Brittani Nichols (born June 20, 1988)[1] is an American producer, actress, comedian, and writer.[2] In 2016, Nichols wrote, produced, and starred in the film Suicide Kale, which won the Audience Award for Best U.S. Dramatic Feature at 2016 Outfest. She has written for the television programs A Black Lady Sketch Show, Take My Wife, Strangers, and Drop the Mic.[3] Nichols is a writer and producer for Abbott Elementary and won the Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series award at the 54th NAACP Image Awards for the episode "Student Transfer".[4][5] As part of the producing team of Abbott Elementary, Nichols was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series in 2023.[6]
Brittani Nichols | |
---|---|
Born | |
Nationality | American |
Education | Yale University (BA) |
Occupation(s) | Actor, writer, producer |
Years active | 2012–present |
Notable work | Suicide Kale (2016) |
Career
editTelevision and film
editNichols moved to Los Angeles after college and developed the web series Words With Girls (2012), which she later rewrote as a full-length pilot that was produced by Issa Rae and Deniese Davis's initiative ColorCreative.tv.[7][8][9] The series centered a group of queer twenty-something roommates in LA and starred Nichols, Corbin Reid, Hannah Hart, Alex Sturman, and Lauren Neal.[9] In 2016, Nichols wrote, produced, and starred in Suicide Kale, a dark comedy with an all queer-woman cast.[10] Nichols stated in an interview that she set out to make a lesbian movie that "wasn’t about coming out, sleeping with a man, or a character death at the end".[11] Both Words with Girls and Suicide Kale draw on Nichols' own experiences as a lesbian, and she has stated repeatedly in interviews that she is committed to increasing LGBTQ and African-American representation in media.[12] Suicide Kale won the Audience Award for Best U.S. Dramatic Feature at Outfest.[3]
She has appeared in several television programs including A Black Lady Sketch Show, Take My Wife, and Transparent.[13][10] Nichols was a writer for season one of the HBO series A Black Lady Sketch Show.[14] She has also written for Strangers, Drop the Mic, and Take My Wife.[15] She served as Consulting Producer for The Circle and Getting Curious with Jonathan Van Ness.
In 2020, it was announced that Nichols would produce a dramedy, Toothbrush, for Quibi through ColorCreative; however Quibi went out of business before the show was created.[16][17]
She is a writer and producer for the ABC comedy Abbott Elementary and is represented by CAA.[18][19][20]
Other work
editIn 2016, she released a five-track EP, Brittani Nichols Likes You.[2] Nichols previously co-hosted two podcasts, Brand New Podcast with Ariana Lenarsky, and Hamilton the Podcast with Khalehla Rixon.[21] Nichols also is Writers Guild of America West Captain.[22]
Personal life
editNichols was born in Chicago.[23] After attending Thornwood High School, she attended Yale University, where she played on the women's basketball team and women's rugby team.[1]
She is gay and genderqueer.[24] She supported Hugo Soto-Martinez and Eunisses Hernandez during the 2022 Los Angeles elections.[25][26]
Filmography
editActing
editYear | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2012 | Words with Girls | Brittani | 5 episodes |
2013 | Unicorn Plan-It | Random Sleeper | Episode: "Across the YOUniverse" |
2015 | Transparent | Nicol | 3 episodes |
2016 | Suicide Kale | Jasmine Rawlings | Also writer |
2016 | The Fat One | Reese | Episode: "Not Hungry" |
2017 | Rad Lands | Farmer Knox | Episode: "Big" |
2018 | Take My Wife | Bethani | 2 episodes |
2019 | A Black Lady Sketch Show | Barbecue Daddy #2 / Ex | 2 episodes |
Writer
editYear | Title | Notes |
---|---|---|
2012 | Words with Girls | 6 episodes |
2015 | The Xperiment | 26 episodes |
2016 | Suicide Kale | Also actress |
2017 | Drop the Mic | 6 episodes |
2018 | Take My Wife | 5 episodes |
2018 | Strangers | Episode: "First Skate" |
2019 | A Black Lady Sketch Show | 6 episodes |
2022-24 | Abbott Elementary | 3 episodes |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "Yale". Yale. Archived from the original on 2019-04-11. Retrieved 2019-03-10.
- ^ a b "Brittani Nichols Likes You And She's Proving It With Her New EP". Autostraddle. 2016-12-14. Retrieved 2019-04-02.
- ^ a b "Outfest Award Winners Revealed as Andrew Ahn's 'Spa Night' Takes Grand Jury Prize". The Hollywood Reporter. 17 July 2016. Retrieved 2019-03-10.
