*NBC has ordered a second season of its hit comedy “Marlon” starring Marlon Wayans, and in case you missed the first season, get caught up from the beginning here.
The series is inspired by the real life of star and centers on a loving father committed to co-parenting his two kids with his ex-wife. The cast includes Essence Atkins, Bresha Webb, Notlim Taylor, Amir O’Neil and Diallo Riddle.
Diallo is best known for being a writer and performer on NBC’s “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” where he was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Series. He was also a writer on “The Maya Rudolph Show” and he recently appeared in several episodes of the hit HBO series “Silicon Valley.” Riddle and his creative partner, Bashir Salahuddin, developed the comedy “Brothers in Atlanta” at the network as well.
Prior to his gig on “Late Night,” Diallo and Salahuddin wrote for Comedy Central’s “Chocolate News” with David Alan Grier. They also created the critically acclaimed web series “The Message” (HBO Online) from which came such web sensations as “Condi Rice Raps” and “Poor Man’s Hogwarts.”
On “Marlon,” he plays Stevie, a character that is based on a “real-life character,” who Diallo says is similar in many ways to his own persona.
EUR/Electronic Urban Report recently caught-up with Diallo to dish about the inspiration behind his character Stevie and what he admires about Marlon’s creative process. He also revealed his personal history with co-star Bresha Webb and what he would like to change most about the industry.
Get the scoop below.
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How much of your own persona is embedded in Stevie?
Diallo: A lot, and I’m gonna contradict myself immediately and say that Stevie is also based on a real person, who is not me. My character’s name is Stevie but the real-life character, and he is a character, is a guy named Steve. I won’t give out his last name but the cool thing is when I met him, I was immediately like, “Oh there are some similarities between me and him.” The outfit that I wore to my audition ended being the character’s go-to look. So I was actually wearing a lot of my own clothes on the show. Even though, in the lore of the show, everything that Stevie wears he’s borrowed from Marlon. Almost like he found Marlon’s most boring corner of his closet and just used those clothes, ‘cause really, we didn’t see Marlon in too many sports coats over the course of the first season.
Speaking of the first season, what’s your favorite episode or the episode you had the most fun filming?
Diallo: I truly loved two episodes in particular. It’s ironic, ‘cause one was in the first week and then one was in the final week. The first was is (“Cleaning Out The Closet”), which is the episode where Marlon’s been hoarding things and Essence Atkins’ character, Ashley, tells him that he must clean out that storage unit. In the process, you find out that Stevie wrote a lot of papers in college and Marlon actually hung on to them. And everything Stevie wrote turns out not to be true. He says hip-hop was a passing fad. I think he has one called “Chris Brown Will Be America’s Sweetheart.” Stevie is really-really smart, but his smart is almost debilitating him. It sort of prevents him from reaching his full potential because, as opposed to most people, he just overthinks everything.
One thing that wasn’t included in the pilot, it was cut for time, but there was a scene in the pilot where Marlon tells Stevie that’s he’s really excited that he’s got a job interview coming up that day, and Stevie says, “Yeah, but I’m not going to go to it.” And Marlon asks him why and he says “Well, ‘cause I’m overqualified.” Like, it’s one of those situations where, and I feel like I know a lot of people like this, and I’m sure you do too, like, there’s some people where you’re like, “Wow, that person is so smart. Why don’t they have more in life?” You just can’t figure out why they haven’t been able to accomplish what a Steve Jobs could’ve accomplished. ‘Cause I feel like I know a lot of people with lots of college degrees but yet they seem to just make it month-to-month. And it just seems so unfair but in comedy, tragedy equals some of the biggest laughs. Stevie seems like a very fun but tragic character.
Describe Stevie and Marlon’s dynamic and the obstacles they face this season?
Diallo: Whenever Marlon gets upset with the guy, he’s getting upset with him in the way that you get upset with a sibling. You’re never going to toss him out of the house. No spoilers, but there is an episode where he gets tossed out of the house and you can see what happens after that. When they’re having fun with each other they’re having fun. But Marlon does feel like this guy has lost his way, and has been sleeping on Marlon’s couch for two years, and he just wants him to move for Stevie’s benefit and for Marlon’s sanity — to get off the couch and do something with his life. The relationship, it’s a little parasitic at the beginning of the season but I like to think that as the season went on, you find out a lot of things about Stevie that are quite surprising. He’s not a slacker by any chance and the complete picture is a lot more interesting than it might at first seem.
