It seems HBO can’t get enough of Issa Rae, and neither can we.
It was just announced that the network has greenlit not one but two new shows by the the Insecure breakout star. Not only that, but one of the shows, Him Or Her, will chart new TV territory.
“The single-camera half-hour chronicles the dating life of a bisexual Black man and the distinctly different worlds and relationships he finds himself in,” the description of the show reads.
That’s right, folks. A show that features a Black bisexual man as the main character. When’s the last time that happened?
How about we take this to the next level?
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Related: Issa Rae is totally open to tackling transgender issues in her hit HBO show “Insecure”
Of course, this isn’t the first time Issa has tackled same-sex love in the Black community. During the Season 2 premiere of Insecure, audiences were introduced to her character’s openly gay brother, Ahmal, played by Jean Elie.
Rae’s other show will be an hourlong drama called Sweet Life. It’s set in posh Windsor Hills, one of the wealthiest Black neighborhoods in the United States, and is being described as “a coming of age tale of the well-heeled teens growing up in the LA neighborhood.”
Rae will serve as an executive producer on both projects.
We think we speak for everyone when we say…
Related: Black, Bisexual, And Invisible: A Cry For Acceptance And An End To Racism In The LGBTQ Community
Ummmm Yeah
I bet it gets about zero black viewers.
Eldred
Black viewer here. I’m ready to give it a shot.
Eclatant
No preconceived notions about Black people there, right? ?
Blackceo
So do Black LGBTQ folk not exist? There’s plenty of us and I think many will be giving it a view, in addition to many other Black folk who aren’t LGBTQ. We aren’t all church going homophobes. Particularly the 30 and under Blacks are way more open minded when it comes to this than it used to be. I can’t wait. As a Blatino gay who has dipped my feet in both ponds, I will be interested to see how this plays out and the characters and writing and storylines, and I love Issa Rae.
Captain Obvious
So the fact that the show was created by and is helmed by a black woman went right over your head? Black people aren’t your problem.
Kangol
Are you bonkers? Black gay and bi people loved Noah’s Arc. Do you even know what that was?
demetreus
What a loser.
SiamSam
“Black”? That’s soooo 2017. Get ready for BlaQueer in 2018.
mhoffman953
@SiamSam
You’re already too late. BlaQueer is gone already.
2018 will be the movement of trans-racial! Chinese men will identify as black women, black women will identify as white men, and some will be racial fluid where their race changes day-by-day
Paco
Will the character identify as bisexual or “straight” on the down-low?
Jaxton
Television has been ignoring male bisexuality for years – years and years and years.
It’s like a huge taboo. I partly blame women and gay-identifying men for this.
Kangol
I’m looking forward to it. I love how Issa Rae’s brother is openly gay on Insecure and kept wondering if they’d give him a boyfriend.
@Ummm Yeah, you clearly doesn’t realize that one of the most popular shows on TV now among Black and Latinx viewers, Empire, has an openly gay actor (Jussie Smollett) playing an openly gay character, Jamal, and the show has regularly featured him in relationships, including kissing and sex, with Black and Latinx men. You should watch it some time. You might change your misguided views.
Kangol
“don’t realize”
mhoffman953
@Kangol
Why do you have to say “Latinx” when referring to men? Can’t you just type Latino men?
If you’re doing it to encompass Latino and Latina, it still doesn’t make sense because there is no such thing as Latina men. Why not go with Latino men?
Kangol
@mhoffman, queer/nonbinary/trans men=x=Latinx men.
Charlie in Charge
Should be good, her other show is faboo.
Zambos271
This should be interesting. I’ll check it out.