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" There's this idea that you can have it all, but in my opinion, you can't - not if you're a perfectionist. "

Courtney A. Kemp

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" I love 'Archer.' That's one of the best-written shows out there. "

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" What I'm about to say won't be popular, but it's true: If being a television showrunner is the job you want, and you are a woman, I would not suggest you have children. The reality is that you just cannot do both well. "

Courtney A. Kemp

" My dad was born with no money. "

Courtney A. Kemp

" There are some aspects of the story of 'Power' that clearly are about race in the sense that any one of us now who's black and was raised in this country was raised with a lie, which is, 'You can never be president.' That's not true. "

Courtney A. Kemp

" 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. "

Courtney A. Kemp

" Wherever I go, stuff accumulates. "

Courtney A. Kemp

" Comedians are on the road so much that when they're just getting to act and sit in one place, they're really grateful and just ready. "

Courtney A. Kemp

" Show-running is a very difficult job that includes so many responsibilities; I'm working with the actors, working with directors, writing, making decisions like, 'What fabric is that sofa gonna be?' "

Courtney A. Kemp

" 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. "

Courtney A. Kemp

" When you pretend to be an authority on everything, it forces your subordinates to defer to your opinion - which may not be the most informed in the room. If you have humility concerning the gaps in your experience or ability, it allows others to shine. "

Courtney A. Kemp

" Ultimately, at the end of the day, taking a chance on 'Power' is taking a chance on me. "

Courtney A. Kemp

" I always ask the actors, 'What have you never done before?' "

Courtney A. Kemp

" I thought I was going to be a professor; then I ran screaming from there into magazine journalism. "

Courtney A. Kemp

" The show runner's the boss until the network shows up. And then they're the boss, because it's their money. "

Courtney A. Kemp

" I always like to write myself into a corner. I think the best stuff comes from only having a few ways out. "

Courtney A. Kemp

" I am a black woman, and I'm proud of that, but as a showrunner, I want to think about what makes me unique beyond my race. "

Courtney A. Kemp

" When we started on 'Power,' I was committed to respecting the differences among Spanish dialects: Dominican, Nuyorican, Mexican, etc. I wanted the language our characters spoke to be as specific as possible, to reflect New York as it is. "

Courtney A. Kemp

" I think as long as I can tell you a story about people that you understand, it doesn't matter if you don't like what they do; you understand why they did it. "

Courtney A. Kemp

" When I'm at work, I want to be with my daughter, and when I'm with my daughter, I probably should be working, and it just is what it is. "

Courtney A. Kemp

" When people watch 'Power' and they find out the showrunner is black, it's not surprising. What is surprising is that I am a woman and my background is not particularly urban. "

Courtney A. Kemp

" My dad and his sister, who is no longer with us, used to dance on the streets for money. They had nothing. "

Courtney A. Kemp

" I don't want to be seen in a way where all I can do is what people expect of me. "

Courtney A. Kemp

" I very much want to write about some elements of my own growing up. "

Courtney A. Kemp

" When I watch television, I want to be surprised. "

Courtney A. Kemp

" I called my show 'Power' because, for me, the whole series is about the way my main character, Ghost, is power-less over his circumstances, even though he has almost endless access to money and guns. "

Courtney A. Kemp

" There's always going to be a part of me that wants an Emmy. Truthfully, I'm probably more motivated by people being entertained. I'm more motivated by people being like, 'Oh snap! Did you see that?' "

Courtney A. Kemp

" When I first arrived in Los Angeles from New York in 2004 to try to break into television, I couldn't believe how segregated it was - how many neighborhoods were nearly all-white or all-black or -Asian or -Latino. "

Courtney A. Kemp

" There are so many different things that create an alchemy of success. Just like there are so many different things that create an alchemy of a failure. "

Courtney A. Kemp

" 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. "

Courtney A. Kemp