The appeal of the HBO comedy “Insecure” lies in its relatability — the characters and storylines of Issa Rae’s Golden Globe-nominated series feel grounded and familiar, especially the relationship between the best friends at the show’s center.
“I think we haven’t seen that dynamic in a long time,” Rae said in an interview with TheWrap. “A lot of young black professionals — young professionals in general — see themselves in these characters. If you’ve ever been in a relationship, if you’ve ever had a best friend, if you’ve ever felt out of place, all of these characters are reflecting [that]. They’re real.”
Rae said that although she didn’t take much from her award-winning web series “Awkward Black Girl” –which follows the life of, you guessed it, an awkward black girl — she did grab one thing for her HBO show: “I did take the device of rapping, because I just love that.”
However, there have been some familiar faces on “Insecure” that previously appeared on “Awkward Black Girl,” which ended its run with original episodes in Feb. 2013.
“You’ve seen Baby Voice Darius from ‘Awkward Black Girl’ as Thug Yoda in ‘Insecure,’” she said. “And Sujata Day, who plays my best friend CeCe on ‘Awkward Black Girl,’ actually plays a nemesis at work, Sarah. But I would love to sprinkle in more cast members.”
One immediately noticeable difference between the two series is that Rae chose to use her own name for her character on “Insecure.” But that’s not something viewers should read too much into, she said.
“I’m regretting it. I just didn’t think about it,” Rae said. “I didn’t think about [the fact that] this character is doing some crazy things and making some choices, and people are going to associate that with me.”
“I just never changed the name from when the script was untitled,” she added. “But now I’m just like, ‘I embrace it.’”
Although HBO has renewed “Insecure” for its second season, a return date has yet to be announced.