In the past 20 years, Yvette Lee Bowser, CEO of SisterLee Productions, created and sold over twenty-five pilots for American television in the past fifteen years. Of those twenty-five, eight were given a green light to move on to creating a pilot. Of those eight, five were picked up and four of them were classic African American programming for generations to come, including, Living Single, Lipstick Jungle, For Your Love and Lush Life and Half and Half. Five years ago, Bowser took a break from television to spend time with her children and husband.
“I don’t feel like I’ve taken a break in years and my kids really needed this,†says Bowser of her two sons. “They were transitioning to another school and I’m glad I was able to be there during that time and to be there for my husband. I’ve been working nonstop for twenty something years. Just because you don’t see my name in the credits doesn’t mean I’m not still working.â€
Pilot season and production months are the busiest time of the year for the veteran show-runner – and although her new shows on TVLand, don’t require her to wear the hat of show-runner in charge – Bowser is still writing the most engaging characters and exchanges on television today.
BlackEnterprise.com: After 20 years in television, what do you believe makes you a good writer?
Yvette Lee Bowser: I still look for the truth in all that I write. I try to relay the truth though the characters that I write about. I just really try to be honest. Although I’ve done mostly comedy in my career and people think that honesty makes for good drama, I believe that truth in my words has allowed me to continue to grow in this business. As long as you’re honest, the audience will respond.
In the past, you’ve been a trailblazer in creating these authentic African American characters, but now that you’re writing for primarily Caucasian characters and just one African American character, how does that change your writing or does it change at all?
We’re still always trying to get at the truth in these shows. We are trying to get to the situations and everyday occurences of what makes people laugh. Honestly, humor doesn’t really know color. Yes there are some culturally specific commentary that needs to be made but we still generally keep it honest. The show that I’m on now (The Execs) is actually a very ethnic show; very Jewish. Having worked in the industry for 25 years, I’m also very familiar with what makes them laugh as well. It’s nice to exercise some muscles that have never been exercised, but honestly, my writing is pretty universal. I still write for the predominate female characters on the show and since TV Land’s primary target market is women 25-50, that’s still my sweet spot.
After 25 years of writing honest characters, what keeps you motivated, what keeps you engaged in staying in this industry?
Writing is like breathing for me. I just have to do it. I know that sounds super cliché but it’s something that I really feel. I did take a little bit of time off but during that time off, I wrote a screenplay, a book and developed the concept of a cable channel with a business partner. I actually got to exercise a lot of my writing muscles so it really wasn’t time off because I was still writing. I write poetry and have a 14-year-old son that writes songs so I just think writing is in our blood. I have to find an outlet to write. I would love to get back to production though and that’s one thing that I haven’t been involved with recently. TV Land welcomed me with open arms and he’s been talking to my agents for many, many years asking that I come on board with their new slate of programming. Now, I’m doing my tour of duty at TV Land; starting with “The Execs†and transitioning over to “Happily Divorced†just a month ago, as the head writer.
You mentioned that the head of TV Land really wanted you for many years; do you find that you’re meeting with the same studio executives over and over or are there different faces all the time?
I do run into a lot of the same people and more of the same personalities. Fortunately for me, I’ve always been a kind individual. Even when certain people have risen up the ranks and are now heads of studios, they remember me as being a kind and creative person that they can count on to deliver. Because of my experience, they are always open and interested in what I have to say, which is great.
Because you’re one of the few African American women in this industry that does have an open door to studio executives, how much mentoring and training are you involved in?
I believe that’s extremely critical because this industry is so closed. They simply don’t let new people into the fold, ever. So it’s critical that the next generation be prepared to generate their own material and know how to interact with studio executives; and these are things that you can’t just learn from osmosis. What I know, I’ve learned from a lot of trial and error.
I ran my first show at a very young age (Universal Studio’s “A Different Worldâ€). I was 27 years old, running my own show which meant that I went from being a minion to being the boss over night. So it’s really important that we train the next generation that have not been involved in the process of producing a show, because producing goes well beyond the writing. Show running goes so far beyond the producing of a show. It involves so many different kinds of personalities and interactions. You have to know how to interact with executives and still know how to manage your staff, as well. It’s very multifaceted and honestly, most writers are not equipped to run their own show.
