Issa Rae talks life after ‘Insecure’

December 8, 2022

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Issa Rae‘s breakthrough series Insecure came to an end nearly a year ago, but she’s still hard at work, breaking barriers along the way. As The Hollywood Reporter‘s Equity in Entertainment honoree, she sat down with the publication to share some details about her life after the HBO show.

After six successful seasons, Issa says she “took time to decompress” — the whole month of January to be exact. She launched her Rap Sh!t this year, but with no role in the show, she says 2022 “has probably been the most relaxing — relaxing for my standards — year I’ve had in, like, 10 years.”

Rap Sh!t, she adds, allowed her the opportunity to sit in her behind-the-scenes role as creator and writer, which sees her “just sitting on my ass and watching people be great while eating all day.” Still, she felt the pressure to make sure that it was likable and completely different than Insecure.

Overall, the break post Insecure has given Issa the time to figure out “what I want my next three shows to be.”

“I realized that maybe I’m not that great at multitasking and I need to carve out time to be able to continue to create, because that’s what makes me the happiest,” she explains. “That’s what makes me the most excited.”

She’s also happy to see how far her Insecure cast has come in their individual careers. “It really does feel like, ‘Oh, we’re really out here winning,'” she says. “I’m just really proud to see what everybody else is gravitating toward and to see them killing it.

After landing roles on the upcoming films Barbie and Vengeance, Issa is looking for more ensemble work. She is also working toward getting a studio in South LA.