Meet Diarra Kilpatrick: The Detroit Dynamo Bringing Comedy and Authenticity to 'Diarra From Detroit'
Diarra Kilpatrick, the creator and star of BET+'s new series, "Diarra From Detroit," isn't a new kid on the block. With an already impressive resumé and a unique and necessary storytelling perspective, the real-life Diarra From Detroit cannot be stopped.
Motor City, born and raised
The new series, full of comedy and mystery, utilizes a Detroit setting rooted in Kilpatrick's life experience, giving the show an authentic atmosphere and genre-bending storytelling.
"I was born and raised in Detroit," Kilpatrick tells BET. "I grew up in Section Eight housing with my mother. However, I've always had this quirky, whimsical perspective on things. So, in a way, my point of view on Detroit, the Black community and experiences there shines through this admittedly more eccentric lens."
American Koko and more.
Diarra From Detroit isn't Kilpatrick's first outing as a multi-hyphenate creative force.
In 2017, she wrote and starred in the short-form digital series American Koko, a surreal satire of the network procedural. In it, "Koko" (Kilpatrick) heads an agency that tries to solve the daunting task of race in America on behalf of clueless liberal clients. The show was executive produced by Viola Davis and her husband, Julius Tennon, along with Kilpatrick, and earned Kilpatrick a spot on Forbes' “30 Under 30”. Koko also earned a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for “Outstanding Actress in a Short Form Comedy or Drama Series.”
On the way to "Diarra Brickland," Kilpatrick starred in multiple episodes of Perry Mason and The Last OG (he also served as writer and executive story editor) and an episode of Jordan Peele's Twilight Zone revival.
Authentic portrayals
The character of Diarra Brickland is quirky, opinionated, often a bit too paranoid and impulsive. With Diarra From Detroit, Kilpatrick hopes to capture the nuance of her hometown and the multitudes and interiority of Black female characters. "I love that this series portrays a Black woman—a real Black woman—with these relatable first-world struggles of heartbreak, the need for answers, and the quest for truth in a relationship," she tells BET.
Diarra From Detroit premieres March 21 on BET+.
