Writers Guild of America, West’s Committee of Black Writers created this must-watch, eye-opening panel on diversity in television, with TV comedy writers Dan Harmon (“Community’), Alan Yang (“Parks & Recreation”), Aisha Muharrar (“Parks & Recreation”), Halsted Sullivan (“The Office”), and network executive Karen Horne (NBC & Universal Media Studios), moderated by WGAW Committee of Black Writers chair David Wyatt.
I want to applaud them for not only including ethnic diversity but also including two women! (Plus very nicely taping it and putting it online for us all to enjoy!)
In part 1, the panelists discuss how they got started in comedy writing. In part 2, the panelists talk about how “The Office,” “Parks & Recreation” and “Community” deal with ethnic stereotypes in different ways. In part 3, “Community” creator/showrunner Dan Harmon discusses why he’s obssesed with race. In part 4, the panelists debate whether it’s better to include race when writing TV characters or write them as “race-neutral.”
