We caught up with HBO’s “Insecure” cast Natasha Rothwell, Catherine Curtin, Prentice Penny and Yvonne Orji at the season 2 premiere block party in Inglewood, California.
In anticipation of the season two premiere of Insecure, HBO hosted a VIP Block Party experience with an exclusive screening of the premiere episode in Inglewood. The Block Party included appearances by show creator and star Issa Rae and cast. The event will also featured surprise musical performances throughout the day. This year’s Block Party embraced the show’s Inglewood setting. Local hot spots served a variety of delicious cuisines.
The half-hour comedy series starring Issa Rae, Yvonne Orji, Jay Ellis and Lisa Joyce, looks at the friendship between two modern-day black women who deal with their own real-life flaws, as they attempt to navigate different worlds and cope with an endless series of uncomfortable everyday experiences. Created and executive produced by Issa Rae, the show is also executive produced by Prentice Penny, Melina Matsoukas, Michael Rotenberg, Dave Becky and Jonathan Berry. Watch our exclusive red carpet video below:
Prentice Penny
How are you feeling right now?
Prentice: I’m feeling really relieved it’s coming to an end. We’re editing episode seven and eight right now!
So you’re in the edit bay?
Prentice: Yeah, I’m in the edit bay nonstop. In the edit bay on Monday, so I’m just super excited that it’s coming to a close and for people to see it. You know what I mean? I love that people didn’t have to wait a long time, we end in October and people get to see it nine months later again, you know? That’s really dope to me, you know what I mean? So it’s been really fast …
So as the season’s progress is there going to be any pressure to make it bigger and better?
Prentice: Yeah, I mean obviously they’ve given us more latitude to be able to be us, but I think on the B side of that, I think initially there was all this pressure of … we have to be where we were last year but …. for us, it was like it sort of happened organically. We weren’t trying to be a thing, we were just trying to tell good stories and I think once we stopped worrying about being bigger or whatever … it’s like what’s the truth of where Issa is, what’s the truth of where Lawrence is, what’s the truth of where Molly is, and what are the stories you want to tell there. That sort of went away and it was like let’s actually get smaller, like let’s get more nuanced, let’s get deeper about these characters and more into their flaws and more into the tinier details about their lives, and so … I think it will become bigger by actually becoming smaller in some way and not trying to outdo because then you’re chasing something you’ll never catch.
Do you have an idea on how the story is going to wrap up?
Prentice: No, Issa and I have talked about how long we wanted to do the show for and kind of a resolve that we think might be interesting, but in the terms of where we want the series to end up … obviously, we know how season two ends up, I’m excited to see what people think. I’m excited for people to see the first episode, I tell people that it’s like having a foot on the accelerator and we don’t let off for like eight weeks.
Do you have any thoughts on Emmy nominations?
Prentice: I’m super happy that shows like Atlanta and Blackish … It’s hard to crack the ceiling, you know what I mean? I remember four years ago no shows of color got nominate … we weren’t even on the radar, but now Atlanta is in there, Blackish is in there, Master of None is in there — a show with an Indian lead and Lena Waithe … Look we’ve been on one year, hopefully, this season with Game of Thrones we will get more eyeballs. But if we don’t, we just want to keep doing cool stuff and if that happens you can’t control that. All we want to do is tell good stories and if that happens then it happens, but if it doesn’t, the people love us and that’s what’s up.
I just want to see an Insecure movie.
Prentice: Oohhh God. I can’t fathom that right now. [Laughter]
Natasha Rothwell
So, you have so many iconic lines on the show. I’m curious, are you improvising some of those lines?
Natasha: I am, I am. I feel like that’s such a pleasure for me, and a treat for me just to be able to do that, to have Issa and Prentice and the directors of the show that give me the room to play and improv is such a huge part of my background, and so anytime I get to flex those muscles, I am in heaven. So I don’t really know what ever makes the cut so that’s why when I’m watching the show, I’m really excited. I’m like, “Oh! They took that one!” Or they didn’t, or that.
And so your character has a very specific vantage point, is some of that informed by your life?
Natasha: For sure, I feel like, in the Venn diagram of me and my character, there’s for sure overlap. I mean Kelly is notorious for not giving a fuck, and me in real life, I care very deeply about so many things. I give all of the fucks, all the time. So I think that’s where we differ, but we definitely are fiercely loyal, so I think that her being so bold when it comes to her friends makes sense to me, as a person. So I may not fight a girl for you, but I’ll call my lawyer. You know what I mean? It’s a little different.It’s a little different, but we’re still loyal.
So, what else are you working on?
Natasha: Well, I’m developing a comedy right now with HBO I’m really excited about. Hopefully, that will be coming to you guys soon.
Insecure airs on Sundays.