Getting young people to understand the process and kind of demystifying that iron curtain has always been a priority to me. That’s why I’m so heavily involved with the Writers Guild Show Runners Training Program. And I really enjoy it. It’s the kind of program that I wish was around when I was coming up so I didn’t have to go through so many trials by fire.
Other than going though one of those training programs, what is your best advice for outsiders to get into this industry?
I’ll just say this, If you’re a writer, keep writing. Very interestingly, I encounter a lot of people that want to write and when I ask what have you written, they respond by saying “nothing.†You’d be surprised at how many times I get that response. Or they’ve written with no format and off the top off their heads and have never been published. Those kinds of so-called writers, don’t understand that writing is re-writing and that the process has lots of stages. And you really need to have perseverance in this business. You really do because you’re going to get a lot of “No’s.” I also advise that writers seek out people that will give honest feedback. Have someone that will tell you when your writing isn’t great because that’s the only what that you’re get better.
Since you’ve been in the industry, so much programming has been moved online and away from the actual television set; how has that changed the way you do business or has it changes at all?
It hasn’t really changed how I work because I still try to tell honest and engaging stories. I will say that the TV opportunities are fewer which means that when you get one, it’s more precious. So we must be thankful when we do get a break. The creation of web programming and reality shows, both open and close opportunities for writers because they offers portals for more involvement and more experience, however, it causes the true TV opportunities to be very slim.
Because I believe that there’s something for everyone, I don’t look at those avenues as negative. The demand is what the demand is so I don’t spend a lot of time analyzing it or being bitter about it, because it takes me from the time that I need to spend on making the best projects complete. I think that when you start to focus on what you don’t have or what you haven’t been able to do, it keeps you from doing what you need to do to get things done for yourself.
And this might not be popular with many of my peers of writers but I, personally, am a reality show junkie. The storylines and the characters just pull me in. There’s a huge market for that kind of programming. So much of it is a sociology or psychology of the human condition. It’s as real as it gets. I know some of it is fake because of the cameras but even that is an example of the honest human condition. Even though it makes it more challenging for TV writers like me, I’m open to that challenge.
When you took a bit of time off and we didn’t see your name in the credits, we assumed that you are not working or that reality shows or web programming is keeping great writers like you from working; that’s really not true?
Really, I didn’t have a break until the last 3 years. And during that time, I was developing a cable channel with Dr. Bill Cosby and his wife. I didn’t really have that much time off. I went from running my own
shows for twenty years to selling pilots. Every year that you don’t see my name in the credits, doesn’t mean that I wasn’t working in the industry. I’ve actually sold 25 pilots in the last 15 years which is a sizable amount. I was fortunate enough to shoot 8 of those pilots and put five on the air; four of them went the distance so that’s not a bad track record.And also I have a family. I’m a wife and a mother. I have two children, two young boys who need me. I was able to take that time off three years ago so that I could really re-connect with them. I really wanted to spend more time with them. Only a crazy person would really stop a career that was in full swing during a recession, but that’s how crazy I am about my kids. I wouldn’t trade that time for anything. That’s what I do. I’m a mom in my free time. I’m a wife in my free time and I’m a writer at all times.
What challenges are you facing right now and how are you dealing with them?
There are challenges when you’re asked to go in and consult on a show versus running the show. But I understand what the job requires. Right now, I have less responsibility. I have a full tool belt but I’m only using about two tools and some days that’s a big challenge for me. But it’s all good because I’m happy to be working and do what’s required. I’m there to do what the show-runners need me to do. That’s the job. I’m able to change my position and not diminish my role in the overall outcome of the show.
One of the reasons that I love 30-minute television was because I appreciate the immediacy of what I’m doing. Being able to put my thoughts and opinions of the characters on the page and immediately see the results on the following week’s episode is very gratifying. And I’m doing that. I don’t have to be in charge. That goes back to why I really love to mentor because I’ve ran five shows in my career, I’m not as hungry as a new writer. I’m not as desperate to put my stamp on something. It’s the people that are constantly chasing happiness that never find it. I’m pretty happy right now in my life.