Issa Rae says she's continuing to work on building her own studio or a way to control distribution of her shows amid a lack of work in Hollywood and difficulty getting projects greenlit.
Speaking at the Fast Company Innovation Festival in Manhattan on Thursday, the Insecure The star and creator noted that despite her success, several shows she has produced, including rap shit, Sweet life and A black women's sketch showhave been cancelled. The current landscape is very challenging, Rae said, adding that she believes the industry is also awaiting the results of the US presidential election.
“The market has changed so much and we’re all susceptible to it. There’s no one who isn’t affected by it,” Rae said. “And a lot of the conversations, even about this movie that we shot in Los Angeles, are about how there’s nothing being shot there right now and there’s not a lot of work. And I get inundated with emails every week with people saying, ‘Hey, if you have anything, I’m available. ’ It’s tough and overall it’s a big waiting game to figure out what’s going to happen with the industry,” Rae said.
“I’ve had a great relationship with the partners I work with now and I love working with them. It’s just that everyone, every single network, maybe with the exception of Netflix, is beholden to Wall Street right now. And I think after the election, things will change because they’ll know what’s possible in a very, very scary way. The industry is just waiting,” he continued.
Rae currently has a five-year overall deal with what was formerly known as WarnerMedia when she signed the deal in 2021.
The writer and producer launched Hoorae Media, an independent media production company, in September 2020, with the aim of having more control over what projects are produced, with a particular emphasis on stories written by Black creatives and starring Black talent.
“It’s about making sure that we have our hands in every part of the process. And that will hopefully eventually lead to a studio, whether it’s a network, whether it’s some form of distribution, being the North Star,” Rae said. “But right now it’s about prioritizing these stories little by little. What I’ve seen, and what we’ve all seen even just looking at the television landscape right now, is that there aren’t a lot of Black stories on the air. And that’s something that will always be at the core of what we do and who we consider. And I know there aren’t a lot of networks or studios that feel the same way.”
