After a strange, nearly year-long midseason hiatus thanks to the pandemic, the young adult series Grown-ish has finally returned for the latter half of Season 3 - now being referred to as Season 3B. Ahead of the Season 3 premiere of , the cast sat down with Complex to talk about the new season.
The show doesn’t shy away from episodes and themes that center around mental health, cultural appropriation, politics, drug use, pregnancy, etc. The ability to cover oft-controversial these topics in a comical way and still make an impact been of utmost importance to the cast.
“That’s what we’re talking about now amongst our peers and with our friends," said Chloe Bailey, who plays Jazz Forster in the Freeform sitcom. "The show wouldn’t be relatable if we somehow ignored that or tried to act as if it didn’t exist,”
“I feel like [now] more than ever, our peer group, we’re getting so involved in politics and standing up for ourselves and using our voices, and I think it’s really important that what you see on TV is representing that and is being portrayed, so I’m happy that we’re on a show that does that,” she added.
“These are things that every kid our age is going through,” agreed Luka Sabbat, who plays Luca Hall. “We live in a very political time. A lot of things are being hypersexualized, a lot of people are discovering their sexuality.”
“A lot of kids with the internet, with this new ethos we live in. Kids don't have to be of the same religion as their parents anymore,” he continued. “All this information is out in the open. So I think it's cool to cover it all because these kids are out figuring it out for themselves as well.”
The characters on the show are very diverse, and often have contrasting political views. Diggy Simmons, who plays Doug, detailed how refreshing it is to see that dynamic on screen.
“We’ve seen especially in politics this past year, it’s as divisive as it’s ever been, with this side believing in this and this side believing in that, and though you may have a belief, you still have to hear people speak and you have to hear people’s perspectives to actually know what’s going on in different communities,” he said.
“So the fact that we have a friend in the group that’s LGBTQ+ and we have Black people in the group, a Latina in the group, everybody’s voice has to be heard so that we can actually have an understanding and see the equality that we strive to have,” he added.
Lastly, Trevor Jackson, who plays Aaron Jackson on the show, also highlighted that Grown-ish strives to touch on serious social issues that are not brought up in other young adult shows. In an exclusive interview with AB7 News, he revealed the importance of talking about those topics on screen for audiences to see.
"That's why I love being a part of the show because we highlight the things that people are afraid to talk about,” he told Race and Social Justice reporter Julian Glover. “The topics that are typically get swept under the rug. it's an honor to play a role that can, you know, shed light on some very, very serious issues."
Grown-ish airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. on Freeform.