Yvette Lee Bowser has changed the face of television.
“What they were able to do in terms of the depth and emotional connection was really powerful.
You could feel the love and understanding they had for the characters in their stripes.
Yvette Lee Bowser.Getty Images
I take a stab at do that in my work.”
That experience set the tone for the storyteller she is today.
“That’s what I’m here to do.”
Erika Alexander, Queen Latifah, Kim Fields, and Kim Coles on ‘Living Single’.Everett Collection
But looking back on it today, she remembers it feeling like a cultural win.
“That was the impetus for the whole thing to tell our stories from our point of view.”
The impact ofLiving Singleis proven in the reverence people have for it three decades after it premiered.
‘A Different World’ cast (clockwise from top): Glynn Turman, Dawnn Lewis, Lou Myers, Charnele Brown, Cree Summer, Darryl M. Bell, Jasmine Guy, and Kadeem Hardison.NBCU Photo Bank
It’s everything."
Characters get to be refined as a show is made and that’s how new things can be uncovered.
From the beginning, the opportunity to mentor young writers was a must for Bowser.
Sheryl Lee Ralph and Quinta Brunson on ‘Abbott Elementary’.Gilles Mingasson/ABC
‘I have the greatest sense of accomplishment from providing access and opportunity."
“The gatekeepers need to let in more varied voices,” she says.
“There are people in this industry who are treating her existence like it’s new, a revelation.
She should have been getting flowers all along.
She was certainly getting them from me and others.
She’s not the only one, but she’s such a prime example.”
Today, she’s encouraged by the way current shows from and about Black people are being celebrated.
Shows that feature predominantly Black casts are reaching wider audiences.
“I love seeing the accolades forAbbott Elementary!”
When asked about what’s next for the iconic creator, she mentions one dream project.
“I have an idea for an anthology series that has been in the creative cauldron for a while.
After all, that’s what Bowser was born to do.
“It’s about helping writers who have a clearer vision and something to say.
That’s incredibly rewarding and I will continue to do that in the future,” she says.
