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The NAACP Image Award-winning show, which
premiered in 2019 and whose first season was presented in two
parts, follows a Black family, the McKellans, after they move
from Seattle to Columbus, Georgia, to be closer to their
relatives.
Reuters spoke to cast members Anthony Alabi, Tia Mowry-Hardrict
and Loretta Devine about the series' return and its popularity.
Below are excerpts edited for brevity and length.
Q: Why do you think the show is popular?
Alabi: "I think we're relatable. ... People see the joy and the
positivity in the family and the characters. ... I'm sure it's
happened in other shows, but just in recent history, for once,
people can watch the show and see that being Black isn't
one-size-fits-all. I think in any family, there's different
opinions, there's different points of view and I think that's
OK. And that's something that needs to be seen."
Mowry-Hardrict: "I also think that the story lines are authentic
to the culture. ... We all know that ... in African-American
culture, there's a sort of religious component to our family
dynamic. And I love the way that we are staying true and
authentic with that part of African-American culture."
Q: How does the show mix socially conscious themes and humor?
Devine: "That was one of the aims of the show from the very
beginning: to tackle some of the culture and for people to get
to know Black people that they are not acquainted with a little
bit better by going inside their family."
"Now they've come to a point where their lives are changing ...
because the finances are not the same as they were in the first
season. So, now there are new struggles that we will be
attacking. There's a lot of music and dance because we didn't
want the COVID-19 pandemic view to be what everybody had to deal
with."
(Reporting by Alicia Powell; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
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