In Living Color: Keenen Ivory Wayans on Fearless Comedy, Working with Family, and Letting Go of Ego
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Throughout its iconic four-season run on FOX, the Emmy Award-winning sketch series In Living Color, led by creator, performer, and writer Keenen Ivory Wayans, showcased comedy that unapologetically spoke to the Black experience, put the fledgling FOX network on the map, and introduced the world to legendary comedians, writers, and Fly Girls.
Episode Description
In this episode, the first of our Legendary Disruptors series, we celebrate ‘90s comedy icon Keenen Ivory Wayans and the legacy of In Living Color, the revolutionary sketch series on FOX, how it centered the Black American experience, and its impact on comedy and culture. We dig into how Wayans hired the writers and performers who would become legends, the way he used satire to upend stereotypes, and his refusal to water down the show for white audiences and skittish network executives. Wayans reflects on what it’s like working with his family and how they made their way into comedy, as well as how comedy has and hasn’t changed in the 21st century. We are then joined by writer and director Felicia Pride to discuss the legacy of In Living Color, the 90s golden era of Black sitcoms, and her own upcoming reboot of A Different World for Netflix.
30+ year rewind into 90s Black sketch comedy