W. Kamau Bell Takes on The Klan and Hipsters in New Show ‘United Shades of America’

kamau bell

Kamau Bell, like many other Americans, is acutely aware of the division between people that exists in this country today. America is a diverse place, but diversity means difference, and difference often means conflict. On April 24th, Bell is hoping to clear the air between the many different factions of Americans with his new CNN show, United Shades of America.

Bell hits the ground running with the eight-episode series, spending the first episode traveling to the deep South in order to meet with members of the Ku Klux Klan — including an Imperial Wizard that’s supposedly “more progressive” than his cohorts. The situation is apparently as uncomfortable and nerve-wracking as it sounds.

“I wanted to go to all sorts of places that you wouldn’t expect I would go, or where you think I shouldn’t go,” Bell said in an interview with Mediacom’s Chuck Barney.

With this series, Bell does exactly that. From inmates in San Quentin Prison, to Alaskan Inuits, to New Jersey cops and Portland hipsters, Bell seeks out members of every maligned or misunderstood group in order to illuminate what they’re all about and help facilitate an understanding between people. According to those who have seen advanced screenings of the show, Bell accomplishes this goal with the thoughtful, witty, and human approach that has garnered him a substantial following since the debut of his short-lived FX show, Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell.

Bell said during the interview that after the demise of Totally Biased, he was unsure that he’d ever be seen on television again, let alone have another show of his own on the air. He met with programming executives from multiple networks, however, and the folks at CNN fell in love with his charm and his vision for the new show.

“Kamau is an incredibly passionate and authentic and intelligent and funny and talented guy,” said Amy Entelis, executive vice president of Talent and Content Development for CNN Worldwide, to Mediacom. “And he knows how to connect with people in a wonderful way. We wanted to provide him with a vehicle where his unique view of the world can come out.”

Bell exhibits this ability well in the show’s first episode, when he meets with the members of the KKK. Being well aware of the fact that he can’t change their minds on the issue of race relations, Bell instead conveys a sense of curiosity and friendliness to put his interviewees at ease, even if he himself is a nervous wreck.

“We’ve got arguments everywhere — on cable news channels, on reality TV,” says Bell. “What am I going to do, talk them out of being a Klan member? Use logic? No, logic has failed by this point. Instead, I come from a place of natural curiosity: It’s like, ‘Where do you get these robes from? You can’t buy ’em off the rack, right?’”

This is exactly the kind of level-headed examination that makes Bell so interesting to watch, and judging by the trailer for the show, each episode will deliver on that front.

United Shades of America premieres on Sunday, April 24th at 10 p.m. EST. Bell can be found on Twitter @wkamaubell  or you can check out his website.

Watch the trailer for the series below:

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Bill Tressler

Bill is a writer and comedy enthusiast from New York. An avid gamer and podcast fan, he strives to always toe the line between charming irreverence and grating honesty.
Bill Tressler
Bill Tressler
Bill is a writer and comedy enthusiast from New York. An avid gamer and podcast fan, he strives to always toe the line between charming irreverence and grating honesty.