[Hattie] Previously on "Twenties"...
I ain't never cared about a woman
the way I care about you.
I don't want nobody to know about what we got going on.
This is for us.
I been taking a lot of these meetings.
This is the first one I actually like.
[Zach] The Ballet Russe program.
I can't believe you did this.
[Zach] I hope that you have a wonderful birthday.
[both laughing]
What a nice surprise.
We don't know each other like that?
-We don't. -Bye, Hattie.
This isn't working for me.
-I think of you often. -Is that right?
-That's mine? -Last straw?
Oh, yeah.
Marie tripping again.
Can I stay with you?
Vibing in a trance
I don't understand
Oh, oh, oh, oh
Feel it in your hands
There's some kind of magic
Mm, pick 'em up.
I don't like this game.
That's 'cause you losin' with your competitive ass.
-It's not a game of skill. -Are you serious?
Are there any Bruno tournaments out there?
Now that you mention it, nah, there ain't none.
I wonder why.
I might have to start one.
You know, me and my cousins would pay top dollar
to compete in a triples and doubles game, easy.
You're making me feel old again.
Well, you look young,
so that's all that matters, right?
Mm, that's sweet.
Oh, yeah.
Babe, you didn't say Bruno. Pick up four cards.
You just called me babe.
light music
Did you hear that?
-Now you're losing. -Ahh...am I?
Places that we've never gone
I wanna feel crafty
[Chuck] Babe, we gotta get a Black marching band
for our reception.
My cousin Crystal said she knows a guy.
So, what, like a wedding-themed "Drumline"?
[Chuck] Well, it's an homage to HBCUs.
Well, I love an HBCU, but can we maybe just table
the wedding talk for a bit and enjoy the engagement?
You're right.
I'm treating the engagement like Thanksgiving.
We haven't even marinated the turkey legs yet,
and I'm already out here buying Christmas gifts.
[phone rings]
Um, let me just...
[phone continues ringing]
Hello?
[deep exhale] So I loved the book.
[Marie] Took you long enough.
[deep exhale]
So you do have good taste.
If I didn't like it,
wouldn't mean I don't got good taste.
Just mean we like different things.
I guess that's fair.
[Quintrell] So let's make this movie.
Well, I mean, let's lock in the rights first.
Whatever we gotta do, I'm ready to lock in with you.
Me too. I'm locked in too.
Enjoy your day.
upbeat music
Where have you been? I haven't seen you in days.
I been at my boo's house.
Ida's not your boo.
Then why did I just spend the last two hours
soaking in her tub?
Because you like playing house with people
that have no intention of committing to you.
I was just trying to give you your space.
No, you like being up under Ida.
That's true. But I also been writing though.
Good for you. What are you doing for money?
Ida B's been helping me out, you know.
Oh, so you kept now?
[Hattie] No. [sighs]
I got a little money saved up.
Not enough to pay you rent though.
Uh-huh.
Can't let you get away
[upbeat jazz]
Your scenes don't rehearse until after lunch.
I know. I just wanted to get a head start.
I'm serious about my craft.
I wish you were as serious
about your social media presence.
Excuse me?
We tried to get your account verified,
but your followers were too low.
I know.
I--I rarely post, and when I do,
I'm trying to get people to come to my yoga class.
I just--I don't get it.
I never have.
I want to be one with the universe,
not with the internet.
Some of the most famous actors in the world
don't even have social media.
-You're not famous. -Right.
But I don't wanna be famous.
I wanna be a good actor.
Most good actors are famous.
Right, again.
Your platform should reflect the life that you want,
not the life you have.
punchy music
[sighs]
[Lauren] Hattie!
Oh, my God, it's so good to see you.
Hey.
What's up, Courtney? You miss me?
I miss you doing all the busy work around the office.
Mm, yeah. It sucks, don't it?
-Yeah. -Okay.
I still can't believe Ida B. fired you like that.
At least you look like you're still keeping it together.
Oh, yeah, trust me. All is well in my world.
Why so chipper?
Well, I can't really get into it,
but just know, you know,
things are really looking up for your girl.
