I had no desires immediately as soon as I said never, How long was there first?

One?

Uh?

Five years?

And then the divorce started, so by six we were it was final.

Divorce is like, it's terrible, and that's why I didn't want to get married again.

It wasn't about the marriage.

It was about the process.

Yeah, And I'm like, okay, so if I get married to somebody and I don't like them anymore, we break up.

I don't go with you no more.

Now it's all this drama in business.

And I just thought that was so do we think there?

Yeah, that was.

So weird.

I'm not doing that.

But at the same time, you know, I guess that part of that is like them not wanting you.

We got snatched, yeah, the divorced us.

Yeah, but I just but at the same time, I guess they don't want you to make it so easy, you know what I'm saying, because it's not like breaking up.

Yeah, because it's not breaking up, Yeah, which is.

Okay, so go ahead.

Well it's business, so that I'm learned.

So okay, marriages the freaking business with paperwork.

You got a file, papers, you got to get a low wayer, all the things.

So that's what made me not want to.

So I met my husband in the midst of my divorce.

He did, but he was done by the time I met.

Okay, how did you gute meet?

We met?

I was doing a play.

I was doing a play and uh, tank was in the play.

And he decided a Tank, who was just in Hell's kitchen too, we came out to see him.

Yeah, so they're very good friends.

So when I was doing the play with Tank, that's how I met.

Him right in his seat one day and went viral.

But that's another.

Sort I heard about that.

Every time he sees me, he's like, never go.

So yeah, so we met during the time we were doing that play, and I really there was no interest.

There was no spark or anything.

Well I don't even know if it was for him neither one.

No, it wasn't because they were dealing with girls.

It wasn't even a thing.

But we were just all used to hang out.

And then the more we started hanging out and we used to linger and talk and we just started liking each other.

Yeah, it was accidental, always nice, and you was going through some things I was, so I totally wasn't thinking about.

Anything because then at first you think it's a rebound, like it's just me, you know, trying to do something to mass COUM feeling about this whole situation, and then what happened.

So I totally went and so we started liking each other obviously, and I was like, look, I'm going through this divorce and I never want to get married again.

And he was like cool.

So when we decided that we were gonna be serious, that was still we went into it.

We don't need to get married, we'll be together.

I was like, I want I want more kids, and I am cool with having a kid without being married, right, I'm okay.

We Goldie Hunt and I was good with it.

And then I got pregnant and I was like, you do got that NFL?

Sure legally that like you played for how many so so you're five years so youted, I think it's going to be better and he was like yeah, yeah yeah.

He was like yeah, so and now we've been together for seventeen years.

That's amazing.

Did you have a big wedding or it was just a we went to Vegas.

Okay, that's the way to get married, big belly, Adida sweat suit while you were pregnant?

Yep, that's awesome.

Literally, I was not gonna get married.

I wasn't.

I was pregnant.

I was good.

Was it a distraction?

I think?

And he were blue?

That's cut.

So how long after you were officially divorced did you get married.

Uh, maybe two years, but your ex has been tight, like I don't know.

Doing that, Angela, I don't know.

He's a great he's the father of my oldest son.

And even though you may have moved on, people be like and their feelings.

So this whole time, because you know, people be thinking, oh, this whole time was right, We're not gonna be messy.

It's my friend.

It's a great dad.

What did you learn from the first marriage to the second.

To uh, to really just be honest in the moment, don't let things linger, because to be honest, I knew it wasn't working.

I knew I wanted to move on at least three years, which is crazy, right, But then you care setting band aids on it.

Okay, we got this, it's fine, it's fine.

Let's have a baby's house.

You keep doing doing thrown up things.

Yeah, and it just none of it is still kept landing back where I knew it was.

So I really just hit things dead on.

This isn't working.

I don't like how this feels.

I don't, you know.

So we talk more.

Yeah, that's good, and then to be friends to this day it is good.

How is it for you?

Like kind of growing up in this business.

I know a lot of people were trying to holler at you, Yeah, how did you How were you able to like maneuver through that, because sometimes it can be awkward sometimes you have to be around people, like what, what's some advice you would give to people who are up and coming in this business for you to be able to like maintain and come through.

So this is funny because that that is a serious question because people ask me.

That all the time.

Young women asked me that, like, because you don't want to be a woe.

I'm being honest, but you want to have fun as a woman.

