Showrunners behind The Witcher, Daredevil on the importance of diversity among writers

Since the killing of George Floyd two weeks ago, there’s been a ton of talk about race relations in the US, first and foremost between the police and the people they serve. But others have highlighted problems within their industries. For instance, Michael B. Jordan (Killmonger in Black Panther) spoke at a recent Black Lives Matter protest about the importance of hiring black people in Hollywood, so they can tell their stories after being excluded for decades:

Likewise, recently several high-profile showrunners have come out and talked about the importance of forming writers’ rooms that include a diversity of voices, both to try and correct a historic imbalance that contributes to the widening economic and social gaps between people of different races in this country, and because it just makes the stories better. I’ll let Lauren Hissrich, the showrunner behind Netflix’s Witcher series, put it in her own words:

So far as the quality of the content goes, Hissrich’s basic idea is that a diversity of voices in a writers room leads to a better story, which makes perfect sense; people with different experiences are going to more familiar with different aspects of the human condition, which means your show is going to be richer, deeper, stronger.

And this phenomenon isn’t exclusive to the creative professions, by the way. Studies show that diverse corporate boards make better decisions that return more money for their stakeholders, and largely for the same reason: having different perspectives means you’re less likely to miss something, and more likely to get exposed to good ideas you wouldn’t otherwise come across.

Steven DeKnight, who has a long history in TV and most recently oversaw production of Netflix’s dearly departed Daredevil show, agrees:

Finally, longtime Arrowverse creative and Legends of Tomorrow executive producer Keto Shimizu has some recommendations for how to make sure you get that diversity of perspective:

At the moment, Hollywood is still mostly shut down due to the coronavirus, but things are starting to open back up again. It has been a trying few months, and there’s likely more ahead, but I’m hopeful about what our new normal will look like, in Hollywood and beyond, once things settle down.

To stay up to date on everything fantasy, science fiction, and WiC, follow our all-encompassing Facebook page and sign up for our exclusive newsletter.

Get HBO, Starz, Showtime and MORE for FREE with a no-risk, 7-day free trial of Amazon Channels

h/t SyFy Wire