Oh.
What up, fam?
I, um, will take the usual.
Americano and a raspberry scone?
Damn, you know me so well.
Thank you.
[beep beep]
Sorry, your card was declined.
What? You--
Run it--run it again.
[whispers] Card was declined.
[beep beep] Yo, I know I got money.
I believe you.
Just let me take the next person in line
while you figure out what's going on.
Ugh, oh, my God. I hope it isn't fraud.
You know, my last bank was terrible with that,
but I didn't complain,
because I made a commitment to go an entire year
without asking for the manager.
Fighting off those toxic instincts.
Damn it.
Yo, I forgot to turn off my autopay.
My student loans went through yesterday
and took all my money.
I'll pay for your coffee.
Thank you, Courtney.
Ah, look at Black women uniting.
You know, I would have paid for your coffee,
but I didn't wanna flaunt my privilege.
Well, you can still buy my scone.
I don't wanna be a white savior.
[phone chimes]
Yes, Ida.
[Ida] Are you making the beans?
I'm on my way.
[Ben] What do people want?
They want good, clean entertainment.
They don't want trauma.
They get that from the news.
When it comes to entertainment,
people wanna be happy, they want joy,
they wanna feel like they're getting a warm hug.
If that's what they want, then they should
get a massage, not go to the movies.
When people go to the movies, they wanna
forget their problems, not be reminded of them.
So what do you propose?
We start making movies that have happy characters
that have happy lives that always get happy endings.
What about all the movies that we all loved growing up?
Mm, get with the times, okay?
People have enough trauma in their lives right now.
"Boyz n the Hood"-- people thought that
"Boyz n the Hood" would incite riots.
It didn't.
It actually promoted nonviolence
because it showed audiences
how devastating gun violence could be.
Art isn't supposed to be nice.
It's supposed to show us ourselves.
I don't care if our movies are traumatic or nice.
-I want them to make money. -You the man.
Okay. Thanks, everybody.
[Zach] Congratulations.
Oh...ha. Thanks.
Chuck's a lucky guy.
I have a lunch.
-Me too, yeah. -Well, talk to you later.
-Yeah, later. -Later.
-You know her? -I do.
She's actually coming tonight.
-Tonight? -Yeah. She's cute, right?
[muttering] Okay... She is cute.
Me like her...
[indistinct whispering]
-Hmm, hm. -Mm.
Should I start one of those social media
subscription accounts?
Why, you trying to sell pictures of your toes?
No, but they seem to be very popular.
Do you even know what a SoleyStans is?
No.
You don't know how social media works, do you?
I don't. How do you do it?
I mean, you know, for me it's different.
I mean, I'm trying to be a comedy writer, so I'm mostly
just post a bunch of silly memes and stuff like that.
But you don't even write those memes.
-You just post them. -Exactly.
But I only share the ones that I think are really funny.
-That doesn't make any sense. -I mean,
do you at least comment on other people's pictures?
No, because I'm an empath
and I can tell people are on there
acting like they're happy when they're really not.
-That's the whole point. -To be fake?
Yes.
Nobody wants to tell the truth on social media.
No wonder I'm not good at it.
Look, when you're acting,
don't you have to step into somebody else's truth?
-Yeah. -Okay.
Then step into whatever truth you wanna be in.
If you wanna be fabulous, pretend to be fabulous.
If you wanna be rich, post pictures of rich people.
I'm telling you, you can manifest that shit.
I don't think that's how it works.
Well, you know, you gotta treat that shit
like it's a full-time job.
So I have to teach yoga,
do my acting gig, and pretend like
I live a fabulous life on social media?
Mm-hmm.
Damn, that does sound like a lot of work.
-Yeah. -I'm glad I'm not a actor.
Well, look who's got a phone.
[Tristan] Hello, beautiful humans.
I'm gonna give y'all some time to come into the room.
Today we are discussing
meditation and self-love.
I know a lot of y'all been asking me to do a live
about this, but I need y'all to know
I'm on my own self-love journey,
so you gotta have some patience with me,
'cause yeah, there are still days
where I forget to meditate and I don't put myself first.