You don't want to be a home because I'm a home he's But this was not as bad for exactly exactly, so I guess.

And I just didn't want to be and I and I felt like I was I was dating.

It's like I was going out and I.

Was How old if you don't mind me asking how old were you when you first like when you got into the business, like when you started like booking stuff?

Uh so I moved to LA when I was twenty two or twenty three like that.

And that's the fun stage to Yeah, let me tell you what I moved there with the guy, okay, and he did propose and all the things, and we did get engaged.

It's so much, it's just too much, too many words, and we called it off and then he tried to propose again and I was like no, no.

No, no.

So then yes, so now I'm out in l A and now I'm single, so now I'm just dating.

Hey hey, hey, and I and I just felt like I was doing way too much.

Hey hey, no social media.

We are right right right, But then that's what made me decided I wanted to get married.

Right because you didn't want to get a reputation.

You want to got me just settled down a quote quote right.

Thing.

Felt like I got married for the wrong reason the first time.

It really was.

Yeah, So I was like nope, I know because he was a college friend.

He was my friend, like we were cool as hell and we always liked each other in college.

So I was like, this would this works, this works.

It is he's cute, you know, this is this works And yeah it didn't.

Didn't.

But we have a beautiful and amazing son.

O this side.

You have a son and a daughter.

That's perfect.

I have two sons, two sons.

So yeah.

So once I got married to Karan, my current husband, we had two kids.

So I have a seventeen year old son and a ten year old girl.

Okay, and my oldest son is twenty he'll be twenty four.

That's amazing already of them following in your footsteps, like I want to.

Ooh, Lola, my ten year old, she's everything else.

She.

I didn't see how y'all doing challenges girl, that one and you and I never wanted to have a girl y'all.

Only I was like, I'm a boy mom.

I'm a boy mom because boys are easier one thousand.

Girl.

Yes, now you're a mess, but I was now.

You were a good kid.

Yeah yeah.

I just didn't want to raise me because I knew me.

I knew the things I got in trouble for.

I was bad.

I never got caught out.

You don't want to you don't want to come back around dramas too much.

I know being a girl.

I know the stuff I went through, the insecurities and the this and the bullying.

And I was like, I don't want to, girl, it's just so much.

And here she comes a little you little man.

Every she is me on steroids like one thousand.

But she's amazing.

She teaches me so much because she is so confident and so Yep, I'm gonna be a professional ice skater, I'm going to play ten be a professional tennis player.

I am going to act, and I'm going to direct.

And she can do all these things.

If anybody asked her, what do you want to down?

All those she's helping on the ice skating one is random, like, yeah, so she's been ice skating since she was two.

Place second over the weekend.

Uh huh.

She had had amazing romedy.

My I remember I interviewed him one time.

He used to be Was he married to a woman who was a professional ice skating?

Wow?

That looks dangerous.

Have you seen him spinning and stuff?

She does all that?

Think about what was that movie Gloria?

Was it Flash Dance?

When she was like an ice skater?

Was it?

And she was doing the routine but then she like slipped and fell.

It was like it was like a dance movie.

I don't know she was.

And then she was like, yeah, I think that was Flash Dance.

She was like a construction worker.

But then she was, oh, but she was a dancer.

She was an ice skater.

No, somebody in them that I gotta find that dancing flash dances, not ice skating.

Angela.

No, listen, you're gonna eat your words.

Okay, you hear me, Lieutenant.

Okay, okay, you hear me.

Litt What actually inspired you to want to do what you do, like, even at a young age, Because you're talking about your daughter and how she's inspired and when you ask her what she wants to do, she could run it down.

When I wasn't like that, and that's why she I learned so much from her.

So I didn't know what I wanted to be.

I just wanted to be a successful business woman if somebody would ask me, a successful business woman.

But I don't know what kind of business I didn't know.

I didn't have any you know, specifics.

But when I was in college first, so I was started studying advertising.

I thought I was going to go into I did too.

I thought I was gonna do advertising and marketing.

Yeah okay.

And so a friend when we were in college was recruiting girls for a Miss Black California pageant.

So me and some of my friends we were like, oh, we'll do it.

Yeah, we'll do it.

We've got no clue about it at all, but we're like, we'll do it.

And so I did this pageant and for the talent part, I didn't know what I was going to do for the talent part because I didn't I didn't sing.

I didn't know anything about acting at that point as a career just wasn't on my radar.

