Is She the People a True Story? Is Antoinette Dunkerson Based on a Real Lieutenant Governor?

Netflix’s ‘She the People’ is a political comedy series that follows the story of Antoinette Dunkerson, who becomes the first Black woman to be elected as the Lieutenant Governor of Mississippi. Having worked hard to get where she is now, Antoinette decides to use her position and power to work for the public, but on day one, she discovers that the job is not all it was cut out to be. With a racist and sexist Governor as her boss, she finds her role reduced tenfold. However, even with all the hurdles in her path, she is dedicated to doing right by her office and the people who put her there. Created by Tyler Perry and Niya Palmer, the series presents the ups and downs in Antoinette’s journey in a highly realistic manner.

The Fictional Antoinette Dunkerson is Inspired by Real Women

‘She the People’ tells a fictional story of the fictional Antoinette Dunkerson. The concept took hold in the mind of Terri J Vaughn (who plays the protagonist and also serves as the executive producer of the show) about seven years before the Netflix series took shape. In 2018, London Breed became the first Black female mayor of San Francisco. Because she and Vaughn are friends, the actress had seen the politician’s journey of working her way through the system, where the odds seemed to be stacked against her at every turn. Even when Breed assumed the position of the mayor, the road did not get any smoother for her. Yet, despite all the problems in front of her, she never lost her calm and always took on the challenges with a smile on her face.

Witnessing Breed’s stellar journey inspired Vaughn to write the story of a Black woman in politics. She started developing the idea with her long-term friend and collaborator, Niya Palmer. Meanwhile, Vaughn also knew Keisha Lance Bottoms, who served as the mayor of Atlanta from 2018 to 2022, and decided to reach out to her to get a better sense of how things work in the public office. Around that time, Bottoms had been looking to expand her horizons and already had “working on a TV show” on her bucket list. When Vaughn pitched her the idea of ‘She the People,’ she immediately came on board as executive producer. She became instrumental in guiding the show’s creators through the nitty gritty of Antoinette’s journey as the lieutenant governor.

With Bottoms joining the series, Vaughn and Palmer decided to set the story in Atlanta. However, when Tyler Perry came on board, he suggested that the story be moved to Mississippi. He believed that this setting change would add more challenges to the fictional protagonist and more drama to an already demanding job. Despite this change, he heavily leaned on the experiences and insights shared by Bottoms to craft a realistic story for Antoinette and the challenges she has to face in her job as the lieutenant governor.

The Creators Wanted the Story to Have Humor and Heart Above All Else

While ‘She the People’ focuses on Antoinette Dunkerson’s political battles, the show’s creators wanted the story to have humour to balance the heavy themes of the show. Despite the struggles faced by a person in public office, particularly women of color, the creators also wanted to highlight how the system of democracy works beautifully when people come together to serve a common cause. In the same vein, Terri J Vaughn wanted Antoinette to come across as more than just a politician. The actress did not want the character to feel stunted by her political ambitions. She wanted to focus on her family dynamics, showing how the family of a person in office has to deal with all the problems.

By presenting Antoinette as a single mom of two, Vaughn wanted the character to feel relatable. She saw the protagonist as a Black woman who happens to be a politician and did not want her entire personality to be dictated by her job. Apart from this, she also wanted to focus on how women of color have to work harder to get their dream jobs and have to continue to fight for what they have earned through their hard work. With the tumultuous journey that Antoinette goes through in ‘She the People,’ Vaughn and the show’s creators want the audience to take away the fact that nothing is impossible if one believes in themselves and fights for what’s right. They want the audience to root for the character, but at the same time, they also want the viewers to be thoroughly entertained and get some good laughs along the way.