Robin Thede ain’t here for any more Emmy snubs for the hilarious Black women from “A Black Lady Sketch Show.”
“We’re showing you the characters behind the characters,” she recently told Variety at a Q&A panel. “I love it. You see the full range of actors on the show. But I want to note that none of the show’s actors have ever been nominated for an Emmy, and they deserve it.”
Four seasons into the groundbreaking HBO series, the creative minds and strategists hope to change that.
Read: Variety’s Awards Circuit for the latest Emmy predictions.
HBO confirms exclusively to Variety that the network will be submitting the six-episode Season 4 for 30 Emmy categories, notably outstanding scripted variety series (formerly called variety sketch series, where it was nominated for its first three seasons) and three main acting categories: Thede for lead comedy actress and Gabrielle Dennis and Skye Townsend for supporting comedy actress.
Acting nominees for various sketch comedies have benefited “Saturday Night Live” cast members in recent years, such as two-time winner Kate McKinnon. In 2008, the Emmys retired the category for outstanding individual performance in a variety or music program, leaving actors from sketch shows to seek recognition alongside scripted narrative performers.
Townsend, who joined “A Black Lady Sketch Show” a featured player in Season 2 before being promoted to the main cast the following season, has become a standout. The 29-year-old steals the show in multiple sketches with hilarious characters such as one of The Bible Ladies in “The Mange-Her” (“water is free?”) and “Plugged In” as Omarion’s big-lipped-and-hipped girlfriend LaDonna (“I’m gonna be like Michelle Omarion-Bama”).
The road for Thede faces more obstacles due to fewer open slots and more competition. Depending on the number of acting submissions, lead comedy actress will likely yield five or six possibilities while supporting will max out at eight.
Noteworthy, only one Black woman has won lead comedy actress in 75 years: Isabel Sanford for “The Jeffersons” in 1981. In addition, two have won for supporting comedy actress — Jackée Harry for “227” in 1987 and, most recently, Sheryl Lee Ralph for “Abbott Elementary” in 2022.
Damya Gurley, Tamara Jade, Skye Townsend, Robin Thede, Gabrielle Dennis and Angel Lakeeta Moore at the Los Angeles Premiere & FYC Event for season 4 of “A Black Lady Sketch Show.”
Tommaso Boddi for Variety
Despite main actors being snubbed, “A Black Lady Sketch Show’s” guest performers have found luck with the TV Academy with three previous nominees: Yvette Nicole Brown and Issa Rae in 2021 and Angela Bassett in 2020. Brown and Rae will be among the submitted guests this year, along with Tracee Ellis Ross, Jackée Harry, Kyla Pratt and Kym Whitley. In addition, the potential guest actor lineup will include Colman Domingo, Jay Ellis, Omarion, Sam Richardson and Leonard Robinson.
The sketch series has claimed three history-making Emmy statuettes over its seasons.
In 2021, the show won the award for outstanding picture editing for variety programming (Daysha Broadway, Stephanie Filo and Jess Hernandez), becoming the first-ever all-women-of-color team recognized for nominations and winning. Only one Black editor had won the category previously — Lance Cain in 2004 for “A&E in Concert: Paul McCartney in Red Square.”
At last year’s ceremony, along with a consecutive win for editing (Filo, Taylor Mason, Bradinn French and S. Robyn Wilson), Bridget Stokes became the first Black woman to win directing for a variety series for helming the episode “Save My Edges, I’m a Donor!,” breaking “SNL’s” five-year winning streak.
By the end of the premiere screening on April 13 at the Academy’s Linwood Dunn Theater in Los Angeles, the legacy of “Black Lady Sketch Show” had become apparent. Thede has created the foundation of a series, like Lorne Michaels with “SNL” back in 1975, that will become a breeding ground for hilarious and influential Black comedians coming up in the industry. Aside from Thede and Dennis, who has been part of the main cast since its inception, even Quinta Brunson of “Abbott Elementary” was on the first season before moving on to her hit ABC sitcom.
“A Black Lady Sketch Show” airs Fridays at 11 p.m. ET/PT on HBO and streams on HBO Max. The complete list of the category submissions is below:
- Outstanding Scripted Variety Series – Robin Thede, Issa Rae, Tony Hernandez, Brooke Posch, David Becky, Jonathan Berry, executive producers; Chloé Hilliard, Monique Moses, Bridget Stokes, co-executive producers; Linda Morel, co-executive producer/line producer; Corin Wells, John Skidmore, Montrel McKay, producers
- Lead Actress in a Comedy Series — Robin Thede
- Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series — Gabrielle Dennis, Skye Townsend
- Guest Actor in a Comedy Series — Colman Domingo, Jay Ellis, Omarion, Sam Richardson, Leonard Robinson
- Guest Actress in a Comedy Series — Yvette Nicole Brown, Issa Rae, Tracee Ellis Ross, Jackée Harry, Kyla Pratt and Kym Whitley
- Directing for a Variety Series – Bridget Stokes
- Writing for a Variety Series – Robin Thede, Chloé Hilliard, Monique Moses, Corin Wells, Jonterri Gadson, Vannessa Jackson, Natalie McGill, Naima Pearce, Jazz Pitcairn, Amber Singletary
- Cinematography for a Single Camera (Half-Hour) – Kevin Atkinson
- Picture Editing for Variety Programming – Stephanie Filo, Taylor Joy Mason, Malinda Zehner Guerra
- Costumes for Variety, Nonfiction or Reality Programming – Michelle Page Collins, Wyandon Lubom, Keely Crum
- Hairstyling for a Variety, Nonfiction or Reality Program – Shavonne Brown, Debra Brown, Lyndsey Scott, Flo Witherspoon
- Lighting Design/Lighting Direction for a Variety Series – Cooper Donaldson
- Makeup for a Variety, Nonfiction or Reality Program (Non-Prosthetic) – Jacqueline Knowlton, Chelsea Orduño, Camille Evans, Ashley Tarver, Patrikk Johnson
- Music Composition for a Series (Original Dramatic Score) – Amanda Jones
- Production Design for a Variety or Reality Series – Cindy Chao, Michelle Yu, Lizzie Boyle
- Sound Editing for a Comedy or Drama Series (Half-Hour) – Fred Howard, Anthony Vanchure
- Sound Mixing for a Variety Series or Special – Jeremy Brill