Issa Rae graces the June cover of Vanity Fair, announces 'Project Greenlight' revival

Stunningly gracing Vanity Fair's June cover is none other than the multi-talented Issa Rae who, this year, is wrapping her hit HBO series Insecure – and rebooting the network's Project Greenlight.

And one might say the 36-year-old is at the top of her game, having recently signed an overall production deal with HBO’s parent company, WarnerMedia, rumoured to be worth $40 million.

Here's just a peek at some of what she's producing: Sweet Life, a docuseries about Black 20-somethings living in L.A.’s Baldwin Hills neighbourhood (think MTV's Laguna Beach and The Hills); an adaptation of Nice White Parents (a podcast about a public school in Brooklyn); the second season of A Black Lady Sketch Show; and an adaptation of an Italian dramedy called Perfect Strangers (which she'll also star in and write), where a group of friends discover each other’s darkest secrets during a dinner party.

But first, there's the end of the hilarious and groundbreaking Insecure. When it premiered in 2016, it was the first HBO comedy to be created by and star a Black woman. And it's racked up some major fan love since then, something which Rae admits to Vanity Fair she's taking into consideration as they currently shoot the fifth and final season.

And for those wishing she'd keep it going, Rae says five seasons was always the plan: “I pretty much go with my gut, and this is what my gut’s been telling me forever.”

She adds that the final three episodes will feel like "a cohesive triptych," though it's been tough filming during COVID, which has led to shooting episodes out of order, reducing everyone's hours, and factoring in quarantining time for everyone.

Yvonne Orji, who co-stars as Rae's character's best friend Molly, says, through the entire process, Rae has been a model of a boss: "She trusted her baby with us. … I wish that more people in power could have the same attitude. She literally puts people in positions and allows them to do their jobs. She lets people grow.”

As for whether she'll ever star in her own show again? “Girl, no! I’m never doing this again,” Rae tells Vanity Fair writer Yohana Desta. “Before you asked that question, I told myself I would never write and be in a show that I created again. It takes up a lot of your life, and I like to do a lot of things. ... I love doing this show. I’m so grateful to be able to do this show. But that’s just not really for me.”

In comes Project Greenlight, which was the lovechild of best bros Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, and aired for two seasons on HBO from 2001 to 2003 before moving to Bravo for a third season in 2005. It returned to HBO for a fourth season in 2015, and was canceled the following year.

Its objective, however, has always been to provide money and creative support to young, aspiring filmmakers. But one cannot discuss Project Greenlight without addressing an especially disappointing and controversial moment in its last season, when Damon argued with producer Effie Brown for suggesting that casting and the behind-the-scenes team need to be diverse.

“When we’re talking about diversity, you do it in the casting of the film, not in the casting of the show,” he said at the time.

Damon eventually made a standard-issue apology when the moment made headlines, but Rae's got a whole new (much better) spin on it: her version will focus on female filmmakers exclusively, and she will appear in each episode as an executive producer and guide. They'll be given the opportunity to direct a feature film, which will premiere on HBO Max.

“I want this version of the show to make filmmaking feel attainable,” she says.

In a statement, via Variety, Jennifer O’Connell, executive vice president of non-fiction and live-action family at HBO Max, said, “At HBO Max, we are committed to providing a platform for diverse, up-and-coming talent. Issa is uniquely skilled in this space, and we are thrilled to be partnering with her and Miramax as a promising group of filmmakers is inspired and challenged with their biggest opportunity yet."

In other words, it looks like Rae is well on her way to taking over, and that means a far more inclusive Hollywood. It's about time.

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