Black TV writers are getting hired, but they're not getting promoted

Los Angeles Times

Black writers are getting more opportunities writing for television, but so few of them have supervising producer roles. "Fueled by criticism online such as the #OscarsSoWhite movement in recent years, studios have sought to increase diversity in creator ranks and in programming," reports Anoushka Sakoui. "The recent union report showed some signs of progress. It found that women and people of color held 5% more jobs in the 2019-2020 TV season than the previous year. And screenwriters of color gained 2% more film jobs in 2019 versus the previous year. But Black writers say the numbers mask a more intractable problem: the lack of opportunities for advancement in Hollywood. The union’s Committee of Black Writers recently called for a revamp in hiring and for the film and TV industry to show accountability for the lack of progress among creators of color. While there is some improvement, as white writers and writers of color reach almost parity on the first rung of the TV industry, too many writers of color were being passed over for opportunities, the committee noted." As Jack Ryan supervising producer Kirk Moore, who is Black, put it: “People in my position are either not selling shows or not moving up in the room. If we are gonna talk about Black Lives Matter ... then you actually have to let people of color run the room.”