Stand-up comedian and actress, Wanda Sykes stars as Wanda Hawkins, a struggling comic living in Washington DC, who manages to land a job as an on-air news reporter at a local news station. In the series premiere, Wanda, through flashbacks, relates how she was hired and subsequently fired from her job when her liberal views clash with the conservative news anchors.
Wanda becomes enamored with her flirtatious interview subject Jonathan Lyles, the director of public relations at the Board of Health. Unfortunately, after she begins dating Jonathan, Wanda finds out that her crew has captured footage of major health violations - in the cafeteria at the Board of Health. She must decide whether to produce a great exposé, embarrassing Jonathan, or suppress the evidence in order to preserve her relationship. Meanwhile, when Wanda's nephew, Barris gets into trouble at school for cursing like Wanda, Jenny forces Wanda to accompany her and Barris to a conference with his teacher.
Wanda thinks she's been robbed after Keith takes her keys to detain her while Jenny sets up a surprise birthday party.
When Jenny, Barris, and Holly determine to throw Wanda a surprise birthday party despite Keith's warnings, he hides Wanda's keys to detain her, but then she thinks she's been robbed.
Wanda does an exposé on a crooked councilman, but when he dies unexpectedly before the piece airs, her boss edits it into a tribute without her consent, so she is invited to speak about the man at his funeral.
Wanda and Keith are invited to receive honorary doctorates from the college they both attended—and from which they were expelled. Their differences of opinion on how they should conduct themselves at the ceremony result in a rift in their friendship.
Wanda accepts a challenge from Bradley to get a famous, troubled athlete on her show for an interview. Although Keith doubts Wanda has the ability to accomplish the task, she is intent on proving him wrong. She figures out a foolproof way to get it done, but there's one hitch, she will have to reconnect with her ex-husband, Vincent.
Wanda makes a bad first impression on the new station manager, Max, and tries to reconcile with him by taking him out for drinks. Unfortunately, she doesn't know that Max is a recovering alcoholic.
Wanda is glad when Bradley's longtime best friend, Laven asks her on a date, not because she's particularly attracted to him, but because dating Laven would annoy Bradley. When Wanda and Laven persuade a very reluctant Bradley to visit a strip club with them, Bradley is mortified to be recognized and photographed. With Bradley's job as a respected newscaster in peril, Wanda realizes it's time to change her tactics.
Holly decides that she would much rather, live with her Aunt Wanda then with Jenny.
Wanda's piece is playing on the Beltway Gang, and as it's ending, Max is furious that Wanda hasn't arrived at work, and thus isn't there to sit on the panel. Viewers love it when she calls in to do the show from her car via cell phone, But later when Wanda shows up on time to do a piece about ATMs, she is just in time to get stuck in the middle of a bank robbery and forced to do some hard-core reporting from the scene, Wanda style.
Wanda prepares for a visit from her demanding and overbearing mother, who much to the dismay of Wanda, takes an immediate shine to Bradley.
Wanda debates the leader of an animal-rights organization.
After Wanda airs an unflattering feature story on an animal rights organization, protestors surround WHDC and Wanda must debate the group's beautiful leader.
Wanda admits the dreaded ""L"" word to Bradley, after she reluctantly sees Keith's therapist.
Bradley comes to blows with a rap mogul, who's a last-minute replacement for the show's scheduled guest, RZA.