A biography for Courtney A. Kemphasn’t been written yet.
“50 and I are extremely close, so all that social media drama? It's just for the show.”
“Obviously I'm not from 50's background - I'm from Westport, Connecticut, which is as far away from his background as you can get, right? Growing up in Westport, for a long time I was the only black person living there for miles.”
“Writers are, for the most part, crazy people. We're like Hephaestus of the forge. We're gnarled. We're curled over. We walk with a limp.”
“When human beings say they have power, it always makes me laugh a little bit.”
“I first became a showrunner at 36 years old. I had no experience doing this job, which is as complicated and multi-faceted as anything I'd ever tried.”
“You don't keep your job if you don't make a great show.”
“I always like to write myself into a corner. I think the best stuff comes from only having a few ways out.”
“Every writer should be able to write anything if you do the research and you're sensitive enough to ask the questions.”
“I am tired of people using 'diverse' to mean 'of color.' That's not what that word means. 'Diversity' means people of all different races, all together - like a New York City subway.”
“My dad and his sister, who is no longer with us, used to dance on the streets for money. They had nothing.”
“Any underrepresented audience loves to see themselves on TV, but what's more important is that we're writing about universal themes - good versus evil, can you change yourself? These themes resonate for everyone.”
“People are realizing that there is a financial consequence to not opening doors. It doesn't mean that they are any more inclusive in their hearts - it means they're more inclusive in their wallets.”
“I love 'Archer.' That's one of the best-written shows out there.”
“Being a showrunner is doing a bit of everything. It's not just writing. It's also management: managing actors, managing producers, managing a crew, being kind to people, being a good boss, observing deadlines.”
“Being a writer is great because you get to come up with stuff.”
“Great partnerships thrive because the people need each other.”
“We use the word 'urban' to mean black or Latino, but that's not what the word means. It actually means 'from the city.' I'm not from the city. I'm from the suburbs of Connecticut. I grew up with mostly all white people.”
“There's this idea that you can have it all, but in my opinion, you can't - not if you're a perfectionist.”
“When I was a little girl, my imagination was what helped me deal with some sort of negative elements in my childhood.”