Showtime has ordered a pilot for How to Make Love to a Black Woman (Who May Be Working Through Some Sh*t), a half-hour comedy anthology series created by Casallina “Cathy” Kisakye. The show landed at the network through Emmy winner Lena Waithe’s first-look deal with Showtime. Kisakye, who will write the pilot, joins Waithe and Rishi Rajani as executive producers.
The multi-part episodes tell stories “about connection and rejection that explore our most harrowing – and harrowingly comic – sexual secrets,” according to Showtime.
“Cathy’s script is haunting, funny, and extremely vulnerable – it’s the kind of script that doesn’t come around very often,” said Waithe in a statement. “I’m honored that Cathy trusts me with such a special project. I can’t wait for the world to see it.”
Ugandan-born, Boston-raised Kisakye wrote on both seasons of Waithe’s The Chi, and is currently writing on Season 2 of Homecoming.
“With ‘How to Make Love,’ I’m thrilled to tell stories about the women I know, who are complicated, passionate, resilient and relatable,” said Kisakye, whose work focuses on racial identity and sexual politics. “Thank you to Lena and the entire team at Showtime for believing in this project.”
Showtime Networks entertainment president Gary Levine calls Kisakye’s comedy “raw, relevant, surprising, sexy and fun, and we are very excited about making it.”
Waithe, a producer, writer and actor, signed a first-look deal with Showtime last July. Before creating “The Chi” for Showtime, Waithe had written for “Master of None,” earning an Emmy for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series, GLAAD Media Award and NAACP Image Award nomination for the “Thanksgiving” episode. She produced “Step Sisters” and “Dear White People,” and has appeared in “Ready Player One,” “This is Us,” “Transparent,” and “The Comeback.”
She is currently executive producing “Boomerang” and “Twenties.”
