Woman Crush Wednesday: Ashley Nicole Black is Back and Better Than Ever in ‘A Black Lady Sketch Show:’ Season 3

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A Black Lady Sketch Show

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Happy April, everyone! We’re not foolin’ when we say that streaming services are serving up some of the best of the best new movies and shows this month. This week alone, there are plenty of exciting new titles hitting your favorite platforms, and with today’s Woman Crush Wednesday, we’re here to highlight one of them, as well as one of the incredible ladies who is helping to make the magic happen both on and off camera. This week, we’re celebrating an exceptional woman who has killed it as an actress, comedian, producer, and writer for projects on screens big and small over the past nine years, and is definitely a talent to keep an eye on right now. So without further ado, let’s give it up for your WCW, the amazing Ashley Nicole Black!

WHO’S THAT GAL: Ashley Nicole Black

WHY WE’RE CRUSHING: Black is back as part of the main cast (and writers’ room) for A Black Lady Sketch Show: Season 3, a critically-acclaimed and Creative Arts Emmy Award-winning sketch comedy series created by Robin Thede in 2019 for HBO. Black, Thede, and Gabrielle Dennis have been main cast members for all three seasons, and this time around, they’re joined by Skye Townsend (who was a featured cast member last season) as the driving forces and brilliant creative minds behind this latest season of the series that currently holds a 100% Certified Fresh average Tomatometer score on Rotten Tomatoes.

In past seasons, A Black Lady Sketch Show has had special guest appearances from stars like Issa Rae, Angela Bassett, Laverne Cox, Nicole Byer, Amber Riley, Gabrielle Union, Patti LaBelle, Yvette Nicole Brown, and Lil Rel Howery, but this upcoming six-episode season is set to be bigger and better than ever, with over 40 special guests, including Ava DuVernay, Michaela Jaé Rodriguez, Raven-Symoné, Jemele Hill, Wanda Sykes, Kel Mitchell, Bob the Drag Queen, Wayne Brady, Vanessa Williams, Lance Reddick, and Jay Pharoah. This time around, the cast is busting their butts to fit as many sketches as possible into each half-hour episode, making for a whirlwind of uproarious brilliance and fun that will pass in the blink of an eye and leave you hungry for more. So, be sure to do yourselves a favor by catching Black and the rest of the gifted cast and crew in A Black Lady Sketch Show: Season 3 as soon as it drops this week, only on HBO and HBO Max.

WHERE YOU’VE SEEN HER BEFORE: Black got her start doing comedy at Second City in Chicago before making the move to professional acting and writing work, beginning in 2014 when she played Sam in short comedy-drama film The White Bag and Francine in comedic TV movie An American Education. Her big break came just two years later when she began working as a writer and correspondent for Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, and even won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Special in 2017 for her contributions to the show’s Not the White House Correspondents’ Dinner special. From there, Black went on to play Ashley in 2018 drama-thriller film Canal Street before accumulating additional acting credits in shows like PuffyCartoon Network’s CartoonitoThe Great NorthBob’s Burgers, and Tab Time.

Black has also made her mark as a skilled writer, spending the last five years contributing to superb shows like The Amber Ruffin Show, Bless This Mess, and Ted Lasso (not to mention her additional producer credits on the latter two shows). Black has put in the work and it’s evident in her terrific writing and performances that only continue to get better as she moves ahead with her various vocations. At this rate, we have no doubt that Black is going to have a very long and successful career in the entertainment industry, and we’re looking forward to everything she creates and is a part of in the years to come!

WHERE YOU’LL SEE HER AGAIN: Luckily, you won’t have to wait too much longer to see more from Black. She’s set to play Ginny in Glimpse, an upcoming dark comedy-thriller film about three people struggling under the weight of the immense pressure coming from all vying for the same job at once whilst unknowingly being watched throughout the entire process. This intense new title about surveillance culture and life’s everyday tragic comedies is set for a 2022 release, so keep an eye out for it in the coming months. Black will also serve as a writer and supervising producer on the upcoming Vince Vaughn-led drama series Bad Monkey, and thanks to a deal she made with Warner Bros. Television Group last year, you can expect to see her working on even more titles across multiple streaming platforms in the years ahead.

For more from Black in the meantime, be sure to follow her on Twitter and Instagram now so that you never miss a moment from your wonderful WCW!

Watch A Black Lady Sketch Show on HBO