W. Kamau Bell

I mean, so that one specifically was the very first episode of United Shades we ever take.

It was the pilot episode that sold the series.

So I was the one who pitched that idea because it was the idea of the show was like,

black guy goes places he shouldn't go or you wouldn't expect him to go.

And so they were like the country club or the golf course.

And I was like, or the KKK rally.

Cause I was like, you got to go big or go home.

But then it was like, it really was.

the hardest thing about that episode was that it was the pilot.

So I didn't even know the crew that well, and I didn't know the producers that well.

So at the times in the making of that episode, when me, Kamau Bell, the human was having an emotional reaction to something, there was nobody to turn to really and be like, help.

And I mean, there was a, there was a, a friend of mine was a producer on that episode, but there was just really nobody in, in control.

to turn to and be like, this doesn't work for me.

This thing you're asking me to do doesn't work for me.

And, and, and if I have to explain it to you, I'm going to start weeping.

Like, you know, so, so I had a friend of mine who was there to help, but they just really didn't disregard him or me as being like, as far as they were concerned, you know, host of a TV show can meet a lot of different things.

And some hosts are just like wind up toys.

And that's what they want to do.

Like,

I'll just sort of tell me where to go, what to say, how to do it.