As a writer, actor and content creator, what is there to learn from a seasoned performer and comedian like Marlon Wayans?
Diallo: Let me tell you something about Marlon Wayans, I like to usually give very sarcastic answers when I’m asked about working with Marlon, just because he is so nice a guy, but he literally is the nicest guy I’ve had the pleasure of working with in this business and there’s a lot of reasons for that. Marlon Wayans comes from a very large family and when you come from a very large family, it’s hard to become weird because you’ve got a lot of people sort of keeping you in check. Like, “Hey dude, you’re not that special. There are like, 18 of us.” It makes a big difference on that level. Also, he’s not new to this business. He’s been in this business since he was a pre-teen and he got to watch his older brothers do it. So when you get on set with him, he doesn’t have that energy that some performers have, like, “Oh my God if this doesn’t work out I’m going to have to go back to waiting tables.” No, he’s just like, “Hey, we’re going to get out here, we’re going to be loose, we’re going to have fun and we’re going to see how this all works out. And if it doesn’t work out then we’re going to do something next year.”
It’s a very-very laid back, wonderful way to work. I think he gets the best work out of people, to not be stressed and fear that your life is on the line, ‘cause I think good actors and actresses feel that anyway. This is the first time I’ve acted on something that I didn’t have a hand in writing, so I arrived nervous. It’s hard for me to watch the pilot because we were all so new to our characters and to the process but especially as the season moves along, you see full, realized characters and happy actors in those characters. We were having so much fun and our audience was about 100 people, in the live studio audience, and they were having a great time. It just felt like a party on the Universal lot and I hope that we get to do 99 episodes of this show.
I read comments on your Instagram page from fans who were thrilled about Stevie’s date night with Bresha Webb’s character, Yvette.
Diallo: Me and Bresha are friends in real life. I pitched an idea for a show to HBO, where I and my writing partner, Bashir Salahuddin, would play two reporters living in Atlanta trying to find love. And in that show, I had a love interest and I wanted somebody who’s gonna have great chemistry with me and also not be my particular lane of comedy. And we auditioned a bunch of people and I am proud to say that I met Bresha during that process and I thought she was fantastic. I fought for her to be my love interest and she eventually was my love interest and we shot that pilot and it went to series and then halfway into production HBO pulled the plug on the entire series. It was heartbreaking.
Now, on “Marlon,” Stevie is always kinda pushing up a little bit and Yvette is not feeling him. Like, she needs a man who has his life in order and that’s the opposite of Stevie. So, will Stevie’s crush go unrequited? I don’t know. In season two you might see some sparks fly. But I do know that my second favorite episode of the season was the one where Stevie and Yvette ended up on a date and it’s not the traditional date where he asked her out and she said “Yes.” No, this is a date almost of mutual benefit. It’s like they were both getting something quite selfish out of the fact that they were on a date together. So I’ll leave it at that and hope that people will watch. I believe that was episode 9 of the show.
During your writing process, do you envision what the audience will be thinking about after the credits roll? I know some writers find it crippling trying to create content that will satisfy the viewers.
Diallo: I would say, especially in the writing process, you have to have enough ego to say,” I think this is hilarious, therefore, other people will think this is hilarious.” I think you have to do that ‘cause if you’re writing something because you’re like, “Oh, somebody will laugh at this,” it’s not going to be funny. I don’t think that’s how the best artists work. I don’t think the best artists are ever thinking “I’m going to do this for the other people.” No, you do it for yourself. And like I said, you should have enough ego to be able to say, “This is what I would love to watch. This is what I would love to laugh at and therefore I’m going to give that to the people.”
I knew from a very early age that I was a funny person. And I thought that I would probably express that more in writing than in acting but then one student play later, all of a sudden, I have the acting bug. I think drama is a different beast almost entirely. It’s such a different way to go. But in comedy, which is visceral, comedy is like singing. There’s a reason why there’s so much singing and performing in comedy because you’re actually trying to get something out of that person that is not always easy to get. You’re trying to get that joy out of them. You’re trying to get that laugh. If you have enough people laughing at you at an early age then you don’t need somebody to tell you later on, “Hey, you need to write something that’s going to make people laugh.” No, you’re already in the zone of, “I’m writing what makes me laugh.” And then you won’t be crippled. Yes, I think there are times when you’ll think too much about, “Well, will the audience get it?” And I’d say 9 times out of 10 I’m like, “Look, I get it. Let me make sure that it’s clear. But what I’m laughing at about this other people will laugh at too.”
