Dewayne Perkins is set to host the IndieWire Honors Spring 2026 ceremony on June 4, timed to IndieWire’s 30th anniversary. Returning to the event after hosting in 2023, Perkins brings his new touring one-man show, talks about Emmy-winning work on Apple TV’s “T
On June 4, Dewayne Perkins will step back in front of the spotlight for IndieWire Honors Spring 2026—this time as the host of an event timed to IndieWire’s 30th anniversary.
The ceremony. set in Los Angeles. is built around the creators and performers who helped craft some of the year’s best television series. Curated and selected by IndieWire’s editorial team, IndieWire Honors spotlights the artisans and stars behind shows worth toasting. In the days leading up to the Los Angeles event. IndieWire is showcasing its honorees through new interviews and tributes from peers.
Perkins has hosted IndieWire Honors before. In 2023, the Chicago native—comedian and writer—returned to host the ceremony’s grand return. That timing mattered for him then. too: he was fresh off the release of his horror-comedy “The Blackening. ” a film he spent seven years trying to bring to life from a sketch he dreamed up on a couch.
Now he’s back for another round. And a lot has shifted.
“The Blackening” went on to become a box-office success and a genuine cultural touchstone. “The Studio,” on which Perkins plays publicity head Tyler, made Emmy history as the first freshman comedy series to earn 13 wins.
When Perkins starts talking about what he’s been working on. he moves fast—especially when it comes to his live show. He’s currently touring a one-man show titled “How Being Black and Gay Made Me Better Than You. ” with his most recent stop being a sold-out performance at the Netflix Is A Joke Festival.
The ambition in that title isn’t subtle. When asked where he wants to take the show, Perkins doesn’t seem interested in keeping it contained. “I see myself like Beyoncé. A bunch of dancers. fog. smoke. confetti. truly just having the same feeling I feel when I go to a concert. ” he told IndieWire. “I want that to be my Coachella.”.
His ideal future, he says, is taking that live experience to a platform so it can reach audiences who can’t make it to a theater. “It’s an ambitious vision, but ambition has always been the engine.”
He connects the show’s evolution to what touring has done for him, physically and creatively. “Touring my one-man show really allowed me to lean back into my body more. where I had to be very conscious of my instrument. my energy. ” he said. “Being able to really use my body in its fullness helped me sharpen that; training for breath control and diction and volume. And then my relationship to a live audience gave me more insight and more experience to bring into my comedy.”.
That focus on the body as an instrument stands out for someone who spent the better part of a decade building his way into Hollywood through writers’ rooms. And in Perkins’ telling, it’s not about separating disciplines—it’s about letting them feed each other.
In “The Studio,” his Apple TV role required him to rethink how he brings himself to a character. Playing Tyler meant separating his experience in the industry from the character’s place inside it. Perkins. for a writer. talked about starting from comparison—figuring out which parts of the character feel organically his and how much crossover there really is—then building the rest from scratch. “Usually I start from a place of comparison. to see what parts of the character feel like they are organically a part of me. to see how big or small that crossover is. ” he said. “Using that as a foundation he adds the layers necessary that are not him.”.
In this case, he says the overlap was immediate. “We’re both Black and we have the experience of being the token Black person in a workspace. That is an experience I can pull from directly,” he said. What he had to build from scratch was the professional texture of a studio PR executive.
He also credits the show with teaching him what comes after the writing stops. As someone who’s lived inside writers’ rooms. Perkins understood the making of a show from the inside out—but. he says. always from the writing side. “As a writer, your function kind of stops in the room unless you are a producer,” he said. “Being able to be a part of the show in a front-facing way just made me realize how much work goes into creating a show post-writing. The energy, the function of the actors in terms of marketing, in terms of the campaign. I just never experienced that before.”.
Perkins won’t spoil what’s next. When it comes to “The Studio” Season 2, he can’t share details—his exact words were “I can’t say a damn thing.”
But on one specific topic, Madonna joining the cast, his tone is both excited and oddly unsurprised. “At this point the shock is just, how far can they go?” he said. For a show that has already convinced Martin Scorsese. Charlize Theron. and Ted Sarandos to show up and poke fun at themselves. Madonna feels less like a surprise and more like a continuation of the series’ reach. “That feels right,” Perkins said.
That curiosity about what comes next doesn’t stop at “The Studio.” He’s also actively writing the script for “The Blackening” sequel. “I’m literally going back to writing the script after this interview,” he said. “It’s still being developed, but I really love what we’re cooking up.”
Even with new work underway, Perkins is paying attention to what his original film continues to do. He says he loves how “The Blackening” has kept finding new audiences since it landed on Netflix. “Having people consider it a classic, having people put it in their yearly watch. Every Halloween, every Juneteenth, every holiday season. That was kind of the dream,” Perkins said.
He’s not returning to the sequel empty-handed. Perkins ties the film’s success to chemistry and collaboration. “Chemistry creates good art, whether that’s acting, whether that’s with above-the-line people, below-the-line people,” he said. “The relationships were imperative to making ‘The Blackening’ good. I’ve been taking that with me and using that as a litmus for future projects: Knowing who I want to collaborate with. That deeply changed my approach to art and how to foster relationships within the industry.”.
Before any sequel or further “The Studio” work takes shape, though, he has IndieWire Honors to host. Perkins says he’s energized by the chance to play—just not by giving away what that play will look like yet. Last time, he arrived with a musical dance number and a bob. This year, he’s keeping the details close. “I’m currently just trying to figure out what would be the most fun. how I want to present myself. what energy I want to bring for that night. ” he said. “Just having the space to play is very fun. I’m looking forward to filling that space.”.
Still, beneath the performance, he’s clear about the responsibility. Having been through Emmys campaign cycles at full volume, he understands what the room will contain. “FYC and these campaigns. it’s a lot of energy. it’s a lot of showing up. it’s a lot of being present. ” he said. “If people are giving me their time and attention, I just want to make it a worthwhile time. I’m the vibe curator. I just want to make sure I’m presenting something that I would want to experience as well.”.
It’s a philosophy that traces back to where Perkins began—on a couch sketch that turned into “The Blackening”—and into what he’ll do next, returning to writing the moment the conversation ends. The litmus stays the same.
Dewayne Perkins IndieWire Honors IndieWire Spring 2026 June 4 Los Angeles The Studio Apple TV Tyler Emmy The Blackening Netflix Is A Joke Festival How Being Black and Gay Made Me Better Than You Madonna Martin Scorsese Charlize Theron Ted Sarandos