HOW ROBIN THEDE IS CHANGING EXPECTATIONS OF ‘WHAT BLACK WOMEN IN COMEDY CAN DO’.

Robin Thede isn’t just a writer, producer, reality show host and actor, she is also a one-woman employment agency.

Over the past year, as many across the film and television industry have claimed they want to do better with inclusion of women and BIPOC in front of and behind the camera, Thede has found herself having many “really specific” and frank conversations about how to do so.

Although this is not something Thede only started doing this year, the demand for her attention has increased, partially due to the racial reckoning the country and the industry is experiencing.

“This year, specifically, I called a bunch of the late-night showrunners that I knew didn’t have any Black writers and I had really, really open and honest conversations with them about the need to hire Black people on their staff,” Thede says.

That is why, in addition to her ground-breaking work on HBO’s “A Black Lady Sketch Show” and new overall deal with Warner Bros. Television Group, Thede will be honored with Variety’s Creative Change Award, presented at Mipcom.

“What I do has always been at the fore-front of pushing Black women and people of color forward. I’ve been doing that for years, and I think everyone’s catching up — not to me, but overall,” Thede says. “The good thing is, I don’t have to force any-one because they are in desperate need and they know that this is an [important] change.”