Actress, writer, and producer Issa Rae broke the mold of television with Insecure, which ended its five-season run over the holidays. If you followed Rae in the early 2010s, then you might be familiar with The Mis-Adventures of Awkward Black Girl, her YouTube web series that went viral and inspired the 2016 HBO hit Insecure. While Awkward Black Girl was about just that: uncomfortable situations played to comedic effect (or sometimes simply inherently comedic) through the eyes of a Black girl, Insecure became an extension of the web series and more. The hit show explored themes of primarily friendship, love, and the diversity of Black women.

Be who you are

Every Insecure character struggles to discover, define and then adhere to who they are. Their struggles are very specific to their world and their lives, but are still relatable to anyone watching. Now back to that “awkwardness” that made the web series and show so popular. Insecure delves into that discovery of self through everyday life, as well as unpacks all the glorious, nuanced differences between the Black women in the show. It plays out their lives in all its highs and lows.

One of the show’s best devices (both comedic and otherwise) is Issa’s conversations with herself in the mirror. Watching the internal monologues evolve as she grows shows how they manifest as an entirely separate Issa to great visual effect. It’s just her and her non-disassociated reflection in the final moments of the show, finally at peace within herself, quite literally. Issa, it seems, has finally accepted herself. It’s effective, layered filmmaking that plays to comedy and theme.

Insecure’s true love

Yes, Lawrence (Jay Ellis) ended up being Issa’s (one) true love. But Issa Rae’s Issa Dee and Yvonne Orji’s Molly Carter are arguably the show’s primary love story. Every other relationship revolves around the unbreakable (if not unshakable) friendship these two have. They’re each other’s person. Similar to real life, relationships in the show face challenges over time that makes all the feels jump off the screen in a visceral manner. It’s no wonder Rae and Carter received Primetime Emmy® Award nominations for Outstanding Lead and Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series respectively, in addition to Rae’s two Golden Globe® Award noms for Best Actress - Television Series Musical or Comedy. Lindsay Stidham broke it down for Final Draft in her 5 Screenwriting Takeaways from Insecure’s fourth season.

Collaborative and collective effort

Issa co-created Insecure with Larry Wilmore (Grown-ish, Sister, Sister) and worked both in front of and behind the camera tirelessly to bring Issa Dee’s world to life. While initially the show was rooted in the workplace comedy concept — inspired by The Office, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and Seinfeld — Insecure used the office environment as the jumping-off point, as the best shows do. South Los Angeles itself also becomes a character in the show, full of diverse cultures and beautiful landscapes permeating Insecure’s visuals.

The show's team always thought outside the box. For example, they brought in music video director Melina Matsoukas as a director and executive producer. The fabulous character Kelli started as show writer Natasha Rothwell before they decided she simply embodied the character and couldn’t not be on screen as well. Rothwell also directed a season five episode.

There’s a scene in the pilot where Issa states that her “We Got Y’All” co-workers always come to her when they have a question about the Black community, always coming at it in horrifically awkward ways and making Issa Dee the sole representative of an entire race. These moments are familiar to viewers of color who find themselves in similar situations. Insecure writers’ room avoids moments like these by valuing authenticity and staffing a diverse team. 

Issa Dee was always focused on paying it forward in her professional life; on creating opportunities to celebrate her neighborhood and generally help. Issa Rae has done exactly the same with her show, ensuring the cast and crew are as diverse and inclusive as possible. As noted on HBO’s Insecure: The End, a retrospective, the show opened the doors for eight first-time directors and spawned six showrunners, among many other opportunities for writers, crew and cast. And in season five’s episode seven, every single costume was designed by a Black woman.

In Retrospect

Insecure was about visibility on all levels, both in front of the camera and behind it It was incredibly funny and also full of so much heart. Best of all, it was so freaking messy! That, perhaps, was the touchstone that made it so beloved and why audiences kept tuning in. It was real. Life is messy no matter who you are, where you come from, and why we keep rooting for characters to find some happiness and peace among all the chaos—to know that we're all gonna be, okay!?

For more Insecure check out Final Draft’s Write On podcast with series writer Mike Gauyo.

You can catch all five seasons of the Emmy Award-winner for Outstanding Comedy Series (and AFI’s Top 10 Television programs of the year 2017) on HBO or Crave in Canada.