All Rise writers quit show over depictions of race issues
CBS series All Rise – which stars The Flash's Jessica Camacho – has suffered a blow behind the scenes, with five writers out of the original seven quitting the show.
One of a small number of series led by a Black woman (Simone Missick), All Rise is currently working on its second season, but instead of representing a victory for onscreen diversity, its showrunner is under fire for his handling of race and gender.
According to a report in The New York Times, Greg Spottiswood has been accused by members of the writing team of tokenism and resisting co-workers' concerns over storylines that perpetuated racial stereotypes.
Shernold Edwards, a Black writer and producer, claimed: "We had to do so much behind the scenes to keep these scripts from being racist and offensive."
Suggesting All Rise relies on a veneer of exclusivity and greater representation, she added: "[Spottiswood] makes race palatable for a CBS audience and the CBS brass, because he doesn't know anything about it.
"So there is this strange tone of nothing being said, but the visual representation is there. It's safe, and it's empty. All the reality is absent."
Another former writer on the series, Sunil Nayar, said that he believed he had been hired to be "the brown guy". "Greg hired me to be his brown guy," he reiterated.
Warner Bros confirmed it had looked into complaints made by former employees about the work environment, but concluded that the allegations about his conduct did not "warrant removing series Greg Spottiswood from the executive producer role".
In a statement, Spottiswood conceded that changes needed to be made. "When it appeared the writers' room was struggling to function as effectively as it should, I recognised that I needed to change how I was working," he said.
"I voluntarily sought management training and leadership coaching."
In a separate response, the series boss committed to "improving [his] communication style and skills, and to being a more inclusive leader". Spottiswood also pledged to "listen to and respect" writers and artists on the show, so that they feel "safe and valued".
All Rise – which has since hired Dee Harris-Lawrence, a Black woman, to act as co-showrunner – stars Simone Missick as Judge Lola Carmichael.
The legal drama follows the idealistic former district attorney as she tries to clean up the flawed justice system one case at a time.
For more information on how you can support Black Lives Matter, please visit its official website or donate here. Readers can also donate to the UK anti-discrimination group Stand Up To Racism, and the Unite Families & Friends Campaign, which supports those affected by deaths in police, prison and psychiatric custody.
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