Diarra Kilpatrick, the writer, created BET's “Diarra From Detroit” for Diarra, the actor, to play Diarra, the fictional character who finds herself in the middle of a big mystery that she is determined to solve.
But things didn't always go well for Diarra, Kilpatrick says over the phone, until he met the right people.
“One of the first pieces I did when I arrived in Los Angeles was 'The Piano Lesson,'” he recalls. “And Julius Tennon [actor-producer and husband of Viola Davis] was chosen for that work. Julius lights up a room. “He is very sociable and we bond very quickly,” he says.
“He [talked] He talks a lot about his wife, and I love a man who simply loves his wife. He is so endearing. Finally, we had a [cast] party, and [Davis] I showed up, met her and said, 'That's not your wife.' That is my wife!'”
In fact, Kilpatrick had been a fan since her youth, having seen Davis on the 2000 CBS series “City of Angels.” “She played a nurse and I recorded television episodes when I was a kid. I don't know, it was weird. “I’ve been a black nerd my whole life.”
Years later, when Kilpatrick was promoting his web series “American Koko,” the straight-up (and Emmy-nominated ABC digital) comedy about an agency that specializes in rehabilitating racists, he included the couple in the email chain. “And they called me immediately. “We didn’t have… I don’t even know how many views, but probably less than 1,000.” However, Davis and Tennon, who produce through JuVee Productions, were eager to participate. “They said, 'This is really fun.' This is really good. We want to be part of this. Please let us know how we can help.' A lot of people talk a lot in this city, but whenever [those two] “They have said: 'We want to help', they always have.”
Before heading to Los Angeles, Kilpatrick had done community theater since childhood, attending prep schools and then graduating from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. She and her husband arrived in Los Angeles just as the 2008 Writers Guild strike was underway and, she says, she learned the “power of the pivot.” Kilpatrick performed in many Los Angeles community theaters and eventually wrote the web series “Koko.” Her goal then was to write and star in something that she could sell.
Diarra Kilpatrick produces, writes and stars in “Diarra From Detroit.”
(Vanessa Clifton / BET+)
By making his own material, he found his comedic voice. But even with good contacts and lucky breaks, negotiating with Hollywood can be a struggle. Kilpatrick would star in and produce the short-lived series “The Climb” in 2017. Despite a pilot and two episodes, Prime Video did not move forward with a full season. But Kilpatrick is both philosophical and pragmatic about his previous efforts.
“I learned a lot along the way,” he says, “with my pilot on FX that didn't work out, with my pilot on Showtime, on Amazon. I have tried to correct any errors. I don't like making the same mistake twice. So they have all been lessons that I have incorporated into 'Diarra'.”
The series centers on Diarra Brickland, a teacher who becomes an amateur detective when her Tinder date disappears. Twists and turns follow as Diarra stumbles across answers. Which hat do you find most comfortable of the three that she wears in the series? “Producing is a necessary evil,” she says of a role in which she received a lot of support. But “writing and acting come very naturally. And I enjoyed it a lot and was very satisfied. I never really want to choose just one.”
There's a scene in the fifth episode where Diarra tries to introduce her friend (DomiNque Perry) to a glamorous political fundraiser. Drunk and shaking a glass of champagne in one hand, she alludes to Detroit's stereotype about cheap housing, joking about out-of-towners who think houses can be bought for $15. The performance is pure entertainment, but for Kilpatrick it's more of a metaphor for her character, the show, and her respect and love for her hometown.
“I wanted to clarify that. I think people think Detroit is a tough city. And I get it because a Detroiter will tell you, 'I'm from Detroit, man,' and the translation of that is usually 'Back off.' We'll advertise our toughness, but there's a lot more that goes into making someone, and part of that is a sense of humor. Part of that is having a soft heart, because you can't be resilient with a hard heart and no sense of humor,” she says.
While not ignoring Detroit's systemic problems, Kilpatrick emphasizes that he wanted a healthy mix of heart and humor in “Diarra.”
“Yes, it is a difficult place. But it is also the place where people fall in love and receive their first kiss. There is a romanticism in this too, if you really grew up, lived and loved there. “That’s really what I wanted to capture.”
