Creators of color want an apolitical space for their narratives.
I asked each and every cast member on the red carpet a question alluding to race and politics. Everything’s trash is written by and stars comedian and writer Phoebe Robinson and her good friend Jordan Carlos, who plays her brother. The show is currently being released on Hulu. With so many non-traditional roles for people of color, I wanted to explicitly ask the cast about race. When I finally interviewed Phoebe, she made the cast’s tacit avoidance clear, the show isn’t about race. Although her brother is a state rep, both on and off screen, the show is not about politics.
The entire cast described their first few moments with the script similarly. They were all won over by the relatability and the humor. The show pulls directly from Phoebe’s earlier life in Brooklyn. Phoebe has said in multiple interviews, the borough is a character on the show. T.V. Phoebe plays a pod-cast host, along with her co-host Malika (Toccara Cash.) The writer and comedian Phoebe is best known for her podcast turned HBO show 2 Dope Queens. Phoebe is long time friends with her co-star and on-screen sibling Jordan Carlos. She partly attributes the success of the show to their chemistry, built over years. The cast features a central group of six friends and family members. On the carpet, all of the cast agreed they grew into a tight knit family who brought their chemistry on screen.
After the screening Phoebe spoke about perpetually fighting for the right to be silly. T.V. Phoebe fights for the same right, even at the expense of her brother’s political campaign. Comedian Phoebe is at the heart of the script. She debuted her standup special Sorry, Harriet Tubman last year on HBO. Phoebe spoke about her resistance to respectability politics in the writers room; a black form of political correctness that comes with the struggle to be taken seriously.
In addition to the pressure to be successful in NYC; most metropolitan creatives of color are suffering from an acute form of double-consciousness. Everything’s trash is about Phoebe’s messy, broke, and far less considerate era. In multiple interviews and again after the screening, Phoebe spoke about trying to create characters that are ok with where they’re at. All of the cast members said they wanted to create something that lightens the burden of our current reality. Sometimes turning your brain off is political.
Check out our exclusive red carpet interviews below:
