Issa Rae ‘Thrilled’ by ‘Insecure’ Going to Netflix, but She’s Still in the Dark on Viewership Numbers

“Insecure” creator Issa Rae said she was “thrilled” for her HBO comedy to” enter Netflix’s portfolio in July, noting that the streamer will expose the series to a “whole new generation” of audiences.

“I was thrilled about it,” Rae said at the Bloomberg Screentime Conference in Los Angeles on Thursday. “I think, any opportunity that allows them to have a wider audience … [and get] people got exposed to it [and] also people just didn’t have access to it [previously]. In that way … [we] have a whole new generation of audiences.”

Despite landing on the streamer earlier this summer, the “Rap Sh!t” creator said she is not privy to how the series is doing on Netflix, including its viewership count.

“I don’t have access to that,” Rae said, pointing to the importance of the now-resolved WGA strike and the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike as creators, writers and actors fight for data transparency across streaming services.

While Rae said she is excited about the idea of “audience exposure” as a result of licensing the HBO show to Netflix, she said she wasn’t sure what she stands to gain financially should “Insecure” blow up on the streamer like “Suits,” whose streaming phenomenon on Netflix and Peacock can be seen as a case study for the issues involving streaming residuals.

She added that she might be “possibly bitter” should “Insecure” see the success than “Suits” has seen over the summer without enjoying the same benefits of a network or streaming show that utilizes traditional residual calculations and payments.

Amid the ongoing actors’ strike, Rae also expressed her fears that the lack of film and TV projects as a result of the work stoppage might negatively impact diversity in the industry.

“That’s not the first time that has happened,” Rae said, referencing the lack of volume that resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the advent of cable, which prompted networks to losing some of their audiences. During these times, Rae recalled, network execs tend aim to “go broad” and “broad always means white.”

“I see that happening again,” she said.

The post Issa Rae ‘Thrilled’ by ‘Insecure’ Going to Netflix, but She’s Still in the Dark on Viewership Numbers appeared first on TheWrap.