Issa Rae Says “I Hate LA Dudes” TV Series Not Guaranteed
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Issa Rae(NEW YORK) — The Internet blew up Monday when news spread that Issa Rae, creator of web series The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl, signed a deal with producer Shonda Rhimes — of Grey’s Anatomy, Private Practice and Scandal — to produce a comedy for ABC. Still, the 27-year-old told ABC News Radio that her new series, I Hate LA Dudes, isn’t guaranteed to air on small screens.
“They basically hired me to write the pilot. If the pilot gets accepted then we shoot the pilot sometime in January then if that goes well it’ll get picked up to series…so there’s just all these steps and I’ve completed step two of many,” Rae said.
That won’t stop fans of her series from sending congratulatory tweets and waiting with baited breath to see what the web producer has cooked up. Rae told ABC News Radio that I Hate LA Dudes is about an L.A. transplant’s horrid dating life.
“She’s an aspiring journalist,” Rae says of the unnamed central character, “that means nothing today so it’s highly embarrassing. She meets these three guys who have an Internet talk show and bring her on board.”
“The guys in this series are based off of…the guys I know in real life, who are very, very unique and who always get these women,” she continued. “And I’m like, ‘How do you get all these women and you guys suck, like you suck?'”
And although Rae, whose popular web series is the cornerstone of Pharrell Williams’ YouTube channel I Am Other, may seem like an overnight success, she’s been working hard consistently. Not only does she produce hilarious web videos, but also curates other quality series, lending her support to The Couple and Roomie Lover Friends.
Her new TV series with Rhimes, who she met almost a year ago, won’t stop her web series Awkward Black Girl. In fact, Rae revealed to ABC News Radio that, “We have a mixtape dropping soon.” There’s no word on who will appear on the mixtape, but perhaps her partner Williams will make a special appearance. “It’s done. I would love that,” Rae gushed.
And for the future of her flagship Awkward Black Girl, Rae said she’d prefer to see that series on film or on cable, “because I feel like the networks, there are constraints. There’s just things you can’t say or talk about and I know Awkward Black Girl would not be the same show on network television.”
Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio