Lee Daniels‘ latest TV series, The Ms. Pat Show, premiered August 12 on BET+, and the Empire creator says he is proud after years of struggling to make the sitcom happen.
“Years before, we tried to find the right writer, right visionary for it, trying fight studios and networks that wanted to do it, but were afraid to do it because it was too black and was too real,” Daniels said during a TV Critics Association panel Tuesday, according to Deadline. “We have never seen a voice like this on television…it was worth the fight — years of fighting.”
The Oscar-nominated director adds that he did not lose faith in the show after it was dropped in 2016 by Fox, and dropped by Hulu in 2019.
The Ms. Pat Show is based on the life of series star Patricia Williams, who overcame her criminal past to become a successful comedian. She portrays a married mother of four living in her real-life hometown of Plainfield, Indiana, in a suburban white neighborhood.
“I’m just proud to be out front and a different type of mom where I don’t have to be chopping up vegetables,” Williams said during the TCA event. “I’m a convicted felon and you get to see a side of a mom Hollywood doesn’t really want you to see, other than on Cops.”
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