00:00Tracy is truly one of the funniest women I have ever met.
00:11I started to admire Tracy's comedy chops on the show called Lyricist Lounge.
00:17And they were doing improv and sketch comedy.
00:21When I wrote the character for Joan, it was supposed to be Regina King.
00:24But Regina King wasn't returning anybody's phone calls.
00:27So we looked all over town for Joan.
00:32From the moment she did the first line of the script, I was like, oh my God, she's Joan.
00:37I can't see anyone other than Tracee Ellis Ross playing Joan.
00:42One of the best things about doing a read between the lines was working with Tracee and our relationship.
00:49I mean, she's an actress, you know, she can play, I think, anything.
00:52She's incredibly talented, both dramatically and comedically.
00:56I guess what makes Tracee and I have so much fun together is because we are so much alike and so opposite at the same time.
01:06Tracee has created a plethora of amazing characters where you forget that's Tracee.
01:11Tracee and I have been friends forever, so I brought Tracee a lot of projects.
01:14And so I told her, I was like, this is something I want to do, that you're the person I want to do it with.
01:18One of the things that resonates about Tracee is that Lucille Ball-ish quality.
01:23I think Tracee has really redefined the idea of what the television mom is.
01:27I think for comedy, you've just got to commit. You got to be able to drop it and commit.
01:31I think what makes Tracee's comedic timing or her comedy so good is because it's all rooted in heart.
01:37She's like Shazam. She's like the female, the human incarnation of a lightning bolt, meaning light, powerful, jagged, sharp, and on fire.
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