As an Emmy nominee, do you think creative awards and acknowledgment from your peers is just as important as the work you put out?
Diallo: I think in today’s environment, where the audience is so spread out, that to be able to say that this show was nominated for best comedy or that this show has an outstanding writing award, anything that helps bring people to the screen to actually watch what you do is a big deal. So I think that in the past it might have been easier to say, “We don’t care about awards.” But really, you can only say that nowadays if you’re getting “Big Bang Theory” type numbers. If you have 10 million, 8 million people tuning in to your show, your ticket is written. But some of the most rewarding shows on TV typically get half a million viewers in live airings. So the business is changing and I think that in today’s environment, yes, things like the Emmys, Golden Globes make a huge difference. Any exposure that people get, any reviews that people like you write, make a huge difference because we’re all competing for, ironically, a very big pie. But everybody is getting a smaller and smaller slice overtime. If you had gotten 8 million viewers in the 70’s, you would’ve been canceled by episode 2. Nowadays you’re a huge hit and it’s just ‘cause there’s so many things competing for people’s time. So yes, I think that those awards make a difference. If only so that it could alert people to, “Hey, we’re doing something special over here. We have a really good TV show.”
Considering your hustle in this business so far, if you had a magic wand and could change one or more elements that would make the TV industry better, what would it be?
Diallo: If I could wave my magic wand, I would have more Black executives with green light power. Because every time I sell a show, I do have to sit in front of, usually, an older white man and try to tell him and translate to him why I think this show is going to be great. And I do think that if there were more Black people in position of power, we would spend less time translating and more time simply making great shows. I think about that all the time. Just one time I want to pitch a show to a person who can say yes to my show who looks like my family. ‘Cause it’s never a person who looks like your family. It always looks like somebody who could be a correctional officer or a Republican senator. There’s lots of diversity in the midlevel and even in the VP level but it’s rare. There are some exceptions but it’s very rare to meet somebody who’s not an older white man, and they didn’t grow up with our experiences. So for once, I’d like to go in there and have them know what I’m talking about the second I use some of my cultural reference points without me having to explain it. It would change the landscape of television — to have some diversity at the green light level. I think that it will come in time but I wish it was now because my time on Earth is limited. We got a crazy president, black people don’t live past 80 sometimes, let me get going. I want to have one of those Aaron Spelling careers and do this until the day I drop dead.
So, what’s next for Mr. Diallo Riddle?
Diallo: One of the things I’m proud of is that, as a writer, I worked with Jordan Peele on the upcoming Tracy Morgan show called “The Last O.G.” I got to work with Jordan and Tracy very hands-on, writing a show that I think is really going to be unexpected for people ‘cause I think people still associate Tracy with Tracy Jordon from “30 Rock,” so it’s not that. This is his chance to do his “Atlanta.” There are going to be some scenes that are laugh out loud funny. There are going to be some other scenes that are quite serious, but it’s 100% Tracy and he’s got an amazing cast. His ex-wife on the show is played by Tiffany Haddish. In the show, he’s just coming out of prison and trying to get adjusted to the new Brooklyn, which is very different than the Brooklyn that he grew up in. He grew up in the Biggie Brooklyn and now we’re in the dog-walking Brooklyn. He’s in a halfway house. The halfway house is run by Cedric the Entertainer, in what I think is some of the greatest stuff that I’ve seen Cedric do on TV since “The Steve Harvey Show” back in the 90’s. We just have a great cast and some serious stories and some funny stories but it’s going to be a really fun and interesting show.
And also, with my writing partner, there are at least 3 TV shows were developing at networks. One at Comedy Central, (“South Side,” which was recently picked up to series), one at IFC and the other to be determined. I’m proud of every single one of those projects. So we’re very busy. My goal is to flood the airwaves with quality content, diverse cast and I think we’re in a new era. When I saw my friend Lena Waithe up on stage clutching that Emmy with Aziz, who in previous years would have been the diverse Emmy winner, I do feel like we’re in a very special time.
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