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Last week, a recent clip from the quicksilver CBS All Access dramaThe Good Fightwentviral.
And its even more surreal than her unexpected internet infamy.
I dont even remember whose idea it was, but thats the sign of a good room.
Whoever pitched Melania coming in to talk about divorce or annulment, the room just got really excited.
It just felt really electric.
It was a fun way to do a Melania story without it feeling like we were digging at Melania.
The audience never never gets a straight answer as to whether this woman is Melania or not.
Although I do think the show is often able to predict the future!
Its a very prescient show!
We never want this show to veer off too far from reality.
Its a fine line, but I think we found the balance.
Its a very, very fine line.
Youre juggling multiple tones, swerving from Hitchcockian suspense to satire.
Were all going through phases as we move through this Trump presidency, right?
Every day, every minute, Im looking at my phone and theres another crazy headline about something insane.
The show is trying to reflect the way were all constantly trying to navigate this crowd of different emotions.
Theres fun house mirror aspects to it.
Its like, Are you seeing things as youre seeing them?
That sounds like a great way to describe America!Unfortunately!
What character has been the most fun for you to write?I really like Diane, actually.
And then, I do enjoy Audras character, Liz, as well.
Of all the characters, my politics are most closely aligned with Lizs politics.
Shes someone who works within the system in many ways, but still constantly questions the status quo.
What aspect of this episode are you most proud of?I really enjoyed writing Melania or non-Melania.
I didnt want her to feel like a caricature.
I watched her interviews and tried to get a sense of how she speaks.
Shes a ride-or-die chick, as they say, definitely riding for her husband.
Making fun of peoples accents is always stupid and ignorant, so Im glad the show didnt do that.
But I can also imagine its hard to write a character if youre looking down on them.
That was a line from the Kings.
I read it after they put it in and I thought it was hilarious!
How did the racial story lines take shape?I love television writing because its collaborative.
The Kings, especially this season, were very interested in the idea of digging deeper on race.
We really, really went there.
As a 31-year-old black woman, how I see the world is Im angry about a lot of things.
Im very aware of racial injustice.
Once we dug in, youre thinking, Okay, who is Carl Reddick?
Hes this civil-rights icon in the world of our show.
He obviously has this huge reputation in Chicago and in the country.
Then you think, Who are his victims?
Based on the history of the firm, his victims are black women.
Definitely.Its important that black female victims are also depicted and given a voice.
We had some spirited discussions in the room about how the women in question would respond.
Ill admit, my first gut response was, Oh my God, no!
They should go public and be angry!
They should be fighting this!
But I also know that there is a lot of truth in this.
How many black writers were in the room on your season?There were two of us.
It was me and another black male writer, Aurin Squire.
I just want viewers to think about it.
Are you going to come out with a final answer?
Its really all about sparking thought, especially now.
Thats a really beautiful way of looking at it.
But it is important to give them space!
Honestly, it sounds crazy, but theyre people too.
And so working onThe Good Fightwas a great reminder in how to give myself that distance.
Im not saying its always malicious, although sometimes I think it is malicious.
More often its just lack of cultural understanding, where something is being lost in translation.
This has not happened with everyone.
theres a confidence in the way they write this show.
My mission is to create more content about black people and black women specifically.
Representation is really important.
I want to do that.
I want to be one of those voices behind the scenes.
That is going to require a lot of conviction.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
