Kym Whitley is raw as hell and heartfelt with Kym an Audible comedy!

From creative visionary Lena Waithe and Hillman Grad Production (Queen & Slim and The Chi) comes a Hollywood story you rarely get to hear. Introducing Kym, Audible’s brand-new, raw as hell, heartfelt comedy starring Kym Whitley. Created by Waithe and Whitley, Kym features an all-star cast including Sherri Shepherd, David A. Arnold, Jess Hilarious, Jenifer Lewis, and Oscar-nominated actress Cynthia Erivo with original music composed by Grammy Award-winning artist Wyclef Jean.

A Q&A with Kym Whitley 

Cox: Kym Whitley, how are you doing today?

Whitley:I’m doing fantastic. I am blessed!

The Show 

Cox: Where did the idea for Kym come from?

Whitley: We can say the idea is loosely based on my life when I first got my son Joshua. But it was Lena who saw this as something bigger, deeper, and funnier. She would always tell me you know your life is funny. This had been something four years in the making with Lena and when she says she is going to do something she does it. 

Whitley(contin..): We brought the idea/project to audible. They loved it and said let’s turn this into a listening experience for people. You know it’s always something new happening. Audible wants us to give people something that they could enjoy and laugh at. I’m just excited for everyone to listen to it. 

Cox: Since this is loosely based on your life, what makes it funny?

Whitley: It’s because of the people I’m around daily. There are so many characters in my life. I have always had the most interesting people in my life because I’m so open. I think everyone has a story and I bring it out of them. And for some reason I don’t know why things are always happening to me. There’s always something crazy going on. 

Cox: So what journey are you going to take us on with Kym?

Whitley: It’s only 8 episodes under 30 mins each and people are already asking for a second season. They are asking because you get invested in these characters. And I think the funny part is you are teaching people to embrace the unexpected. This is through the entire show.

Whitley(contin.): I will just say it’s a comedy following a woman named Kym. She is a stand-up comedian who hasn’t made it yet. She is part of a big sisters program. One sister brings Kym her three-year-old son and says she will be back for them.

Whitley (contin.): Then you have Shery Shepherd who plays Kym’s best friend who is a security guard at one of the big studios. So you know this is about to be a ridiculous  comedy. You have her boyfriend who is not really her boyfriend. He had one R&B hit in the 80s. You just have all these comedic characters who come in and try to help her raise this little boy. But they are also trying to find their own way in life.  

The Experience 

Cox: This differs completely from your normal form of comedy. We are so used to seeing you on the screen and you interacting with people. How was it creating this? 

Whitley: I would say doing voice work is harder for me. I have a very monotone voice and it’s deep. I don’t have the range in my voice like many actors have when they do voice over work. This was hard for me because I couldn’t rely on movement. When I’m doing sitcoms, I use my facial expressions to bring the comedy to the scene and that’s what makes it funny. 

Whitley (contin.): This is all performance. I will say voice acting is not for the weak. It really shows if you can act. But I was surrounded by some exceptional talent I got to learn from. So that’s what made it fun. 

Cox: During this process what is something you learned new?

Whitley: That you have to trust the writing. Comedy is in the writing and I had to rely on the comedy in the words. We have a team of talented writers who I had to trust and let the words they put on the script just be. Because I couldn’t use my normal techniques to make it funny, I had to let their words just land and be funny. Honestly, that was a struggle for me because normally I’m always high energy when I’m on set and this wasn’t the case.

Whitley (contin.): So I had to rely on the creatives. Lena would say no Kim it’s like this you don’t have to push that joke. Mark was very helpful. Everyone was just so helpful during the production of it all. This is where I learned my voice is monotone and I don’t push certain words unless I’m excited about something.  

Cox: It sounds like you had to almost start over and learn how to be even more versatile. 

Whitley: Absolutely because even at this stage in the game you can always learn something and I’m a humble person. If there is something I can learn, I’m going to learn it. I’ve done voiceover work but not to this extent or this format. It’s different and I’ve done cartoon characters. I had to learn how to perform for the ears only this time for a sitcom. So you have to be good to get the message across.