Issa Rae: Insecure was inspired by the predominantly black TV shows I grew up on: Living Single, A Different World, Girlfriends

GQ

Those kind of shows just disappeared, says Rae in a GQ profile. “The takeaway was ‘Agh, black people are so dope. Where are they at on TV right now? Now I want my own version,'" she says. Still, Rae is surprised by the demographics of her audience. “I think what most surprised me was that the audience wasn't 90 percent black,” she says. “I think only 30 to 40 percent of the audience are black people. But I'm like, okay, HBO isn't accessible to everyone. Like, I didn't have HBO. I used my friend's password until the show got picked up.”

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