ABC/Ron Tom(LOS ANGELES) — ABC’s black-ish is up for three Emmys Sunday night, including in the best comedy category. Series creator Kenya Barris is just happy that people are taking notice of his show.
“Just to be in the conversation at all feels surreal,” he tells ABC News. “A few years ago I was just writing down on a piece of paper [an idea] that I think might be an interesting thing to do, it feels crazy. And so to actually get the nomination and be invited to the party, that’s what you sort of really, really hope for.”
Though black-ish is represented in the top three comedy categories — its stars Anthony Anderson and Tracee Ellis Ross are up for lead comedy actor and actress, respectively — Barris laments the fact that it did not receive a writing nomination for the episode “Hope,” which addressed police brutality.
“It was surprising,” he admits. “And it wasn’t even from an ego standpoint, it was from a standpoint of, like, I wanted it for us. And by us, I don’t mean black people, I mean, like, for the country. To just be in the conversation, because I feel like that is when comedy is at its best — I wanted that to be a part of the conversation.”
Find out whether black-ish is a winner when ABC airs the Emmy Awards Sunday night at 8 p.m. ET.
