“A Black Lady Sketch Show” will welcome some new faces and bid farewell to an old one in its upcoming season.
Ashley Nicole Black, who was a cast member and writer on the HBO sketch comedy series, has announced that she would not return for the show’s fourth season, which is set to begin next year.
The remaining core cast members — creator Robin Thede, Gabrielle Dennis, and Skye Townsend — will be joined by three new featured players: DaMya Gurley, Tamara Jade, and Angel Laketa Moore — in her place. Black, an Emmy winner for her work as a writer on “Full Frontal With Samantha Bee” and as a producer on “Ted Lasso,” will next be featured in Bill Lawrence’s Apple TV+ comedy “Bad Monkey.”
In earlier seasons, the cast of “Abbott Elementary” founder Quinta Brunson starred in Season 1 before leaving the program, though she made a surprise cameo in the Season 3 finale. Laci Mosley appeared in Season 2 before leaving due to scheduling difficulties with her role in the Paramount+ version of “iCarly.”
Gurley, who is most known for her comedy on TikTok, will have her first major television credit with “A Black Lady Sketch Show.” Jade previously competed on “The Voice” Season 19 as a contestant, when she was coached by John Legend. Moore is a stand-up comedian with previous TV appearances on “Swimming With Sharks,” “Atypical,” “United States of Al,” and “B Positive.”
“We will be eternally grateful to our sister, Emmy-winner Ashley Nicole Black, whose talents as a writer and performer on ‘A Black Lady Sketch Show’ for three seasons left an indelible impact on our series and in comedy history,” Thede said in a statement. “She will always be a part of our family, and we are rooting for her as she pursues success.”
Angel, DaMya, and Tamara are unquestionably the next generation of comedians! They sing, dance, act, and laugh! They will amaze and delight audiences with their infinite talents, and we can’t wait to show them to the rest of the world!”
Since its premiere in 2019, the HBO series, which has an all-Black and female cast performing short-form skits and an increasingly intricate running story about surviving the apocalypse, has gained sustained critical acclaim.
Its first three seasons got 13 Emmy nominations, with two wins for best editing of a variety series and one for best directing for Bridget Stokes, who directed the Season 3 premiere.