Issa Rae Talks To Tamron Hall About Her Wedding And Insecure!

Source: Heidi Gutman / abc

Some of you may already know this, if you’ve been following Issa Rae but she says she has always envisioned ending “Insecure” after five seasons:

“Because, you know, I knew from season one that I wanted to end this show. Prentice [Penny] and I talked about it from jump, five seasons to tell a concise story without dragging it out felt right to me just on a creative level and knowing where I wanted to take these characters, it felt like enough time. And then also just like socially, it’s a lot. I’m very conscious of people giving their time to the show and five years is a lot of time, and six years for some of us. And you know, from the writers to the crew to the actors, I knew, I’m like, ‘We’re gonna get tired of each other after maybe four years, five years. So let’s cut it short while we still love each other.’ And we do, we love each other so much.” She continued, “My mom was always like ‘never overstay your welcome’…I’m just appreciative that people are gonna miss it. And you know, I hope that’s still true when it ends.”

Rae also addressed the pressure she felt to incorporate a white character into the series:

“I have to clarify, like that was advice that I got for my web series that ended up actually working. Like people were like, ‘You should put a white character there.’ I was like, ‘What?’ And then, you know, white people started watching and we got on NPR and things like that. And I think as Black creators, we are advised sometimes to give viewers, mainstream viewers, a way in via white characters. And you know, with ‘Insecure,’ it was set in a white nonprofit world, like she was the only one. But I think what was refreshing is over time, as we told this story, we got to you know, and once she quit, we got to just be a solely Black show, with a Black lens, with Black characters, and that felt so refreshing.”

For fans of “Insecure” who are hoping for a movie, Issa says that’s highly unlikely — unless she falls on hard times:

“I always say if you see an ‘Insecure’ movie, it means I’m down bad. It means I’m not doing well in life. I don’t want to do a movie…You know, it’s a finite story. And I just don’t want to see an ‘Insecure’ movie, unless I’m doing badly.”

During the interview, Rae was also joined by her “Insecure” co-stars Yvonne Orji and Kendrick Sampson, who teased what’s to come in its final season. Sampson spoke about what it feels like for the show to be ending.

“I think it’s incredible to be a part of something historic. And that really makes Black people feel valued and has been transformational in this type of storytelling we see about us. So I’m just grateful to be on the ride. You know?”

He also spoke about what he’ll miss about the show:

“I hope I don’t have to miss it, but, you know, just working with a bunch of Black creatives and PA’s…I mean, the writers room all the way through. It just was a beautiful, magical experience. I’m inspired to recreate that everywhere I go.”

Meanwhile Orji, who plays Issa’s sometimes friend, sometimes nemesis, Molly on “Insecure,” revealed her reaction after watching the final episode:

“I mean I cried the whole final episode. So I told Issa after the table read, I was like, ‘Yo, you sent us out very well, and I appreciate the heck out of you.’ She wrote an amazing finale and Prentice did an amazing job directing it. I don’t think there was anything else left on the table.”

This was a great episode. Definitely one of our favorites from Tamron!

Chloe Bailey is today’s guest on “Tamron Hall” — check your local listings for tune in info!