Steven (pictured top left), who is also a writer and story editor on the show, joined Donald (top right), director Hiro Murai and executive producers Paul Simms and Diane McGunigle for a question and answer session moderated by journalist Lola Ogunnaike after the screening of two episodes for the appreciative and responsive crowd.
When Lola noted that much of the praise for the show has centered on the idea that it makes people feel “what it’s like to be black,” Donald drew a surprising comparison to another series that was a phenomenon in its day.
“The cool thing about The Sopranos that I always liked was you got to live with these characters for a long, long time,” he said. “They’re not great people, but you really understand their point of view. Part of the [reason] why black people are a commodity in this country is you never really have to understand their point of view. You never are forced to be them for that long. Like, black people are trendy right now. They’re not going to be trendy in two years.” [Editor’s note: Donald used air quotes when he said the word “trendy.”]
That’s different from a show that is like Friends, Donald gently insisted. When a show like Friends stops working, there’s going to be another show like Friends, he explained. But “if the Issa Rae show [HBO’s Insecure] doesn’t work they’re not going to let her make another show for a while.”