Elle USA - 11.2019

n the red carpet of last year’s Emmys,

Stefani Robinson, who was there as a

nominee for writing the “Barbershop”

episode of Atlanta, was asked how it felt to be

the only female writer on the show. She nod-

ded, swallowed, and offered up a very diplomat-

ic answer of the “Just happy to be here” variety.

Today, in between writing for FX’s What We

Do in the Shadows and gearing up to return to

Atlanta, she’s pleased to report that the industry

is improving in terms of inclusion and diversi-

ty. “It is tough. I think being a woman in any

industry is difficult, and there have been times

when I’ve had to work a little bit harder to make

sure my voice is heard,” says Robinson, who

moved to L.A. in 2014 with the goal of writing

for TV. “But when I’m in writers’ rooms with

other women, we find ways to amplify each

other—to credit each other out loud and make

sure everyone is heard. I’ve been very lucky, but

there’s still a lot of room to grow.”

atti Harrison, a rising comedy star whose

Tonight Show bit about Trump’s transgen-

der military ban led to gigs with Big Mouth

and Shrill, is on lunch break from shooting the

second season of the latter, after a breakout per-

formance as Ruthie on its first season. The series

is shooting in Portland, which Harrison de-

scribes as a beautiful place and “full of spiders.”

She adds, “I’ve been [here] two months, and I

think I’ve walked through 30 webs.” Harrison

came to performing through improv but wasn’t

initially planning on turning it into a career. “I

graduated from college, came out as trans, and

moved home to save money,” she says. Two

years later, she moved to New York and started

appearing in local comedy showcases. While the

industry is beginning to address its misogyny

shley Nicole Black, who made a name
for herself as a writer and correspon-
dent for Full Frontal With Samantha
Bee, is hard at work on the second season of
ABC’s Bless This Mess and taking in the “kind
of overwhelmingly positive” reviews of A Black
Lady Sketch Show, which was renewed by HBO
for a second season. “Sometimes you write
stuff that’s like, ‘I know this is going to kill,’ and
sometimes you’re like, ‘Maybe I’m the only
person who’s noticed this thing.’” Lots of peo-
ple noticed when Senator Elizabeth Warren
replied to Black’s tweet earlier this year ask-
ing if the presidential hopeful had a plan to
fix her love life. “She responded, ‘DM me and
let’s figure this out,’” Black recalls. “And I died

CULTURE

ASHLEY NICOLE BLACK

STEFANI ROBINSON

PAT TI HARRISON

A

P

KNOWN FOR: FULL FRONTAL WITH SAMANTHA

BEE AND A BLACK LADY SKETCH SHOW

KNOWN FOR: ATLANTA, WHAT WE DO IN THE

SHADOWS, AND MAN SEEKING WOMAN

KNOWN FOR: SHRILL AND BIG MOUTH