Lena Waithe Wants Filmmakers to Feel Heard: ‘That To Me Is a Real Form of Success’
variety.comJazz Tangcay Artisans Editor When Variety broke down the 100 greatest TV shows of all time late last year, 12 creators were invited to discuss the series that inspired them.
Among those welcomed was Lena Waithe, who didn’t waste a beat to credit “The Cosby Show” spinoff, “A Different World,” for sparking her early interest and getting her creative juices flowing. “When it came time to name my production company, Hillman Grad just felt right,” Waithe says of the fictional college in the sitcom. “It represented a lot about who I was and how ‘A Different World’ was so inspirational to me as a writer, as a kid, as a person.
It just made sense.” On June 29, Waithe will be honored with the Variety Creative Conscience Award at the 48th San Francisco International LGBTQ+ Film Festival (Frameline48) for her work and for helping directors tell their stories. “The Chi” is one of the many projects under Waithe’s Hillman Grad banner.
This season, the Showtime drama features Kadeem Hardison (“A Different World’s” Dwayne) as a college professor. For Waithe, who is also the show’s creator, casting Hardison “is the things dreams are made of.” Says Waithe, “I didn’t even dream it.
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