Diary of a Single Mom

The story chronicles the lives and challenges of three single mothers and their families trying to get ahead despite obstacles that all single mothers face, such as childcare, health, education and finances. 

The series is written by award-winning playwright and screenwriter Cheryl L. West and has won awards for Best Indie Soap and Best Guest Actor from the Indie Soap Awards 2009.

Robert Townsend is a Hollywood-pioneer well ahead of his time. A Chicago native, he is often referred to as one of the "Godfathers" of the Independent Film World.  With over 30 years in the business, he has made an indelible mark in Hollywood with an extensive list of credits.

Townsend wrote, directed, produced and starred in his own first film, the critically acclaimed Hollywood Shuffle, a satire, depicting the trials and tribulations of black actors in Hollywood. He directed Eddie Murphy in Eddie Murphy Raw, and he wrote, directed and starred in The Meteor Man, another huge success.

The father of four has made history by being nominated for over 30 NAACP Image Awards for film and television.

    Billy Dee Williams and Robert Townsend

(Talk2SV): What kind of feedback are you getting from single mothers about Diary of a Single Mom?

Robert Townsend: It touches my heart because they love it but then it’s like, ‘Robert these stories are so real, it’s like looking in our lives.’  It celebrates us but then the other side of it is that hurts.  Single mothers get a bad rap and they’ve got a lot of stuff going on.  They’re trying to wear so many caps: to be mother and father and manage the money and try to have a love relationship.  Somebody to hold them; we address all of those things so the feedback has been really positive. It’s written from a very real perspective and I directed it in a very real way so you can follow everybody’s story.  You can see the mother who wants to still be in the streets, Lupe, who’s still chasing after the men, leaving her kids with anybody; later on, you discover that it’s bothering her.  The one man who really cares about her, she doesn’t care about and the man that cares nothing about her, she cares about him: that’s real life.

Talk2SV: How much thought goes into telling these stories from a creative perspective and the responsibility of portraying single women in a certain light?

Townsend: As we are creating the show --every line, every situation-- comes from real life; there is  some drama but the canvas of ‘the single mom story’ is one that the audience can identify with, trying to make ends meet on all different levels.  For me, it’s like watching my mother when I was a kid.  My father was not there to make ends meet, I learned some of these lessons from her, and I think when I watch this show many of those lessons are present through the eyes of a kid.

Talk2SV: Your Hollywood identity and your career trajectory have been so interesting and you are still a signature brand for independent filmmaking. In retrospect, how do you see what has happened to you, for you, and through you?

Townsend: It’s funny because my tentacles reach very far yet I feel like I still have so much work to do.  I’m a baby in this business and I know I’m becoming a man but I feel like a kid still. I feel like I jump started --with Spike (Lee)-- the independent film world again, being one of the godfathers of independent film by virtue of taking the credit card and taking a chance (to make my first film).  When I think about doing Partners in Crime (for TV) and stand up comedy with a lot of comedians that the world would have never heard of who came through Townsend Partners in Crime. So, I feel that my hand has been touching a lot of different things (and people) like when I look at Shawn and Marlon Wayans.  They were babies when I first brought them into it or Damon (Wayans) even.  When I look at Chris Tucker and different people that I’ve worked with, even working with Beyoncé  on her first acting gig and and now she’s like ‘boom.’  So, I’ve touched a lot of different artists and I think if you were to ook at the tree of entertainers for the last thirty years, I’ve been connected to a lot of the people of color on a lot of levels.  It’s funny.  When I called Billy Dee Williams to say, ‘hey man would you work with me on Diary of a Single Mom,’ he said, ‘I’ve been waiting to get the call from you.’  He was like, ‘you’re the one cat I really want to work with.’ And, I was like, ‘man, thank you, thank you, thank you.’ The thing is people know that if they work with me I really care about the work and I’m always going to elevate the work.  Whatever’s on the script I’m going to make it even better.  So I’ve made a mark and I just feel blessed and I just want to do more. The frustrating thing for me is when you’ve been in the business as long as I have people take you for granted. That’s why I always have to be creative as in the case of my documentary on the history of African American comedians, Why We Laugh?  I’ve got everybody in there from Bill Cosby to Chris Rock to the Wayans, to Steve Harvey: it’s a who’s who.  Andrew Young and other politicians are all in it and I feel blessed that I can pick up the phone and people really want to work with me.

Talk2SV: As movies go, what is your commentary on what is being offered on the big screen, good or bad?

Townsend: Well, I never really ‘comment on it’ because I’m ‘supposed to do something’ about it. We respond to what we see and if we don’t see it then we can’t respond.  Just recently, we were working on a scene for season three of Diary of a Single Mom.  Me and Cheryl (West) were on the phone talking about one of the characters who is a teenager that comes up pregnant.  We had to talk through the dialogue saying things to each other like, ‘what should you say?’  She has kids and I have kids and I’m like, ‘how do we say [to them] don’t have sex when you’re a teenager and really mean it and give ‘just because’ as the reason and frickin’ mean it?   Within our hearts, we were perplexed over how to be effective.  To me, that’s the journey because I know that one teenage girl is going to see this show and go, ‘I’m not going to have sex because look at what that character went through.’

Talk2SV:  How would you describe your brand of filmmaking?

Townsend: It’s that kind of thing where I have a different kind of touch; I’m probably one of fifteen African American directors and I’m somewhere in the top ten.  I don’t have the normal touch that other directors have. I have my own and I think sometimes the studio doesn’t understand.   My romantic comedies are like real romantic comedies so I have to find the money for them.  Right now, I’m working on a one man show about my life.

Talk2SV:  Fantastic, tell me more…

Townsend:  It’s a one man show about my childhood.  It’s really close to me much like when I saw Billy Crystal on Broadway do “Seven Hundred Sundays” about his life.  This is probably the scariest thing that I’ve ever wanted to do, that I have to do, so I’m going to mount it this year once I figure out everything else in my life.