“Breaking into scripted comedy when you’re not a straight, cis white guy continues to be a huge challenge,” says Brittani Nichols. The Abbott Elementary co-executive producer jokes she overcame it “via sorcery,” and now her hit Emmy-nominated ABC series is entering its fourth season.
“I try to create comedy that makes you feel like you’re part of a community while you’re watching them,” Nichols says. That feeling of community, particularly for Black and queer people, is evident throughout Nichols’s work. She won accolades for her 2016 feature Suicide Kale, which she wrote, produced, and starred in, and she served as an actor on Prime Video’s Transparent (2016) and writer on A Black Lady Sketch Show (2019).
On Abbott, Nichols has helped create an environment that’s accessible without compromising the uniqueness of the community portrayed on screen. “It’s been interesting seeing how few people attribute the success of Abbott to our diverse writing staff,” she says. “The show is distinctly American, and it is uniquely Black American just as it is Philadelphian and queer and beautiful.” @bishilarious
