The BBC show Killing Eve hasĀ received criticism for its lack of diversity in the writers’ room that’s currently working on the fourth season, as well a general lack of diversity that has pervaded development of the series from the moment it began airing.
As we said, the writers’ room of Killing Eve has not included a member of color since it was originally set up around 2008. However, the internet was not really aware of this lack of diversity until one of the writers posted a screenshot of a Zoom chat with her colleagues on social media.
The screenshot depicts close to a dozen people toasting their glasses in celebration of their hard work during the pandemic, and fans were quick to notice the fact that all of them were white. Since the photo was first uploaded, numerous people have already used it as evidence of the show’s lack of diversity.
š§ #KillingEve pic.twitter.com/b47aYFKBfk
— Richie, you're on mute… (@RichieOnTV) June 12, 2020
One of those people is Matthew Cherry. Director and producer of Hair Love, which won an Oscar for Best Animated Short Film, he responded to the post by saying: “Y’all really be proudly sharing these non diverse writers room screenshots freely on the TL like it’s something to celebrate.”
While the team behind Killing Eve probably didn’t upload this photo in order to commemorate their shared whiteness, they did choose a pretty poor moment to draw attention to their lack of diversity. In the past few weeks, civil rights protests in response to the death of George Floyd have sharpened the public’s eye for race-related issues, and in response to their outcry, many an entertainment company have issued statements that not only express solidarity with BLM, but also promise their commitment to making the film industry a more inclusive place.
As of yet, the BBC is still to respond to these criticisms against the writers’ room, but should that change we’ll be sure to let you know.