Gabrielle Dennis and Skye Townsend (‘A Black Lady Sketch Show’): ‘It’s not your standard sketch comedy’ [Exclusive Video Interview]

“It’s not your standard sketch comedy where you go and there’s a three camera set up,” reveals Gabrielle Dennis about “A Black Lady Sketch Show.” For our recent webchat she adds, “We’re on location shooting like mini films. A lot of work goes into those two to four minute sketches. I don’t think people quite understand the work that goes into it.” Watch our exclusive video interview above.

The sketch show, which spoofs a wide range of genres, stars creator Robin Thede, alongside Dennis and Townsend. The  fourth season premieres this week on HBO. The series has won three Emmys and been nominated in the Best Variety Sketch Series category for all previous seasons. Townsend admits, “When you think you have run out of characters there is always inspiration. Whether it was a waiter I met at a restaurant, or somebody I dated, or a family member. You have to get creative with choices. There’s always inspiration if you look around.”

More from GoldDerby

• Will 'Black Panther' or 'Scream' become just the 4th franchise to win multiple MTV Movie and TV Awards for Best Movie?

• 'Somebody Somewhere' season 2 trailer: Bridget Everett's 'outsiders' comedy series returns to HBO [WATCH]

• Emmys flashback: 50 years ago movie stars made the move to TV

SEEEmmy Experts slugfest: Comedy categories are no laughing matter

Dennis has been on the show since the first season and explains, “You are not only inspired by outside sources, you are inspired internally. We inspire each other on set. We find new things, little nuances. That is the fun part of putting all the pieces together. Not just the actors, but the set, the wardrobe, the props, the hair and make-up. It all comes together. We are challenging ourselves to do better than what we did last year.”

Townsend joined the show as a featured player in season two before being added to the main cast for the third season. She says, “It was a dream because we get to come in and play for work. The challenge is playing even harder every single year. Going, ‘how do I grow? What would I have done differently? What was my best character? I think on the show we learn every year. Listening to the audience and making adjustments is really important. Because you can get comfortable in how a show works and never move. I love that we are always listening to them and bringing back characters and sketches that they love.”

Dennis reflects that “A Black Lady Sketch Show has “taught me how much the world needs a good laugh. And I don’t mind being at the expense of it.”

PREDICT the 2023 Emmy nominees through July 12

Make your predictions at Gold Derby now. Download our free and easy app for Apple/iPhone devices or Android (Google Play) to compete against legions of other fans plus our experts and editors for best prediction accuracy scores. See our latest prediction champs. Can you top our esteemed leaderboards next? Always remember to keep your predictions updated because they impact our latest racetrack odds, which terrify Hollywood chiefs and stars. Don’t miss the fun. Speak up and share your huffy opinions in our famous forums where 5,000 showbiz leaders lurk every day to track latest awards buzz. Everybody wants to know: What do you think? Who do you predict and why?

SIGN UP for Gold Derby’s free newsletter with latest predictions

Best of GoldDerby

• 'Survivor' showmances: Top 15 sexiest of all time, including Matt and Frannie

• Emmy predictions 2023: Jason Segel, Dominique Fishback now predicted to receive nominations [Updated April 11]

• 2023 Sports Emmys nominations: 'NFL 360' and 'XXIV Olympic Winter Games' tie at 10

Sign up for Gold Derby's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Click here to read the full article.