Yvette Lee Bowser points to Not caught — Onyx’s first scripted comedy starring Kerry Washington and Delroy Lindo — as an important example of how far TV has come in telling contemporary black stories.
“We’re definitely making progress,” said Bowser, whose numerous credits include Another world, living alone, blackish and now serves as showrunner Not caught. “I have been in the business for 35 years. It’s starting to change. It’s incredibly cathartic and incredibly rewarding to be here to guide such a beautiful, fresh story…we as black writers have fought to tell a story. Now we are in a period where we can go deeper, much deeper, why we struggle to love.”
Inspired by the life of author Tracy McMillan, Not caught is half an hour about “a messy but perfectionist couples therapist and single mother whose life is turned upside down when her father gets out of prison and moves in with her and her teenage son.” TBEN Signature’s eight-episode series premieres March 10 on Hulu.
Washington (Scandal) plays Paige Alexander, a marriage and family therapist and mother of 16-year-old Finn. Her formerly incarcerated father Edwin – whom Bowser describes as a “Black Ted Lasso” – is played by Delroy Lindo.
The star of The good fight echoed Bowser’s optimism about the evolution of the TV industry, including the launch of Onyx Collective in 2021 with the goal of curating programming by creators of color.
“Things are different,” Lindo told reporters on the Television Critics Tour on Saturday. “The fact that I am here listening to the intelligence and brilliance of my colleagues and the fact that their intelligence, that brilliance, that dedication, Which vision can be put together in a TV show is an indication of a significant difference. I would also say that in terms of my own personal arc of my career, just the projects I’ve done over the years, like The Harder They Fall, Da Five Bloods…they were what I called historical correctives. This is in its own way a modern-day correction. It’s looking at a family story through a different lens. We are lucky to have creators for whom this is not just a creative journey, but a personal journey.”
The purpose of the comedy, both McMillan and Washington say, is to change hearts and minds around people affected by mass incarceration.
“There are a number of people who go through that system. You think about the system and how it affects personal lives,” says Washington. “[Here’s an] opportunity to take a lens and explore these racist institutions and they influence families’ everyday lies, but in a way that is fun and loving.
McMillan (Crazy men) serves as executive producer, along with Bowser (Living alone). Other executive producers include Joy Gorman Wettels (13 reasons why) with anonymous content, Jen Braeden (Love, Viktor) and Kevin Bray, who directed the first episode.
