HBO has ordered a full season of comedy series Insecure, a new show from YouTube star Issa Rae and comedian Larry Wilmore, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Insecure uses humor to explore the lives of two women of color in modern day America, and will air in half-hour episodes. A pilot for the show was reportedly very well received by executives at the subscription-based network, who quickly ordered more episodes.
Tackling the issues associated with race in modern day America is nothing new for Rae, whose popular web series, The Misadventures Of Awkward Black Girl, centered on many of the same themes. That show was a smash hit on the web, and Rae’s content, which garnered over 20 million total views and 200,000 channel subscribers, is what originally led HBO to her doorstep.
Like the network’s other female-helmed comedy show Girls — in which writer/creator Lena Dunham also plays a starring roll on screen — Rae will co-star as the titular main character alongside actress Yvonne Orji, who will play her on-screen best friend Molly.
Oddly enough, another already-cast Insecure co-star, Lisa Joyce (Boardwalk Empire), just landed a leading role in Lena Dunham’s new HBO pilot Max. No word on whether she will have to decide between shows, but with Dunham’s show still in the pilot stage, the actress won’t be forced to jump ship just yet.
Insecure has been a long time coming. HBO first expressed interest in the new series from Wilmore and Rae when they pitched the story to the network in 2013. But then Wilmore got a new job as the host of Comedy Central’s The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore, following his long stint as Senior Black Correspondent on Jon Stewart’s Daily Show, and was unable to continue work on the pilot.
The actor/co-creator eventually took a less-involved role in the series, and the show slowly made it through pre-production purgatory over the past two years, eventually producing the well-received pilot. HBO and Rae have yet to announce a release date for Insecure, but viewers should expect something to hit cable boxes by the end of next year.
