AMANDA SEALES

A former MTV VJ with a master’s degree in African American studies, Amanda Seales uses her platforms to explore the black experience in ways that range from hilarious to humbling. Over the past year she has embarked on a sold-out, 23-city tour for Smart Funny & Black, her livecomedy game show that’s something between Black Jeopardy and a black barbecue (the tour continues through the summer). She wrapped her third season on Insecure; produced her weekly self-help podcast, Small Doses; and debuted I Be Knowin’, her first stand-up special, on HBO. Along the way, she’s rallied audiences into singing the black national anthem and invited white hecklers to the stage to unpack their motivations. “My philosophy is [that] comedy is the filter through which information is shared,” she says. Her book, Small Doses, is due out this fall. You’re the second black woman, after Wanda Sykes, to have her own standup special on HBO. How does that feel? When people ask me who my comedy idols are, I tell them, Chris, Dave, and Jerry. They’re always like, “No women?” And I’m like, “When have we ever had black women comedians presented to us at the same level of stardom?” Each stop on your Smart Funny & Black tour has a different focus and tone. How do you produce a new show in every city? It requires tapping into what’s going on in the zeitgeist and matching that to my guests. When we were at Princeton, we had Imani Perry and Eddie Glaude, two of the greatest African American history professors of all time. So I allowed them to exhibit their next-level knowledge [of history]. That’s different from the show with actresses Tichina Arnold and Tisha Campbell, which I wrote to demonstrate their musical capabilities. Is it tough to decide where to invest your creative energy? I just keep the engine running so that whenever I need it to take off, it can go. I want to write a novel, but I don’t have time right now. But [last night] I came up with a lead character’s name in my half-awake, halfasleep state. It had been avoiding me for weeks. When I finally have the time to write, I won’t be starting fresh. Contributors: Eillie Anzilotti, Jeff Beer, Laura Bell, Jill Bernstein, Adam Bluestein, Kelsey Campbell-dollaghan, Sean Captain, Amy Farley, Yasmin Gagne, Amanda Grooms, Ainsley Harris, Burt Helm, Anisa Purbasari Horton, KC Ifeanyi, Beth Johnson, Suzanne Labarre, Nicole Laporte, David Lidsky, J.J. Mccorvey, Harry Mccracken, Stephanie Mehta, Anna Meyer, Ben Paynter, Adele Peters, Ruth Reader, Jonathan Ringen, Mary Kaye Schilling, Erin Schulte, Katharine Schwab, Elizabeth Segran, Lara Sorokanich, Cale Guthrie Weissman, Mark Wilson, Jay Woodruff, Christopher Zara