Throughout his journey, Diallo Riddle’s path, roadblocks and all, have led him full circle. Before landing a supporting role as Stevie on NBC’s latest sitcom, Marlon, a Google search of Riddle’s name would foremost result in a list of articles detailing his 2016 TV deal gone wrong with HBO for a show he created called Brothers in Atlanta, centered in his hometown.
Pulling the plug on the series before it aired its first season, in a boldly worded headline, Shadow And Act reported “HBO Buries Diallo Riddle/Bashir Salahuddin ‘Brothers in Atlanta’ Series’”
“We laughed at that headline for weeks,” Riddle jokes. “Y’all showed us a lot of love. It’s like when something happens that’s terrible in your life and somebody comes along and they’re like ‘man, that wasn’t just terrible, it was horrible too!’ You just can’t help but laugh. It was the one things that made us happy during that very dark period.”
Aside from our relief, there turned out to be even more light interceding that dark period. According to Riddle, “after years of trying to do our Atlanta show, we’ve now changed to the southside of Chicago, where Bashir grew up.”“We just had Lil Rel…he has a recurring role on that show. It all takes place at this Rent-A-Center type of place. It’s very funny.”
“We just had Lil Rel…he has a recurring role on that show. It all takes place at this Rent-A-Center type of place. It’s very funny.”
While that show is still in developmental stages, read on for a revealing discussion with Riddle, wherein Riddle shares all of the other ways he turned his losses into wins.
For some, their introduction to you and your work—or rather the idea of your work—was the HBO deal.
“Nobody is ever going to see season one of that show. We were with HBO for three different presidents…so many administrations, even though we were only there for four years. So you get caught up in that. If you’re not the people who are developing with the current boss, for lack of a better term, sometimes they feel like ‘well I won’t get any credit if this is a hit, and if it’s a failure I’ll get the blame.’ That’s sort of how Hollywood works sometimes.
With that said, there were a lot of good people at HBO that we liked working with…I’m a really huge fan of Insecure. One of our writers on Brothers in Atlanta, Amy Aniobi, who we actually wanted to make the head writer, she’s one of the valued writers on Insecure. It’s a super small family. I’m just happy to see somebody else make it even if I think we got shorted in the long run.”
After getting shorted like that, does Marlon come with an added sense of accomplishment?
“Let’s be honest—it’s a network sitcom shot in front of a live studio audience. That’s a level of this game I never thought I would be a part of. I always figured I’d be making indie movies and cable TV shows with an indie appeal. To be on NBC like Michael J. Fox and Jason Alexander…that’s crazy talk…to be a supporting actor on a sitcom.
What was really nice about it was seeing network completely behind its star. With NBC and Marlon working together, you’re like ‘oh, so this is what it’s like to have that full level of support.’”
Given how The Carmichael Show ended on that same network, while filming, did you feel any pressure to distance yourselves from all that?
“Marlon is 100 percent not The Carmichael Show. It’s unfortunate that comparisons are going to be inevitable—we have the same network and an all black cast. This show reflects the sensibilities of Marlon’s real life…it’s about a child-centered divorce.
I love The Carmichael Show. He was talking about the current issues of the day. When people talk about The Carmichael Show, they say ‘remember the episode about consent? Remember the episode about police brutality?’ This show is not that. I think that’s okay.
The same way Brothers in Atlanta wasn’t Insecure—Brothers in Atlanta wasn’t even Atlanta, which is another show I like. The good news about TV right now is the black people who have been lucky enough to get their shows on the air have actually reflected those individual black people, and none of them have tried to be the definitive black show.”
Given the similarities you share as two writer-actor-comedians, what’s your relationship like with Marlon?
“I didn’t know Marlon at all before this thing started. In fact, when I read the sides, I told my agent ‘I don’t think I’m gonna go in for this part…I don’t think that sounds like a character that I would play.’
Then I got a call from the head writer of the show who was like ‘ignore the sides.’ He was like ‘we’ve seen what you did for that first HBO pilot, and Marlon loved it, and he wants to see you play this character.’ I met him…and at the end of the audition, we had the whole room laughing. I think a bond formed.
When we first met…I don’t even know if we had people who we had worked with mutually. I knew more people from Atlanta, Carmichael and Insecure than I knew from Marlon going in. Now that I’ve done Marlon, I’ve met a whole other group of black entertainers in Hollywood.”
While getting to know this new group, what was the happiest moment you had on set?
“There was one scene—ironically, in an episode about interventions. There was a moment that Marlon had. Every time we tried to shoot it, everybody broke character. It was impossible to keep a straight face. It was a magical moment, and I can’t wait for that episode to air.”
It’s great you’ve been able to find your stride since that initial deal with HBO. Do you have any advice for creatives who experience setbacks in their careers?
“Honestly, I would just say keep creating. The lesson I took away from HBO was if somebody says ‘no, not with us,’ go where they will let you do your thing. There are so many avenues, so many networks, and so many different ways in. You just gotta choose a city, go there, and just start doing it.”
Marlon airs Wednesdays on NBC at 9 p.m. EST.
