Natasha Rothwell has recently inked an overall deal with premium cable network HBO, according to a report from Deadline . Rothwell, who has become best known for her role as Kelli on Issa Rae’s hit HBO series Insecure , has been tasked with creating and developing an original story idea for HBO. Rothwell also will produce, write, and star in the upcoming series.
The actress is no stranger to production as she has also been acting as supervising producer for Insecure and in many ways, the comedy series has served as a launching pad for Rothwell’s career. Insecure follows four friends: Issa, played by Issa Rae; Molly, played by Yvonne Orji; Tiffany, played by Amanda Seales; and Kelli, played by Rothwell, as they tackle life and navigate love as black professional women in a big city.
As Kelli, Rothwell puts her comedy skills to work taking on the role of the hilarious best friend who’s always there when the girls need straight-to-the-point advice and tough love.
While talking to NPR in September, the actress said she’s looking to tell more inclusive stories “where the protagonist is a plus-size woman of color, and those things aren’t central plot points.”
After the deal was finalized, Rothwell took to Instagram to share the news of her latest accomplishment. She posted a screenshot with the caption, “Dear 2019, I’m coming for you.”
Rothwell has quite a few upcoming projects as well, including roles in Patty Jenkins’s Wonder Woman 1984 and an animated live-action movie adaption of Sonic the Hedgehog , based on the popular Sega video game. She will also appear in an indie flick with Tiffany Haddish and Rose Byrne, titled Limited Partners .
The actress has previously written for late-night live comedy show Saturday Night Live . During the interview with NPR , she talked about her experience on SNL .
“I don’t think it’s meant to be easy. I also think that being in a 40-year-old institution that is predominantly white, as a woman of color, it’s a different journey,” she said. “And I’m not trying to sugarcoat it or whatever. It’s just sort of at this point — my process with having been on the show, and now sort of having hindsight, it’s really sort of matter of fact where I learned a ton.”
Rothwell can also be seen in Love, Simon , a movie which was directed by Greg Berlanti and starred Nick Robinson, Josh Duhamel, and Jennifer Garner.
