00:00I will say something that's interesting, I don't think we ever experienced, I don't know if it's just gross overconfidence, but I don't think we ever experienced any uncertainty, right?
00:08Because, like, obviously when season one was coming out and everyone was kind of very like, what is the point of this?
00:13I think there's something about with the work that we've been doing over the few months preceding it, we were like, nah, it is so special and we can't wait to share that with everyone right now.
00:21And people don't read. So a lot of people thought we were doing a sitcom version. I was like, did you not read the deadline? This is a drama.
00:27It's not half an hour. It's a one hour drama. Yeah.
00:30Okay, now I'm worried.
00:33I did what I did for Will's sake.
00:36What's telling me Will is back, baby?
00:37But he's revying back to his old ways.
00:39Let's go.
00:41You have a fantastic name, Reve. That's a beautiful name.
00:45Reve, yeah.
00:45Thank you so much. I really appreciate that. Well, I am Reve Ruff from Essence. Thank you all so much for taking the time today.
00:53I guess just hopping right in, what is like the sense of when you were shooting season two after season one, I'm sure there was some uncertainty.
01:02You know, there was a lot of hullabaloo about what, you know, what this show was going to be and people kind of outraged that they were, you know, rebooting, reimagining, you know, one of our cultural classics.
01:13Now that it's established as a hit and now that everybody sees what you all can do, what was the feeling going in to shoot the second season?
01:19I will say something that's interesting. I don't think we ever experienced, I don't know if it's just gross overconfidence, but I don't think we ever experienced any uncertainty.
01:28Right? Because like, obviously when season one was coming out and everyone was kind of very like, what is the point of this?
01:33I think there's something about what the work that we've been doing over the few months preceding it.
01:37We were like, nah, it is so special and we can't wait to share that with everyone.
01:41And people don't read. So a lot of people thought we were doing a sitcom version. I was like, yeah, did you not read the deadline?
01:46It's not half an hour. It's a one hour drama. Yeah.
01:52But yeah, I suppose for us for season two, it's excitement, you know, there's hunger.
01:59We're excited to share the hard work and the show's bigger, better. It's expensive. It's spicy.
02:07And we're just going to go deeper into every character, you know, we've talked about it in season one.
02:13It's like, imagine if you picked up the diaries of your favorite characters from Bel-Air and like, we're probably just getting to the, we've done a quarter of the diary, you know?
02:21And so we're about the nuance, about the layers and there's going to be some beautiful Easter eggs.
02:26And again, for me, Jeffrey, he, we're just touching, barely touching the surface, but we're going to learn a bit more about him and his relationship with Uncle Phil, but also about Jeffrey's family.
02:38Going into this season for me, a huge sense of pride. I just felt so proud, you know, coming off the first season and just how well it was received.
02:48And it just exceeded our expectations, you know, and so it gave us a sense of just, we were able to relax a little bit coming, coming back, you know, knowing that everybody was just like, can't wait for season two.
03:02Can't wait, you know, when you guys, you know, can't come fast enough, you know?
03:06So, so we, we just were able to just, you know, ride on that, that energy and, and, and we just feel so proud and, and, and privileged to be in this position.
03:17So, yeah.
03:19Ali?
03:20Ali?
03:20Well, I mean, that was it. I, listen, y'all, y'all said it best. I'm just excited. I'm pumped for the season. We have a lot of, yeah, we have a lot of new storylines.
03:28We have a lot of Easter eggs.
03:30Yeah, they, honestly, they said everything I was going to say.
03:32Yeah.
03:32So, Ali, I guess going, again, season one, you kind of, and it's a testament to your acting, but people kind of like, can't stand you now.
03:41Because you've made such an amazing portrayal of Carlton.
03:44Um, without giving spoilers away, how do you feel like you're going to be able to build on that for like season two? And what are you excited for people to see from you this season?
03:51Well, first of all, thank you. Second of all, I will continue being a menace. That's very, very important to me.
03:56Um, that's important for my mental and spiritual health, uh, that I continue to be a menace on TV.
