Lena Waithe: Twenties Shows That BET Can Match HBO, Netflix or Hulu (Video)

Lena Waithe says it’s important that her new show Twenties airs on BET because it shows viewers that “you can come to BET and get shows just as good as you would on HBO or Netflix or Hulu.”

Waithe executive produces and created the show about an aspiring screenwriter, Hattie (Jonica T. Gibbs) who is trying to break into Hollywood as a writers’ PA. She gets help from her two best friends, Nia (Gabrielle Graham) and Marie (Christina Elmore).

“It’s for me a dream that I’ve been dreaming about for almost 10 years now,” she said at the Sundance Film Festival. (Watch the video above.) “To me it captures what it means to be in your twenties. Which is really a journey trying to find yourself and who you’re supposed to be.”

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She added that she has heard some people say they can’t believe Twenties is on BET.

“That’s really important that people don’t think that you can’t have good programming on BET,” she said. “I want people to know that you can come to BET and get shows just as good as you would on HBO or Netflix or Hulu. I believe in Black businesses. I believe in pouring into my Black people. I’m always going to make content for BET. Because BET is really what I grew up on.”

Waithe was at Sundance  as a producer on director Radha Blank’s 40 Year-Old Version and Justin Simien’s dark comedy Bad Hair.

The 40 Year-Old Version won the narrative directing prize at The Sundance Film Festival and will air on Netflix.

Bad Hair will be available to stream on Hulu.

Lena Waithe executive produces Twenties with Susan Fales-Hill, who is co-showrunner with Waithe. Rishi Rajani and Andrew Coles also executive produce. Justin Tipping directed the pilot, and, also executive produces.

Twenties airs on BET on Wednesday at 10/9c.