- ^ "'Abbott Elementary' Writer Brittani Nichols On What To Expect From Tonight's Episode". HuffPost. 2022-10-12. Retrieved 2024-03-08.
- ^ Nordyke, Kimberly (2023-02-24). "NAACP Image Awards: 'Abbott Elementary,' 'Atlanta,' 'Better Call Saul' Among Night Four's Non-Televised Winners". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2024-03-08.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (2023-07-12). "'Abbott Elementary' Writer-Producer's Reaction To Nomination Spotlights Somber Reality Of Emmy Celebration Amid WGA Strike". Deadline. Retrieved 2024-03-08.
- ^ "Words With Girls: Brittani Nichols is on a Mission with New Pilot". Retrieved 2019-03-10.
- ^ "Brittani Nichols - 2007-08 - Women's Basketball". Yale University. Retrieved 2021-01-20.
- ^ a b Bernard, Riese (2014-09-23). ""Words With Girls" Episode One Recap: Pilot This Pilot Into Your Heart This Minute". Autostraddle. Archived from the original on 2014-09-24. Retrieved 2019-03-10.
- ^ a b Nelson, Carrie (2016-10-21). "'Suicide Kale' Is a Hilarious Film About Queerness and Suicidal Feelings". Vice. Retrieved 2019-03-10.
- ^ Brown, Keah (2016-10-15). "Lunch with a Side of 'Suicide Kale'". Digital Fashion Magazine | Free Fashion Magazine | Fashion Magazine Online. Retrieved 2019-07-17.
- ^ "Q&A: The "Suicide Kale" Cast on Making Film More Inclusive". 2016-10-03. Retrieved 2019-03-10.
- ^ "Cameron Esposito and Rhea Butcher on making 'Take My Wife' season 2". The Daily Dot. 2018-06-08. Retrieved 2019-03-10.
- ^ "Mini Q+A with Brittani Nichols". GOLD Comedy. 2019-03-11. Retrieved 2019-07-17.
- ^ Harris, Lynn (2019-03-12). "Pro tip from Brittani Nichols: Say no". GOLD Comedy. Archived from the original on 2019-03-18. Retrieved 2021-06-09.
- ^ Otterson, Joe (2020-09-14). "Issa Rae's ColorCreative to Develop Dramedy Series 'Toothbrush' With Brittani Nichols at Quibi (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Archived from the original on 2020-09-15. Retrieved 2021-06-09.
- ^ "My worst moment: 'Abbott Elementary' writer Brittani Nichols wishes she knew about the spit bucket". Chicago Tribune. 2023-03-07. Retrieved 2024-03-08.
- ^ "Heartthrob B. Nichols on Writing for Abbott Elementary and the Quest for More Black Queer Stories". Autostraddle. 2022-03-22. Retrieved 2022-04-18.
- ^ Hailu, Selome (2022-11-11). "'Abbott Elementary' Writer Brittani Nichols Signs With CAA (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 2024-03-08.
- ^ "'Abbott Elementary' writer on Jacob's crisis, finally letting Sheryl Lee Ralph sing". EW.com. Retrieved 2024-03-08.
- ^ "18 LGBTQ women in entertainment to celebrate this Women's History Month". GLAAD. 2018-03-22. Archived from the original on 2018-04-27. Retrieved 2019-03-10.
- ^ Rosenbloom, Alli (2023-05-02). "Brittani Nichols, 'Abbott Elementary' writer and WGA captain, says studios are 'running over the workers of this industry'". CNN. Retrieved 2024-03-08.
- ^ "Comedy Crush: Everything Brittani Nichols Touches Turns to Hilarious". Autostraddle. 2014-09-22. Retrieved 2019-07-17.
- ^ "Words With Girls: Brittani Nichols is on a Mission with New Pilot". Retrieved 2019-07-17.
- ^ @BisHilarious (April 19, 2022). "Eunisses is the shit. A community organizer with policy experience who still lives in the neighborhood she grew up in. She has seen the effects of gentrification and over-policing firsthand. And she grew up in a union household. Couldn't design a better candidate" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ @BisHilarious (February 20, 2022). "I'm hosting a fundraiser for Measure J architect @EunissesH & labor organizer @HugoForCD13 Monday at 7 pm. If you wanna hop on, DM me! You can also DONATE NOW! We gotta defeat the incumbents who together make up an evil sentient jumbo Jenga set" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
External links
edit- Brittani Nichols at IMDb
- Official website Archived 2019-07-17 at the Wayback Machine