Justin Simien on ‘Dear White People’

The new season of ‘Dear White People’ on Netflix picks up roughly two weeks after the conclusion of Season 1. Black students at the fictional Ivy League Winchester University are still shaken by recent racially charged incidents, and to make things worse, their black residence hall, Armstrong Parker, has been forced to take in white students after a mysterious fire at another dorm.

And now campus activist Sam White, played by Logan Browning, is so rattled by a barrage of racist tweets from an anonymous troll that for once she’s at a loss for words. Instead of delivering her usual pointed commentary on her college radio show, Dear White People, she has been reduced to playing classical music.

The series follows Sam and other students with unique perspectives as they try to make sense of what’s happening on their campus.

‘Dear White People’ was created by our guest today, Justin Simien. He wrote and directed the 2014 film and now serves as the showrunner for the Netflix series.

Of course, there have been a few changes in America since he wrote the movie. Simien tells us about writing satire that’s now manifested in reality under the current administration, and talks about being the subject of intense Twitter attacks just based on the title of his show.

Plus, he takes us through the unconventional journey that brought ‘Dear White People’ to the screen in the first place, and tells us what’s next for him: a horror satire called ‘Bad Hair.’