What I Learned

I decided about four or five years ago that I should do a lot more to help build women leaders at the company. I've seen the impact on people who didn't have the confidence or weren't thinking about the game in the right way; they didn't have the right advocates; they didn't have the right network. It's inspiring to see these women who have now gone on to get promoted and run big parts of our business. They spread it to other women, and the ripple effect is powerful.

Mara Brock Akil
Creator and executive producer, CW's 'Girlfriends' and 'The Game'

When I took a screenwriting course, I knew instantly that was what I wanted to do. I felt so alive. I could actually feel blood rushing through my body. All these characters were dancing around in my head; they were real people to me. It was a calling.

At age 5 and 6, I used to talk to myself and make up stories. I was actually writing back then. I just didn't know it. I also loved television, and I thought I could do better than what I was seeing as it pertained to African-American women. And now I have this opportunity with the show "Girlfriends," about four African-American women. I wanted to tell our story, almost like a documentarian, only funnier.

We've covered both the ups and downs. For example, AIDS is the No. 1 killer of black women ages 18 to 34. The problem is, a lot of black men do not feel comfortable being out about being gay, about having sex with other men. A lot of these women are contracting AIDS in their relationships—relationships they believe to be monogamous. For me to ignore that story just didn't feel right. It certainly was a challenge to insert it in a show when you're trying to make people laugh. I find the controversial stuff is actually some of our best work because it makes you dig harder. It scares the hell out of you, and I think from that place we tend to excel in that challenging space.

In African-American culture, our history has been riddled with a lot of tragedy, and we have this amazing sense of humor. That humor has been part of our survival, and so I think it's probably inherent in me that I can find the funny in some of the hardest stuff.