Hundreds Of Late-Night Comedy-Variety Writers Pledge To Support WGA Diversity Initiative

David Robb
·6 min read
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More than 250 writers have signed or endorsed a WGA pledge to increase diversity, equity and inclusion in late-night comedy-variety writers rooms.

The pledge calls for concrete steps to ensure that the hiring pipeline is open and accessible to BIPOC writers; to address unconscious biases in the review process of writing packets; to create informal and formal mechanisms to support BIPOC writers’ ability to succeed in traditionally white writers rooms; and to ensure that diverse voices are heard, supported and elevated.

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“These commitments are just a start to a long process,” the pledge, released Tuesday, states. “We must create an industry in which diversity is not an aspirational goal but is a fundamental trait. Our industry will not be a diverse, equitable, and inclusive industry until it is that by default – until the pipelines into the industry and the hiring processes, room cultures, and supervisory structures at shows together create an environment in which we do not hire diverse writers onto writing staffs, but rather hire writers onto diverse writing staffs.”

More than 200 writers have endorsed the pledge, which was signed by more than 50 hosts, showrunners, executive producers and head writers on such shows as Saturday Night Live, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, Late Night with Seth Meyers, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, Inside Amy Schumer, Desus & Mero and How to With John Wilson.

Signers include John Oliver, Amy Schumer, Samantha Bee, Trevor Noah, Kal Penn, Amber Ruffin, Charlamagne tha God, Adam Conover, The Kid Mero, Desus Nice and John Wilson.

See the pledge and its full list of signers and endorsers here.

“As hosts, showrunners, executive producers, and head writers of late-night and comedy-variety television,” the pledge states, “we commit to improving diversity, equity, and inclusion in our industry – not only as a matter of social justice, but with the understanding that the continued vitality and relevance of our work is dependent on hiring, empowering, retaining, developing, and promoting diverse talent, and on ensuring that our work onscreen and off reflects the racial diversity of our country and audience.

“Though shows vary in staffing, structure, and schedule, the issues in this industry are systemic, and the challenges facing Black, Indigenous, and writers of color must be addressed at every show. As writers with authority and power in this system, we must maintain a common level of commitment to this work and must uphold a certain ethic of behavior. To that end, we recognize and commit that:

• Traditional pipelines into late-night and comedy-variety television are historically overwhelmingly white, and it is, therefore, insufficient to rely solely upon them when making hiring decisions. As supervisory writers, it is on us to ensure that job openings reach diverse applicants: both writers new to the field, as well as the experienced BIPOC applicants who are already working in the industry. We will look for applicants in more diverse spaces than the traditional set of colleges, universities, and comedy spaces and we will expand our existing networks by seeking recommendations from a broader and more diverse group of writers, networks, and lists. We will also work to improve pipelines into the industry over the long term by finding opportunities to provide industry insight and feedback to writers working to break into the industry, and by prioritizing diverse hiring at all levels and in all departments.

• Packets are a useful but imperfect tool, in that the writing of a packet is influenced by whether a writer has significant industry connections, personal/professional responsibilities, and/or a perspective that is less common in current writers’ rooms. As supervisory writers, we will therefore design packets with the goal of leveling the playing field between writers such that they are judged only on their talent and potential contribution to the room (for example: keeping the packet reasonable; providing sample formatting or research; or allowing writers to submit supplemental material). We also understand that the reading of a packet can inherently be influenced by the unconscious biases of those doing the reading, and as supervisory writers, it is our responsibility to put mechanisms in place to ensure that packets with language, tone, or cultural references unfamiliar to the reader are not discounted on that basis and that applicants’ work is judged on its own merit.

• Historically, there has been a sink-or-swim culture in late-night and comedy-variety television that can disproportionately impact BIPOC writers, so as supervisory writers we will give regular feedback, create informal and formal mechanisms for orienting new writers, and provide our staff with proactive training and/or exposure to the process of making the show. Implementing these strategies is to the benefit of all writers as our aim is for members of our writing teams to have the skills and the opportunities necessary to succeed at our shows and in the industry.

• As supervisory writers, it is our job to create working environments that are safe, respectful, and free from retaliation and retribution. Writers must be confident that we will address any behavior on staff that prohibits the maintenance of such an environment, and that they will be taken seriously when raising concerns about issues in the workplace (including concerns about content that may be racially or culturally offensive). Ultimately, though, the single most effective strategy in creating a positive room culture is in having a diverse writing staff at all levels; as such, BIPOC writers not only need to be hired, but also need to be retained, developed, and empowered at both the staff and supervisory levels.”

“The pledge is proof that people in positions of power, as well as those at the staff writer level, embrace the change needed to ensure BIPOC voices are a vital part of the influential world of Late-Night and Comedy-Variety television,” WGA East executive director Lowell Peterson said. “We engaged our members directly in the process of analyzing barriers to inclusion in comedy-variety, and of identifying specific actions to address those barriers. This means our members are aware and committed to the ideas and the actions in this important pledge.”

Charlamagne tha God, host of the forthcoming Hell of a Week with Charlamagne tha God on Comedy Central, said in a statement that “There is a staunch difference between the reality of diversity in casting and the illusion of diversity in casting. The latter shows casting someone from a marginalized community, in my case the Black community, to host a new late night talk show where key positions from the showrunner to writers will likely all be filled by white men. Making diversity a reality is casting someone from a marginalized community, in my case, still Black, as the host but also as the executive producer where they are empowered to assemble a team that accurately reflects the community and culture. I also really have to thank Chris McCarthy for believing in me and empowering me to achieve my goal of assembling a writer’s room and staff that have cultural competence and are accurate reflections of my community.”

Josh Gondelman, who was head writer and executive producer of Desus & Mero on Showtime, said, “I have a lot of hope that this pledge can be a meaningful step towards creating fairer, more inclusive comedy/variety workplaces where writers from all backgrounds can flourish in supportive environments. I’m grateful for the hard work of numerous writers to create an actionable blueprint and get so many people in the industry to commit to actually taking those actions.”

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