BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — Of all the “multi-hyphenates” in TV at the moment, there may none quite as hyphenated as Daveed Diggs. Actor-writer-rapper-producer-musician-playwright-Broadway and voiceover star- … The hyphens march on, but until now one in fact has been missing — showrunner. That arrives this fall with “The Mayor,” a new ABC comedy he’s co-producing with Jeremy Bronson, a veteran “Late Night” writer.
What’s so unusual about this, however, is that Diggs — who achieved Broadway superstardom with “Hamilton” — isn’t just an executive producer, which can often mean that the person holding the title makes certain the trains, so to speak, run on time. He’s also writing all the rap songs for this unique hybrid-music-comedy (another hyphen!) series. He could, and likely will, assume an on-screen role at some point (he’s already a semi-regular on “black-ish.”)
“The Mayor” is about an aspiring rap star in a West Coast city — not unlike Diggs’ hometown of Oakland — who runs for mayor on a lark and … well, the title is a hint but victory was entirely unexpected. It stars Brandon Michael Hall (“Search Party”) and Yvette Nicole Brown (“Community”), who plays his character’s mom, and Lea Michele (“Glee”) his chief of staff.
Rap’s the operative word here. Commercial primetime TV has largely ignored the most influential music form since the birth of rock ‘n’ roll, but “The Mayor” will embrace it, and perhaps embrace some of Diggs’ own particularly unique experimental work in the genre. His Clipping bandmembers William Hutson and Jonathan Snipes will help write the soundtrack.