Friends: Race to Diversity

Marta Kauffman created a little TV show called "Friends" and it was a giant hit for ten years.  Over the years, the show received some criticism for lacking diversity.  Marta heard the criticism and felt it to be unfair: of course her popular TV show was being singled out for criticism.  People are jealous and they will rip your TV show to shreds if given the chance.

Then all of a sudden it was 2020 and the culture shifted.  Race, diversity, and inclusion were now part of the conversation.  Looking back, it's easy to see that critiques around race, diversity, and inclusion were both valid and ignored by Hollywood.  Marta took a long hard look at herself and was embarrassed by what she saw.  She apologized for the part she played in systemic racism and took some steps to make sure diversity becomes a crucial element in all her future work.  She also made a giant donation of money to ensure that other people receive education in issues around diversity.

Representation of diversity in Hollywood is improving, from 11% of films in 2011 to over 45% of films in 2021.  Films starring diverse casts do well in the theatre and streaming.  Diverse faces and voices are all over the internet (hi) thanks to YouTube, podcasts (hi again), and platforms like TikTok and MySpace (just checking to see if you are paying attention).

As Robin Thede stated at the showrunners forum at ATX 2020, "When you know better, do better."  Words Marta, and many others (hi), plan to live by.