So we all on a journey together.
Striving for perfection is what?
That's right, a fool's errand.
True.
Hello! Welcome everyone.
Thank you for gracing me with your presence,
and thank you for paying me in advance.
It means so much. [giggles]
Now, I need you all to pull out your phones.
soft music
Please do me the honor of following me
on all my social media platforms.
I need your fellowship as well as your followship.
Now let us begin.
Deep breath in...
and exhale.
To us.
[smooth music playing]
I know things have been crazy since the engagement.
And I'm sorry for bombarding you
with emails about venues, cakes, tuxedos.
I know the spreadsheets are a lot.
[laughs] They are.
It's the Capricorn in me.
I know.
Can I ask you something?
-Anything. -Why the rush?
What do you mean?
We've been talking about marriage
since we started dating.
I know, but something about it just feels--
Do you want a longer engagement?
That can be arranged.
No, I'm fine.
[mellow jazz]
I have notes.
What?
I read your script again.
You liked it that much, huh?
No, I just wanted to make sure
it was as slow and muddled as I thought it was.
-What? -Yeah.
I like to read scripts twice before I give notes.
I like to be very thorough with my feedback.
Damn. Did you like any of it?
I liked the opening.
You definitely grabbed my attention right away,
but you have to move the story forward.
I mean, by the end of it all,
your characters were in the same place.
Well, I thought in--in episodic,
the characters aren't supposed to change that much.
You know, like in television, things have to--
The consistency is key. Yes.
But you need to evolve your characters over time.
Okay, well, how do I do that
without changing them too much?
You have to keep putting them
in uncomfortable situations
or have them encounter other characters
that are the exact opposite of them
so they can see things from a different perspective.
So what you saying?
I gotta change my whole script?
No, but you can't just write a script
and decide you're done.
So when do you know that you're done?
It's just a--a feeling.
It took me a long time to recognize it,
but I mean, now I know when to stop.
Well, when will I know?
You got a few more years.
A--a few more years, really?
Becoming a good writer takes time, Hattie.
You finally got a good script.
Great, now it's time to make it better.
Look, my--my show is for a younger audience, okay?
You just don't get it.
-Don't get defensive. -I'm not.
I--I just don't think you can give a bunch of notes
for a show that's not meant for you.
The execs that you're trying to sell this script to
are older than me.
Well, Marie's an exec, and she's my age.
She also doesn't have much power.
[sighs] So what you saying?
I gotta write stuff that old people will like?
Are you calling me old?
Here we go. Of course not.
I'm just saying you told me to be authentic
and to--to write what I know.
But I'm young, I'm Black, and I'm gay.
So if the execs are old, white, and straight,
how am I supposed to get ahead?
-The same way I did. -How?
By being specific yet relatable.
That don't even make sense.
My shows are geared toward Black women.
-Okay. -That's who I write for.
But most of the execs who helped get my shows made
are white men.
Now, they don't know what it's like
to walk through the world as a Black woman,
but they can tell by reading my work
that is not just Black women who will like it.
So will other people.
And just because the protagonist
of "Cocoa's Butter" is a Black woman doesn't mean
that you have to be a Black woman to relate to her.
So again, it's specific to me,
but other people can connect to it.
Well, I don't need everybody to connect to my stuff.
Like, as long as I connect to it, I'm good, so...
Just what networks want,
a show with an audience of one.
-I was just trying to help you. -Did I ask for your help?
No, no, but maybe you should have.
You don't know everything.
I know a lot more than you.
You know what? I'ma go ahead and head out.
Are you serious?
Yeah, I am.
I'ma--I'ma go work on my script.
Hattie, don't be like that.
Be like what?
You told me my shit was good, right?
Well, I'ma go make it better.
soft instrumental music
This one's on the house.
Thank you.
You okay?
Yeah. You know, life is good.
-It doesn't look like it. -Why?
I got some crust in my eye?
No, you just seem a little lost.
[sighs] Yeah. You be knowing, man.
