Issa Rae and HBO celebrated the upcoming third season of Insecure with a stadium-sized festival, the aptly named Insecure Fest. To say this was the greatest day of my life is an understatement. I don’t have kids, I’m single, I get to say things like this.
The first episode is a goddamn riot. Funny, honest and real as ever, Insecure is the LA I know and love. The cast stopped by to talk Trump, music and tv’s changing landscape.
Issa Rae
The Knockturnal: What can fans expect from the new season?
Issa Rae: They can expect that we’re trying a lot of new things this season, that we’re focused on the girls’ dynamic this season.
The Knockturnal: How have things changed since Season 1?
Issa Rae: A lot has changed since Season 1. The work flow, we’re working hard. This season was actually way harder than the other seasons. I can’t explain why, but there was just a lot of changes and a lot of things. You know you can get complacent and sometimes you can be like “Ok, we know what the show is,” but we always want to challenge ourselves and we definitely challenged ourselves this season.
The Knockturnal: Do you ever feel the temptation to, like, take it big? Like “Oh, it’s Season 3. Now we’ve got to go to Maui!”?
Issa Rae: Like for certain episodes, but only if it fits within the storyline. Like there was one episode where we literally, in the writer’s room, heard that something happened, something was announced, and we were like “oh shoot, we’ve got to make this an episode.” And then we brought it to Prentice, and Prentice was like “But it’s got to work for the story.” And we made it work for the story. So that was exciting, but we don’t do anything that doesn’t work for our characters.
The Knockturnal: How does it feel to make a show like this? Like in political times like these, how important is it to do?
Issa Rae: I mean I think it’s an escape and it just feels like we’re celebrating ourselves, we’re celebrating our mediocrity, we’re celebrating our ordinariness and that’s what feels special and to be able to do that feels like an honor.
Catherine Curtin
The Knockturnal: You’re playing the head of We Got Y’all, a non profit. We’re in fraught political times. How does it feel to play a character like this right now?
Catherine Curtin: I think it’s super important. I think if we do not embrace our 529s, if we do not embrace our non-for profits, if we do not get excited about what we can do for each other and with each other, we are not living our lives. And if you are bored and sitting at home and you’re watching too much QVC, or whatever, you’ve got to get out there and figure out who and what you want to volunteer for, and join the community. It’s a great community. There’s so much going on. There’s so much dynamic energy right now with people coming to the table. I can’t even say the man’s name who’s in the White House right now. I think he’s such a lowlife cockroach. He’s like a New York City cockroach. And I just want to take my foot and stamp him out. I think what’s happening is he’s forcing a counter-cultural revolutionary movement. These are really important things that are going down right now. We are taking it back. I think Insecure is part of that pathway. And I think HBO is on the right train.
The Knockturnal: Have you found your character starts to bleed into you a little bit? Do you take some of her home?
Catherine Curtin: Not really. I’m sort of a hippie, but I constantly play bosses. Which is funny cause my 12 year old son and my cat are actually the boss. So I’m confused, cause how am I really the boss? People write me these boss roles all the time, but in my real life, I’m not the boss. Maybe it’s some wishful mission that I’m on.
The Knockturnal: The show’s obviously really popular for music. What do you listen to?
Catherine Curtin: I’m kind of a dopey music person. I basically love all music, but I’m really into old-fashioned r&b. I’m really into jazz and gospel. I love rap, I love where it’s going. I love the way we’re melding so many forms, so many sounds, so many ways of bending your mind and opening your mind. It is making us so much smarter. I think rap is genius. But I can’t help the fact that I love me some r&b.
Natasha Rothwell
The Knockturnal: What’s it like being on a show like this in the political times we’re in? How important is it to have these voices?
Natasha Rothwell: It’s imperative. I feel like this current administration is trying to silence marginalized voices. And I feel like being black and being excellent is defiant under this administration.
The Knockturnal: Can you give me an update on your show?
Natasha Rothwell: Still working on it. I’m excited to bring it to folks. I think it’s unlike anything I’ve seen on tv, and I’m so excited to be apart of something like that. And this network is really committed to taking risks, and I feel like my project is really taking some risks, as far as storytelling. And they’ve been so supportive and so I can’t wait to bring that to you guys.
The Knockturnal: How would you say you’ve grown as an actress over these three seasons?
Natasha Rothwell: I feel like I grow as an actress everytime I’m on set. Regardless of the project, I feel lucky and very fortunate to be on the set where there’s so many people of color behind the camera and in front of the camera. That’s kind of an anomaly in this industry. Doing that on this show has been incredible and has taught me a lot. And working in a writer’s room that is so loving and smart I feel challenged and excited by the people I work with. And so that’s taught me to find people to work with like that in all my own shows that go forward.
Prentice Penny
The Knockturnal: How has the process changed producing the show over the years?
Prentice Penny: The process at the core is still the same. Obviously people are busy now and stuff like that. But she and I always talked about the show and what we want to accomplish and what we want to do. So that doesn’t change at all.
The Knockturnal: And I notice you’re tweeting along with the show. You’re very responsive to fans. Do you have just as much fun watching it as fans do?
Prentice Penny: Yeah I have fun watching, because some nights you think ‘oh this is gonna get a big reaction and it won’t.’ And then this little thing is like ‘oh snap.’ And sometimes you’re dead on about what people are going to like. So it’s fun watching that rollercoaster. Knowing what the twists and turns are and then watching their reaction to the twists and turns and you’re like ‘oh it worked! It actually does work.’
The Knockturnal: Any plans for an Insecure movie?
Prentice Penny: Not right now [laughs]. Not in the middle of the TV show, nah. Our show is fun to do. I don’t know what the movie would be, but if you watch the first four episodes, that’s like a nice two hour movie right there.
Sujata Day
The Knockturnal: What’s it like being on a show like this in political times like these?
Sujata Day: I mean this is unbelievable. It’s obviously a revolutionary show. And it’s exciting to be a part of it. And I think it’s changing the landscape of tv as we know it. I just hope it spawns more shows. I feel like it’s still a very slow process going through the hollywood system, because the people at the top they don’t look like me and you. I think all we can do is just keep pushing and keep promoting our friends and all of their successes and that includes shows like this.
The Knockturnal: How have you grown as an actress since being on the show?
Sujata Day: What was really cool is that on Awkward Black Girl I was her best friend. So I was really nice to Issa. So it’s been really fun playing a character that’s shady to Issa. Even though after we yelled cut, I’m like ‘Oh my god, I’m so sorry!’ But it’s fun, as an actor you always love playing the villain. That’s one of the most fun jobs out there.
The Knockturnal: The show’s really focused on music, obviously. What’s something you’ve picked up from the show that you love now, or just something like you love generally?
Sujata Day: I just love listening to the soundtrack. It’s just great if you have a pool party or something, and it totally fits the pool party.
Or if you have a photo shoot.
Or if you have a photo shoot, you’ll look fierce.
INSECURE season three premieres exclusively on HBO on Sunday, August 12th at 10:30 PM ET/PT and will be available on HBO NOW, HBO GO, HBO On Demand and partners’ streaming platforms. For more information visit http://www.hbo.com/insecure.
