Can we talk about [Regina King at] the Oscars? What were some of those initial conversations? Was there any push and pull? Was everyone on the same page? How did it go?

Wayman Bannerman: We approached Regina like, “So this is what we would like to do for the Oscars,” and she said, “Okay.”

Micah McDonald: She saw the [Louis Vuitton] sketch and was like, “Ooh, well, yeah!” And it’s so interesting with the Oscars. You really want to say you aren’t affected or swayed by social media in any way or regard, but after the orange Christopher John Rogers [dress she wore to the CDGA Awards] and all of the comments I’m seeing on different pages, I’m like, “Should I have saved this for Oscars? What’s going to top this? How do you do anything after this? What could you do after this?”

WB: It’s very special; it’s very interesting. [The dress] is a work of art, actually.

MM: I think people keep Regina in this more sartorial light, but there’s a little fantasy to this one; a little escape. I think going into it, we really wanted to have that and express that.

WB: We went into the Emmys with escapism because of the pandemic and everyone being at home. We wanted to create joy and we wanted to create cheer and happiness for people at home. I think it’s only right that we end on the same note of escapism. We get so many messages of people loving and celebrating what we’re doing. Why not push a little bit more to give them something special for the grand finale?