An Exploration of Extreme Ashiness, HERteps and The Bad B*tch Support Group
A Black Lady Sketch Show is the latest HBO series centering Black women. The comedy sketch show was created by Robin Thede and executive produced by Issa Rae. The star-studded comedienne cast also includes Ashley Nicole Black, Quinta Brunson, and Gabrielle Dennis. All of these phenomenal Black women are series regulars and are joined by several Black actresses and celebrity guests.
After watching the first episode, I will say that I did not know how much I needed a strictly Black lady show of sketch comedy. Maybe because I’m so used to growing up and seeing skits on Saturday Night Live, The Chapelle Show or even lost clips of “In Living Color” skits but never an all-Black woman cast and comedy. There is unique humour amongst Black people but even more so amongst Black women, that others try to replicate but [un]fortunately cheapen the intricacies of with every lousy attempt.
#ABLSS is clever and conscious. It’s the type of sketch show humour that is almost obnoxious but equally thought-provoking once your brain catches up to what you just witnessed. The pilot episode, of the incredibly fitting title, “Angela Basset is the Baddest B*tch” is an overall great watch. The following are my 3 favourite skits - in no particular order.
* spoiler alert *
The FOG
The series opens up with a Gabrielle Dennis manically running in all brown, field worker clothing in the middle of the forestry, reminiscent of a slave narrative. At first glance, I unable to see what she is running from other than this white mist that hovers over the screen. At this point, I was intrigued because the possibilities of things Dennis could potentially be running from were endless.
She then runs into her friend, Ashley Black who is dressed in the same attire. They exchange banter between one another of how what they could be running from (and how they need to practice patience, understanding and zodiac signs) which turns these first moments into a thriller. Then, the scene pans out and I came to find out it was flight attendant Yvonne Orji scatting her ashy arm. Could you imagine?
The brown full body attire and running Black women were skin cells! Which would mean the white misty fog causing all the commotion was DRY SKIN. If that’s not a Jordon Peele box office hit waiting to write itself, I don’t know what is. Extreme ashiness is a scary sight especially on darker skin complexions, a couple of scratches and your arm starts shedding frosted flakes. Luckily, once Orji applies some of Palmer’s cocoa butter knockoff called “The Fog” and all peace has resorted. End scene.
The HERtep Master Class
The next notable skit, in my opinion, is what would happen if a pick-me and Hotep created offspring. The kind of women you’d have to avoid at all costs, especially on Twitter. Pre-PhD Dr. Haddassah Olayinka Ali-Youngman is a smooth cross between Iyanla Vanzant, Miss Cleo and well Rachel Dolezal. She’s dressed in west African wax prints, is surrounded by wooden safari animal wall art and has the key to the successful “Black family unit” rhetoric down pat.
Our Black family unit is under threat. Our men are unfocused and unproductive. Doing frivolous things like getting therapy and smiling. Women are supposed to be the keepers of the home but today sisters are trying to exist outside the role of a wife or mother, but if you are a wife or mother you don’t belong outside. Take your shoes off.”
- Pre-PhD Dr. Haddassah Olayinka Ali-Youngman
Performed by Ms. Thede herself, Dr. Ali-Youngman’s class comes equipped with a course pack of questionable Black myths to last a lifetime. I don’t know about you, but the mere thought of this fictional woman facilitating anything close to one of Oprah’s Master Class’ is petrifying. The thought is almost as awful as flaky dry skin with no “the fog” body butter in sight. Yikes.
The Bad B*tch Support Group
This particular skit was the focal point of the show’s premiere trailer and highlighted the baddest woman of them all, Angela Bassett - the goddess. The baddy B support group is for women who are struggling to adhere to being “high maintenance”, according to the likes of social media (no pun intended). The ranking of women begins with the bad b*tch, then “an okay b*tch” and lastly, the highly forsaken basic b*tch.
The catch is, that the support group in actuality is a focus group organized by Fashion Nova-like evil geniuses that are monitoring the subjects through a one-way glass. The FN doctors are in cahoots with the ringleader, played by Bassett, who have given the subjects “Foxy Codone” pills that cause them to ignore their desires and continue to maintain their baddy aesthetic.
“If women start rejecting impossible beauty standards, we’ll go out of business.”
- Foxy Codone Doctor
The third wall is broken when subject #4 , also played by Gabrielle Dennis starts questioning her choices to be a baddy and realizes that sometimes she just wants to wear flat house shoes rather than three-inch heel home shoes. Of course, upon sharing this information with the rest of the support group, who is also on that Foxy C, she is ostracized and ridiculed for even thinking she could digress in baddy ranking.
The skit is clever in that it showcases the life of social media users, but also victimizes a specific brand of women while allowing viewers to understand the potential hardships that the seeking validation online “drug” can cause over time. From major online wholesale boutiques to flat tummy tea distributors alike, we all contribute to unhealthy online culture.
#ABLSS is the first-ever all Black women casted sketch show, with an all-Black women writers room and directing team. We are promised a 6 episode the first season, and after watching this first episode I’m excited what this season has in store!
