Jerrod Carmichael doesn’t want his comedy to get ‘swept up in a hashtag’

Jerrod Carmichael’s edgy, semiautobiographical NBC sitcom, “The Carmichael Show,� tackles topical issues through the unfiltered conversations of his TV family and minces no words about the African American perspective on hot-button issues such as the N-word, assisted suicide, depression and the Bill Cosby scandal. That was just Season 2. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg going into Season 3 last month.

Carmichael co-created and stars in the show, and he is among the many current creators taking part in TV’s revival of the socially conscious sitcom.

“The good thing about people being so outspoken is that it’s starting to bleed into art,� the star said when he stopped by The Times for an Emmy contenders chat. “The obligation as a creator, as a writer, as a producer — or whatever you do — is to make sure that you pause and you make sure you feel this way. That you’re not just having this knee-jerk reaction to things — even if [your opinion] is going to change, make sure that you really feel this way in the moment and you’re not just getting swept up. It’s really easy to get swept up in a hashtag. Make sure that you feel what you’re actually saying.�

He added that the series’ objectives and opinions are “all rooted in truth.�

“If you’re going to do it, be honest with your perspective. Again, it is really easy to say, ‘Well, this is what the people want to hear,’ and writers have a tendency to write aspirationally, the world that they want to see, which can be very interesting. But if you’re going to touch on social things, the obligation is to be a reflection, to hold up a mirror to tell the truth. So I think that is a thing that may be missing if someone tries to talk about something going on in the world.�

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With a cast that includes Loretta Devine as his mother, Cynthia, and David Alan Grier as his father, Joe, Carmichael is often strengthened in his convictions and the seemingly outlandish opinions his fictional parents convey.

The actors “hold you accountable to the perspective of the character,� he said. The issues they tackle are more personal than topical. It’s “stuff the staff or crew has dealt with.�

Devine’s saccharine-sounding voice lends itself to the humor of her saying “the most heinous things,� and Carmichael writes Grier’s parts as if they were delivered by his own father.

“Writing the scripts I do every voice in the privacy of the writers room. I act out the entire thing, and you can tell if a thing fits or it doesn’t — I don’t do impressions but I do emulate all the characters on the show. It’s like music, you hear it. They then bring an entirely different light to it,� Carmichael said.

But there’s a caveat: “Except when I read Joe’s parts. I read it as my father. He’s really a showman, he has a very specific way of talking.�

Carmichael’s parents, who have appeared as background characters in a few episodes, have no fear about their opinions making it into the sitcom.

“The great thing about my family is that nothing can stop them from sharing their view points,� he quipped. “If I ran for office, my biggest fear would be my father to have a camera in front of his face. Or my mom, because they’re very honest. It would destroy my campaign. It would destroy everything. It would be insane.�

Watch Carmichael’s full interview below:

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