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After the Emmys, Lena Waithe is Ready to Write a Black Lesbian Into Prime Time

Lena Waithe
Jordan Strauss/AP

The Master of None writer is fighting for LGBTQIA representation on TV.

Lena Waithe is having a moment. On Sunday, she made history as the first black, queer woman to win an Emmy for writing in a comedy series, but that's just the beginning. After winning the Emmy alongside Aziz Ansari for co-writing that "Thanksgiving" episode of Master of None, she stepped up to the mic and delivered the best speech of the night--thanking both her girlfriend Alana Mayo and her "LGBTQIA family."

Now that she's gone viral, she's ready for world domination or, at least, a push for more diversity on TV. "We do still have a way to go," Waithe told The Daily Beast about LGBTQIA representation. "I want to create a show where a black gay woman is the lead, where she is the protagonist, she is the person whom we are following. That is still yet to be done. I have faith. I hope we can make it happen, we still don't have that. We don't have a show where a queer brown male person is the lead."

Related | Lena Waithe on Coming Out & Writing Master of None's Best Episode Yet

We have no doubt that Waithe is soon to be one of TV's most sought-after writers thanks to her Emmy win, and she's already writing up characters that will break the mold. Specifically, she hints that she's working on a drama, featuring a black lesbian protagonist for prime time. "Yes, I'm writing something. Yep, yep, yep, I'm working on it," she said. "I'll just say things are looking good and people should stay tuned."

Read the full interview with The Daily Beast,here.

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