But my mom and my aunt we came up with the idea for me to do a poem, recite a monologue from for Colored Girls who Considered suicide.

Of course you didn't, I love it.

I love it?

Okay, So I did Sorry Lady in Blue, and I did my poem.

I acted it out and I had never done anything like that.

And one of the judges was a producer of a play that they were casting to tour the country.

It's one of the touring the touring plays.

And so after the passion he asked me if I would be interested in auditioning for this play.

And of course, you know, listen, what are you doing?

I was like, what do you do for an audition?

So he was like, bring a picture and a resume and come to the Black Report Toy Theater in Berkeley, California, and I was like, okay that I'll be there.

And so the night before my audition, I had my college roommate take a picture.

I'm aging myself.

It was a polaroid picture.

It's okay, I still got a polar raids.

Okay, okay.

So I had my polaroid picture, and I had my regular working resume.

I was working at the Marriott Hotel.

I had worked at McDonald's.

If it's rent a car.

So that's the rest of.

Yeah to marry.

Yeah, yes, that was a good listen.

I'm where I was working through college.

So so I show up at the theater with my picture and my resume and I walk in and it's like real actors there.

Like I'm like, they like stretching and moming on like some weird chip and I'm like exercises.

Yes, right.

I was like, whoa, this is weird.

I'm gonna sit in the corner.

So I just waited until somebody came out and called my name, and then I went in and I met the director and I met the playwright and they gave me some material and they said, just read this part.

So I read the part and the director, his name is Paul Roach, always credit him for my career and my life.

He said, read it again for us and the character she's sassy, so just you know.

And I was like, oh, okay, so you just want me to be myself basically read it again, and that night they called me and was like, we want to offer you a part wow.

Audition.

Yeah, it was so random's amazing for the country.

Hey, four hundred dollars a week.

I was like, period.

I was that's a lot back, and she was like, well, when is that ever going to happen again in your life?

Go for it.

So I did that play and it was David E.

Twbert's very first player.

He's still doing it with Tizzy.

But Paul wrote the director he traveled with us through the whole run of the show and before you know all our rehearsals and stuff, he was actually training us and acting.

So he introduced us to Stanislawski, a hog Aga and chake Off, all the theater greats.

And I loved it.

I was like, this is what I want to study, this is what I love, and I just never looked back.

That's amazing.

And I think like most well known obviously the Steve Harvey show Man that was even me sitting here talking to you right now, like it's like I'm thinking about that in my head.

Sometimes it sounds like this is amazing.

Oh yeah, I love that character.

Yeah, just and it was she was dope.

She was amazing Friday routine.

If they did it, If they did it, you know how they're doing all these spinoffs reboots.

If they did a reboot of that show, and everyone everyone's like, yeah, we'll do it absolutely.

Although you booked and busy, you know, I will work that out.

You hear it out.

Yeah, and you still talk to everybody.

Everybody, everybody that's good.

We like, we like a story like that.

And I was just telling them.

I was like, let's not forget insecure.

They talked about it for a while.

They teased me, can you tell people because I was like, Cranberry, Yeah, because you would be coming in watching that show.

Yeah.

So she was an investigative reporter.

That's a real show.

And she was that's like from Detroit.

Yes, so she was always looking for missing black girls, the ones that nobody was looking for.

And it was the way they they wrote it was so brilliant because it was truthful.

It was one thousand percent truthful, but it was huh hilarious, just really poking fun at what the world really does to us.

Mary black Woman's like, dude, these women are missing and they're like who what?

What's your name?

So it was just I just thought that was such a great and fun character, and I just loved the writing and thought it was super smart, extremely hilarious.

That She'll always be another one that I really really love.

You know.

That was dope.

That's like one of my favorite shows.

Also, and then if into a podcast, I don't stay looking?

No?

Oh no, okay, y'all have we did?

How many we did?

We stay looking?

Men?

We stay looking?

It won?

Yeah, looking up.

It was so funny.

It was the greatest.

So how did you celebrate when you found out that she the People was picked up?

What did you do to celebrate?

I've been drinking champagne every day.

I mean so many I mean I've done so many things because I'm still just overjoyed.

Like, do you remember what you were doing when they called you to tell you it was picked up?

Well, we already knew, like once we got to Tyler, it was just about getting the dates and so all that anticipation was you know, is this really happening?