04:00But, you know, I, I think that life is so layered. Life is so layered and multifaceted. So being given the opportunity to show that complexity on camera is such a gift.
04:12You know, I, I think that the strength of Carlton as a character is that you are introduced to this character that you don't like off the bat.
04:18And he's, you know, he's arrogant and he's whatever. And then the longer you see him, I think that the more the audience sees themselves in him. Right.
04:28And, and there are elements of this character that you're not supposed to like, but you have to come to terms with the fact that you're sort of like him in a lot of ways.
04:36And I think that that, you know, that, that complexity is something that I'm interested in showcasing more of. I will say Will and Carlton get along more this season, which fans are really gonna, really, really gonna enjoy.
04:49And because that's something that happened in the original that I think a lot of people really wanted. So we get to explore that. And then we also get to explore his relationship with his parents, which is beautiful.
04:58And speaking of which, I do like that. The show is kind of sort of told through the lens of Will, but we get to focus more on what the adults have going on, particularly in this season.
05:08And so I want to ask Adrian, for you specifically, again, similar question, what are you looking forward to people seeing from your character this season?
05:16I think just to see the direction of his career and, you know, what he decides to, you know, what's going to focus on moving, moving forward and, and just his relationship with Viv and how they can, you know, navigate, you know, the, the chaos in the household, you know, and, and just how everything's just been, you know, all the little fires, putting out all the little fires.
05:37And with, with, with Carlton and, and, and, and Hillary and Ashley, and, and then also getting Jeffrey back.
05:42And, you know, if he comes back, you know, he's, he's his right hand, you know, so they have such a, a deep history.
05:49It's so rooted in, in, in the brotherhood.
05:52And so, you know, he feels like, you know, he's, he's missing his, his right leg, you know, not having Jeffrey around.
05:58And just to come to a place where, you know, you can communicate and understand where they're both, where he's coming from and try to also let him know where you're coming from.
06:11Because it's just perspectives, you know, he feels he's right.
06:14Phil feels that he's right.
06:16And they have to come together and just, you know, understand each other from, you know, from a deeper place.
06:22And just, and in reality, they should look to Carlton because he's the voice of reason, you know, that part, yeah.
06:29Not sure about that quite yet, but maybe we'll see him become that voice of reason this season.
06:33So, Jimmy, your character, Jeffrey, season one, very shrouded in mystery, very big departure of what people were expecting to see, especially from this character, you know, given what we know from the sitcom in the past.
06:49I'm hoping that we're going to see a little bit more of that mystery peeled back this season.
06:54But, like, what are you excited for fans to see from you and learn about your character?
06:57I'm excited for everyone to see, I suppose, Jeffrey's, his vulnerable side, his vulnerability, you know.
07:08Also, I'm excited to see how, basically, what happened with the Banks family, how that's triggered Jeffrey and made him think about his family issues.
07:19And then how that affects him in terms of how he moves forward from this point.
07:24So, I'm really excited for people to see that.
07:25And also, I just, you know, I just love the fact that, you know, there's this constant mystery about Jeffrey, you know, that I don't think we could ever know until we get to season three, four, five, six, seven and eight.
07:39The movie, the movie, the movie, the spin-off, the cartoon.
07:44But, no, for everyone, I think we're just touching the surface on this show.
07:50And I look forward to just going deeper and just allowing Carla Waddle's, our showrunner and the writers just to provide this gold and material for you guys.
08:03And these characters are all so complex.
08:05So, there's so much that they can do.
08:09They have so much material that they can write to us.
08:13Yeah, we sometimes write our own episodes, don't we?
08:16Like, well, we could do this.
08:17Yeah, we inform.
08:18And they take none of the ideas.
08:21Actually, this season, I would say, they took quite a few ideas from us, you know, because it is a collaborative process, you know.
08:27But, yeah, yeah, can't wait.
08:29Thank you all so much for an amazing interview.
08:32Thanks for having us.
08:33Thank you so much.
08:34Peace.
Comments