What's up?
Well, I was feeling pretty good about myself
until I realized I keep repeating
the same patterns in my life.
I got rid of one toxic relationship
and walked right into another one.
I find myself picking my shit up off the pavement, again.
I'm still broke as hell, as you saw.
Yeah.
And the one thing-- the one thing
that I was feeling good about, which was my script,
she told me it was just okay.
Who?
This woman that I'm seeing.
What'd she say about it?
-That it needed a lot of work. -So?
What you mean, so?
That shit hurt my feelings.
Nobody likes getting notes, but that's part of the job.
Everything ain't gonna come easy, Hattie.
But nothing comes easy for me.
I mean, damn,
could something go smooth in my life for once--
-You choose chaos. -No, I don't.
Look, don't be mad 'cause you ain't my type.
Tch, girl, please. This ain't about me.
This is about you.
So you can keep sitting here and nursing this scone,
or you can take your ass home and go work on your script.
Yo, why you always gotta hit me with the Ted talk?
Because, left to your own devices,
you don't get very far.
If you want, you can join my writers' group.
We try to meet once a week.
Nah, I don't know. I like writing by myself.
How's that working out for you?
[jazzy notes]
Yo...
text me the information when you get a chance.
[Chuck moaning]
[breathing hard]
You like that?
[moans] Yes.
Show me.
[both moaning]
More.
-Show more, Marie. -Ooh...
[Quintrell] I got you.
[both panting]
[phone ringing]
I got an appointment with Estelle. Okay.
What's up, Estelle?
-How you doing? -Were you born in 1959?
No.
Then don't call me by my first name.
My bad, Ms. Dubois.
-You still ain't got no job? -Trust me.
If I did, I wouldn't be up in here.
-Don't get smart. -What you want me to do?
I want you to get out of my face.
Okay. Then give me a job.
It ain't my fault that the economy is bad.
-It ain't my fault either. -I manage to keep a job.
Yeah, 'cause can't nobody else keep theirs.
You see all those people out there?
Well, thank you for making sure I have job security.
Is that supposed to be a joke?
Do you think this shit is funny?
I'm broke, Ms. Dubois. I need help.
Okay? Help me.
You need to get that... crust out your eye.
I don't know why you need so much sleep.
Black folks need rest, too, Ms. Dubois,
and jobs.
I don't have anything right now,
so you gonna have to come back next month.
Ms. Dubois, I thought we was better than that.
We're not.
So you ain't gonna help me get a job?
How the hell you get fired?
Ma, I really don't wanna get into it.
Mm-hmm, 'cause you was probably doing some shit
you wasn't supposed to be doing, Hattie.
Why you always assuming I did something wrong?
Did you end up doing the nasty with your boss?
Ma, oh, my God.
I am not talking about that with you.
See, that's your problem.
You always running after these women
you ain't got no business running after.
Well, she did read my script though.
Well, what she say?
She said it was good,
but that I need to keep working on it.
Well, hell, she got about 18 shows on the air,
so maybe you should work on it.
Yeah, maybe.
[sighs]
Hey, Ma, you still got that hookup
at that delivery service?
-Yeah. -I, um...
I might need you to put in a call for me.
Why? You need some money?
Nah, I just...
need a job.
All right. I'll beep him tomorrow.
[small laugh] Your friend still uses a beeper?
[laughs] Yeah.
He old school like that, you know, pimp daddy.
-[Hattie laughs] -He still burning CDs too.
CDs? Damn, can he burn me one?
Yeah. What you want?
Tell him I want a Whitney and Prince mix.
Tell him, don't forget to put "You Give Good Love" on.
Oh, hold up, he-- now, you know
he gonna charge extra for two artists.
[Hattie] You know I ain't got no money.
Mm-hmm.
-I got you, girl. -Thank you, Ma.
[Esther] Do you don't need anything else?
You all right?
[Hattie] I mean, you got $50?
No. Okay, girl, this static.
-[Hattie] What? -It's breaking up. All right.
-[Hattie] Come on, Ma. Damn. -Oh, girl.