Kofi Siriboe, Gail Bean, and Logan Browning have officially moved to Harlem and as we reach the halfway point of the final season, their characters—Seth, Eva, and Portia—are already shaking things up.
Seth (Siriboe) has become a source of excitement in Quinn’s (Grace Byers) life, not just romantically but also professionally, elevating her status by introducing her as his stylist. Eva (Bean) enters Tye’s (Jerrie Johnson) orbit with a dynamic mix of confidence and intrigue, proving that she thrives in both business and pleasure. Meanwhile, Portia (Browning), an ex of Ian (Tyler Lepley), has resurfaced, and their rekindled relationship is moving at lightning speed.
With their intriguing storylines adding new layers to Harlem, we caught up with the trio to discuss their experience stepping into an already-established show and the impact of their characters.
Transcript edited.
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QG: What was it like coming into this family and culture?
GB: For me, New York is a different culture. I’m Black. I’m female. But New York is a whole different world. It’s a different type of energy, different love. So it was new. It was refreshing. I’ve said this a million times, but I’ve been a fan of the show. It was honestly like a dream come true. I just recently moved to New York, and I’ve always wanted to move there. So it was basically art mirroring life.
LB: I loved these characters. They live and breathe and even after this final episode that we watched together in tears, probably they go on. They really live, they have actual lives. I’m just grateful to be a part of a show that did that so well, like aside from being Black and being a woman, this is a good ass show and it deserves a lot of recognition for being that.
KS: Man, same. I love New York. I love Harlem. I love the creators. I love the cast. I love a challenge. I’ve learned to love Seth. my character, Seth. I definitely love Quinn. So everything felt like a gift. It was just a beautiful celebration for it to be a culmination of three years of creating this world. I just felt honored to be able to align with that.
QG: Kofi, you always seem to find yourself surrounded by beautiful women, cast and crew. What have you learned about being on set with all these beautiful women?
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KS: Black women rule the world. Like for real. First of all, my mom—let’s start there. But to be able to see the extension of that. I’ve spent the last 10 years surrounded around beautiful, powerful, intelligent, nuanced, sensitive, charming, creative, delicate, strong women, Black women. And I get better around them.
They challenge me to be my best self naturally. And they activate my power. So it’s an honor. That’s an anchor and a compass that I’ll never ignore. So like wherever the Black women at, imma be at.
QG: Gail, your character Eva is a total boss. Do you see similarities between yourself and Eva?
GB: I’m a boss. I’m a hard worker, and Eva is definitely a hard worker. So we share a lot of traits. I didn’t have to dig too deep to find who she was as a character, except I’m very shy. Like people don’t know that about me. And Eva is not shy at all. I’m shy when put on a spot. Sometimes I’m literally not there cause it’s like, oh wait, people are looking at me. Everybody’s looking. But definitely Gail Bean is a boss, the biggest.
QG: Logan, your character Portia handles her situation with Camille differently than what we usually see on TV. What did you like most about playing her?
LB: You know what I like about the character is that I trust how she’s written. I think that Tracy [Oliver] and her entire team have done an incredible job making such specific characters who have their own journeys and make incredible personal choices. And to your point, Portia’s choices we don’t usually see. We usually see the emotion take control of our actions and Portia is just a very centered person. I wonder if it is because she works culinary. Like it requires a lot of focus and detail and catering to people and making sure that everything is presented properly. It makes me want to handle situations better and not be like, ‘Hold up. Let me stir this pot a little bit.’
Check out the full interview.
