With three television series in-motion, Lena Waithe knows how to get things done. And based on her comments during a recent fireside chat at ViacomCBS’ offices, she’s happy to share what propels her success. The event, part of a Black History Month series, was hosted by ViacomCBS’ African American employee resource group The Beat. 

Waithe’s latest series, Twenties, which premieres on BET on March 4, will be Waithe’s third series within the ViacomCBS portfolio. She also created Boomerang for BET and The Chi for Showtime.

“We invited Lena to come for Black History Month because she is really a reflection of all the opportunities that we have here at ViacomCBS with respect to diversity and supporting diverse talent,” said BET President Scott Mills. “What’s also really extraordinary about Lena is her commitment to creating opportunities for diverse people. It's an example of someone taking the extraordinary opportunities they have and opening the aperture and creating opportunities for other people.”

Based on Waithe’s comments during the chat, here are some of her guiding principles for creating impactful content.

Develop Your Tribe

One of the first things Waithe asks people who say they want to be a writer, director, etc., is if they have ever taken a class on that craft. If people are an expert at the craft, the rest will follow, she said.

“A person who has a desire but doesn’t know how to do it will just be a dream deferred,” she said.

That’s part of the reason she launched Hillman Grad Productions, a production company that’s committed to empowering “marginalized storytellers.” Hillman Grad includes a mentorship program offering classes, writing groups, and job placement opportunities to promising filmmakers.

According to Waithe, there’s incommutable value in developing skills around a passion. “You can take things away from me, but you can’t take away my ability to write a really good script,” she said. “It doesn’t matter how old you are, where you come from, what you look like, it doesn’t f--king matter, people love a f--king story.”

Pursue Originality

Waithe grew up watching BET, and so for her, debuting Twenties on the network was ideal, she explained. She showed the pilot to the network first, offering them first dibs.

“We watched, and we were blown away,” said Mills. “It was such an original—an original story with original people and original experiences.It also scared the heck out of us...it's risky if you do something really, really original.”

The show centers on Hattie, a 24-year-old, gay, black woman who’s trying to pursue a career in television writing in Los Angeles. It’s an example of ViacomCBS’ investment in production talent, such as Waithe and Tyler Perry.

Cast Your Tribe

When Waithe first heard about a Boomerang series in the works, she reached out to the BET to be a part of it.

“I’m a person that got half my personality from watching Boomerang,” said Waithe. “I said you guys can’t f--k this up, so I will raise my hand and come in here and figure it out. I told BET we have to get this right.”

As part of the effort to make it great: she convinced Halle Berry to join her as an executive producer on the series during a conversation at Vanity Fair’s annual Oscar party.

She also used her status on the show’s slate to create an opportunity for others. She hired several young, black directors onto the series—many of whom were later accepted into the Director’s Guild of America thanks to the opportunity. Waithe also helped to ensure the cast and writers’ room included fresh faces.

The new series has a mostly female cast and crew, according to Waithe. “We were really able to give opportunities in season one [of Boomerang],” she said. “For Twenties to follow it is such a dream come true.”

When asked about the people she surrounds herself with, Waithe (pictured above at the 2020 Vanity Fair Oscars Party with Tonya Lewis Lee, Spike Lee, and Cynthia Erivo) explained that her tribe is ever-evolving. “I try to make sure I look around and those moments when I’m surrounded by my people, this is a pretty amazing tribe,” she said. “We’ve all worked to get into that room and be there and celebrate each other.”