Like is this for real?

Even now?

I was like a second you were like, look until this, we don't know, but it's happening.

It's on the schedule, it's happening.

And I'm yes, yes, please do because I hear that that's the way that's me that they really that's motality.

I am always looking to watch and from the trailer, I already.

Know to watch the first eight episodes.

You gotta being it just eight episodes, it's sixteen total.

May second, the first eight.

Drop, Okay.

He always do that to wait for the second part.

But you're only waiting to August.

That's okay.

The first a year.

I'll literally watch it all at once.

No, no, no, I'm saying sometimes make you wait your time.

A couple of months is nothing.

So I don't know how long.

Second season?

Yeah, period.

And people always give Tyler Perry his props for money, like talking about like this is I asked for this and I got it.

And you know, he is the first person that ever gave me like my value and my worth.

What was that negotiation like for you?

Well, what I what I will say is Tyler has given me my dream.

That's amazing.

He's given me my dream.

This has been twenty years in the making.

I'll see now I'll get emotional.

Yeah, twenty years in the making.

It's my dream.

So I have everything I want.

My executive executive producer credit created by and I got a nice check.

Every day, and I'm freaking champagne up and and you know what, my son got a job because my son graduated from Atlanta School of Audio and Engineering.

That's amazing.

And when we first was having meetings over there, they were like talking about how they're looking for more people, more young people to bring into you were like, I got over at the studio and I was like, well, do y'all need people on y'all post apartment?

My son just graduated.

They were like, yeah, bring them in.

They gave them the internship and then hired him.

Amazing.

It's so much younger than just the show, and even so much bigger than just the paycheck.

It's like dreams being made and pouring into my family.

So I know he was so high too.

I know, yes, was like, I'm just so it's amazing.

It's just family vacation, be literal.

And my husband plays on the show too.

Okay, lasting, Yeah, what's his role?

So he plays my security, my driver security.

Listen, bodyguard remake, we see it.

I don't know, I don't know what y'all talking about.

I don't know what's happening.

I love that for you, you know, and you definitely deserve it.

And so this is like so inspiration for all of us.

Just say, I'm thinking about all the ideas I've had in my life, and you know the difference is actually like investing in yourself and implementing it and like you said, going and getting a writer to work on this with you.

Also, it's one thing to have an idea, it's a whole other thing to make it happen.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

And I think believing.

I think sometimes we believe, we have our hopes, we have our dreams, and we believe, but then we don't believe enough.

And that's what I had to charge myself with over all this time.

I was like, yeah, I've always believed that I knew I should have my own show.

I just knew it.

I just knew it.

But until that moment of me when that strike happened, and me picking that up and all those steps I made to move forward, even when it felt like because it wasn't all easy breezy, when it felt like it wasn't going to happen, and I was like, Nope, it's happening, and I kept going, kept going.

The belief in that moment of my life was way more than I ever had.

So I've always believed, but I felt like I didn't believe enough.

So that's what I've been telling people.

Believe more, believe more.

And Tyler always says, your dreams aren't bigger.

You got bigger dreams.

Your dreams aren't big enough.

If they're easily accessible, they're not big enough.

I love it, and I want to say.

The last thing I say about this too, is she the people, is that this is also going to encourage so many people to want to run for office.

Good whether or not you.

Know it, because when you see it, you know what they always say, if you see it, yeah, you could see it, yes, And to see somebody in that position that's like us to know that, like this is something that could potentially happen when you see it could spark so much, you know, and young people that are watching you too.

Absolutely, all of that is purposeful.

All of it is purposeful.

That's why I love what we do.

I love specifically being an actor on television where you're in people's homes.

Because you they get to know you, or they think you know, you become a part of their family.

And because you're in their living rooms, you're at their dinner tables with them, with their kids, you're in the room with them, so they believe you become a part of their family.

And I learned that when I was on The Steve Harvey Show, because people would come up to me and it was like they was like family.

And I was like, I don't even know these people, but they know you, yeah, because I was a part of their family.

And so I've always embraced that, and that's why I've always been adamant about getting back on TV, because that representation matters.

Say it matters, all right?

Well, She the People Part one May twenty second and part two August fourteenth, and that's going to be on Netflix.

We are definitely going to be watching.

Yay and thank you so much.

And a pleasure.

You got to finish it, oh I will, Okay, it's your service chairs.

Thank you