When it came to the Primetime Emmys this year, loving both Insecure and Schitt’s Creek was a hard place to be.
After years of snubs in the category, Issa Rae’s stunning HBO series was finally nominated for outstanding comedy series – an exciting milestone for both the cast and fans of the show.
But it meant that Insecure would be going up against sleeper hit and eventual comedy juggernaut Schitt’s Creek.
From the bottom of my heart, I was genuinely ecstatic that Dan Levy, Catherine O’Hara and co. sweeped the board during what is their final year of being eligible for the Emmys, as Schitt’s Creek was being recognised for its last ever season.
I watched the first season of Schitt’s Creek on Netflix not hoping for much, simply searching for something that would fill a spare 30 minutes every now and then.
What I ended up finding was an underrated gem with uncomfortable, off-beat comedy, a cast of perfect misfits and an absolute diamond in O’Hara who played family matriarch Moira Rose so brilliantly that I’m still surprised by the wig-loving queen’s quirky personality, even after six seasons.
Schitt’s Creek is the type of show that shouldn’t have worked among the masses but it did.
Its staggering success at this year’s Emmys was more than deserved. I was certainly cheering them on from the virtual FROW.
But there’s a reason the show’s lead star and creator, Dan Levy, just had to give Issa Rae a special shout-out during his acceptance speech.
‘I want to recognise Issa Rae and the writers on #Insecure for writing some of the funniest, most heartfelt television of the year,’ Dan told the audience.
He told no lies.
After discovering Issa’s Awkward Black Girl series on YouTube, HBO just had to have the talented writer.
Insecure is without a doubt one of, if not the, most relatable shows on TV for young black people today.
It’s not about gangs or drugs or any other stereotypical ‘black’ storyline. Insecure is simply about 30-something professionals trying to navigate the transition from their twenties, including their careers and love.
Season four, which aired this summer, is without a doubt its best yet.
Issa, the character, finally discovered her calling as an event organiser within the black community, the tension between her and Molly (Yvonne Orji) finally came to a head after their showdown at Issa’s event and then…
Then there was the most beautiful episode of the series – and possibly on TV this year.
Issa and her former love Lawrence, after the cheating, break-ups and casual sex, laid all their feelings bare and rediscovered each other again.
Their date night was not only breathtaking for the colours, symbolism and cinematography – shout out to Ava Berkofsky for directing the piece – it was a defining moment of the whole series.
It turned even the hardest of #TeamNathan supporters into the #TeamLawrence hive… Nathan, being Issa’s other bae.
For me, Insecure winning the Emmy would have come down to this episode hands down. As much as Molly and Issa’s friendship is the root of the show, whether Issa and Lawrence would reunite is the thread.
Think Ross and Rachel’s ‘will they, won’t they’ in Friends.
Lawrence and Issa aren’t perfect, but who is? Any representation of perfectly imperfect true black love is a joy to see.
But perhaps that was also the root of Insecure’s Emmys loss this year.
Yes, it can be classed as a comedy and serves some stomach-aching hilarity but it shouldn’t be boxed in as such. It’s so much more than that – it offers heart, drama and sometimes action if you count Issa, Molly and co. running around the city in search of Tiffany (Amanda Seales) in the finale episode.
Insecure has shown that being black doesn’t always equal a negative stereotype. We can have a show about relationships and finding one’s way in the world and the result be a stunning piece of TV.
Which is why Dan acknowledged Issa’s craft in his speech – he gets it.
Oscar-winning filmmaker Ava Duvernay summed it up perfectly in one tweet: ‘“Shout out to Insecure” is hollywood for “black lives matter”’.
Or, like Schitt’s Creek, Insecure matters too.
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