By Joseph Longo
LOS ANGELES (AP) --Aziz Ansari says he knew he couldn't be the only storyteller on season two of "Master of None" if he wanted to keep the show's momentum going.
The show premiered on Netflix in 2015, quickly garnering critical acclaim for honest depictions of Asian and immigrant families. The first season relied heavily on Ansari, previously a star on "Parks and Recreation," who appeared in nearly every scene.
When it came time for the follow-up, the Emmy-winning writer-comedian wanted to be more ambitious, he said during a recent interview about the show.
The second season focuses less on Ansari's character Dev, a struggling New York actor turned food game show host, and more on supporting characters with different perspectives and plots.
In the standout "Thanksgiving" episode, Lena Waithe's character Denise comes out as a lesbian to her family. The revelation causes tension within her African-American family, especially with her mom played by Angela Bassett. The episode depicts a series of Thanksgiving dinners from Denise's childhood through her twenties.
Both Ansari and the show's co-creator Alan Yang rely heavily on their own experiences when writing. But neither could relate to Denise's impending character arc.
Ansari asked Waithe, 33, to co-write the episode. As a black lesbian, Waithe did exactly what Ansari and Yang do: She wrote what she knew.
"Coming out was not fun. I don't think it is for most people," Waithe said. "To have survived it and to be able to tell that story in a fun, light interesting but also honest way was a really wonderful opportunity."
Waithe said the experience of writing her own story was liberating, noting she's rarely embraced in society because of her identity.
That is why it's important her work vocalizes new perspectives, Waithe said.
"We got to keep telling really cool stories because that sometimes is the only way out, through art," she said.
Ansari didn't stop with just Waithe. He brought in Melina Matsoukas to direct two episodes, including "Thanksgiving."
Matsoukas previously directed Beyonce's "Formation" music video and several episodes of HBO's "Insecure."
"I love how they have the guts to find people who can tell the story most authentically. I think that's why I'm here today," Matsoukas said.
"Master of None's" second season ambitions extend past just nuanced storytelling. The creators experimented with various forms and sounds, from a black and white episode to a montage of first dates in the aptly named "First Date."
Then there's the episode Yang directed, "New York, I Love You."
Ansari appears for barely a minute. He wanted it that way, saying he and Yang pondered doing an episode without Dev.
Instead, the creators chose to highlight New York cab drivers, doormen and a deaf convenience store worker.
"They have their drama, their love, their humor and their lives," Ansari said. "You never see it."
He said Netflix questioned the episode at first, which incorporated eight minutes of silence. The creators stuck by their idea.
"It's been said before if you're not doing something that scares you a little bit, then you probably should be," Yang said.
Yang said they don't intentionally create provocative art, though they're praised for doing so. They're not trying to shock audiences, but said he and Ansari are just naturally curious.
"When you depict people whose stories haven't been told as often, that can lend you some originality," Yang said. "Why not tell stories that haven't been told as much?"
Harvey Weinstein hit with new sex crime charge in New York
Harvey Weinstein pleaded not guilty Wednesday to a new sex crime charge in New York, as he awaits retrial in his landmark #MeToo case.
Details of the new allegations were not immediately available. He was charged with committing a criminal sex act.
The jailed ex-movie mogul has long maintained that any sexual activity was consensual.
Prosecutors revealed last week that Weinstein had been indicted on additional sex crime charges that weren't part of the case that led to his now-overturned 2020 conviction. But the new indictment was sealed until his arraignment.
Prosecutors have said that the grand jury heard evidence of up to three alleged assaults — two in hotels in the Tribeca neighborhood and one at a lower Manhattan residential building. The purported incidents took place from the mid-2000s to 2016, prosecutors said.
But it's not clear whether any of those allegations underlie the new indictment.
While bracing for the new charges, Weinstein also is awaiting retrial after New York state's highest court this spring overturned his 2020 conviction on rape and sexual assault charges involving two women. The high court, called the Court of Appeals, ordered a new trial, which is tentatively scheduled to begin Nov. 12.
The Court of Appeals ruled that the then-trial judge unfairly allowed testimony against him based on allegations that were not part of the case. That judge's term expired in 2022, and he is no longer on the bench.
Prosecutors have said they'll seek to fold the new charges into the retrial, but Weinstein's lawyers say it should be a separate case.
Weinstein, who also was convicted in 2022 in a Los Angeles rape case, remains behind bars while awaiting his New York retrial.
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