Ahead of its premiere on August 15, three of the show’s biggest stars spoke on the new season, their character’s development, and more.
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00:00Season three, it's going to be steamy, right?
00:02It's going to be super, ooh, it's going to be sexy.
00:04And I remember there was one day Akira was like,
00:06oh my God, you want to come watch the scene that I have?
00:08And we were like, no, I don't want to see it.
00:10I don't want to be there.
00:12I want to be as far away from set as possible.
00:14Yeah.
00:15Yeah, it's such, you know.
00:17We're going to have summer a lot.
00:19You guys are going to be very excited for what I got planned.
00:24Seems you got a lot of free time.
00:25You might want to pick up some hours at the country club.
00:28What were your expectations for season three?
00:30I was expectant of a lot of fun, some drama, some comedy.
00:38And I think it definitely hit all my expectations this season.
00:42Yeah.
00:43That wasn't a great answer.
00:45I mean, because I know they told, oh, OK, I'll go for it.
00:47You guys, well, going into this, what did you think?
00:51You guys knew it was going to be out of this school year.
00:54It's going to be summer time, right?
00:55They told you that before.
00:56We're going to try something different.
00:58What are your thoughts?
00:59What do you think they were going to have you guys do?
01:02I mean, I know, yeah, going into the season,
01:04they had told us from middle of season two,
01:06they're like, here's the thing, next season, summer.
01:09And so it's really cool because we knew we were going
01:11to get to be out of school.
01:13And what's really great about being out of school
01:15is we get to visit locations.
01:16We get to go to the beach.
01:18We get to do this.
01:19I know Viv and Phil, at some point,
01:21go on a trip to Mexico, you know what I'm saying?
01:23And honestly, they told us that we were going to have
01:26a lot of our clothes off.
01:27And so we were also looking forward to that.
01:31You were looking forward to that.
01:32Okay, fine.
01:33Just, I was looking forward to that.
01:35That's right.
01:36And get shape-shaped.
01:37Yeah, exactly.
01:41Ali, last year, your character went through
01:43some heavy stuff, you know?
01:45Going through some of that stuff,
01:48dealing, how do you, you know, with somebody,
01:50I would imagine you had some people that really
01:52came up to you and it resonated with them.
01:55I mean, one of the most impactful experiences I had,
01:59it was during the season two press run.
02:02And I was just at a flea market
02:04and this family had come up to me.
02:06And they were like, hey, you know,
02:08I could tell they loved the show
02:09and they wanted to take pictures.
02:10And there was sort of this little shy black kid,
02:13like there, and you know, I'd, hey, what's up, man?
02:16Like, you know, you like the show.
02:17And just, you know, it gets really quiet.
02:19And he was like, you're the first black boy
02:22I've ever seen cry on TV.
02:25And, you know, that's how important art is, right?
02:29Showing this little kid that it's okay
02:31to experience the full range of your emotions.
02:34And so I think that speaks to how important our show is.
02:37Even like that scene with you and Marlon,
02:40like, you know, I know that resonated with you.
02:42You know, that was a serious moment,
02:44but it was like, how are you?
02:45No.
02:48I'm just, I'm just joking, bro.
02:49It's late, it's late in the night.
02:51Okay, let's talk about Ashley a little bit
02:53and all the layers she has.
02:55Tell me what it's like you're going into season three
02:57about helping you grow as a young actress.
03:00Yeah, no, I feel like season three
03:02has definitely brought a lot of different things for me.
03:05It explored Ashley's creativity and music and friendships.
03:10While she's still navigating her sexuality,
03:14I also felt like it brought a seriousness
03:16trying to figure out her family and what's really going on.
03:20So I like playing with that side of Ashley.
03:25You two sitting here, when she says the word sexuality,
03:27what goes to your minds as like kind of the big brother?
03:29Yeah, see, absolutely not.
03:32So that's the thing, because they had told us, right?
03:34Season three, it's going to be steamy, right?
03:36It's going to be super, ooh, it's going to be sexy.
03:38And I remember there was one day Akira was like,
03:41oh my God, you want to come watch the scene that I have?
03:43And we were like, no, I don't want to see it.
03:45I don't want to be there.
03:46I want to be as far away from set as possible.
03:49Yeah, yeah, it sucks, you know, it sucks, man.
03:53But also on a serious tip, on a serious tip,
03:55you know, I think it is important to showcase
03:57young, healthy, black loves.
03:59And I think that the show, you know,
04:02we showcase the wide gamut and the wide spectrum of that.
04:06You know, everything from baby Ashley finding her way
04:10in navigating her sexuality to Will, you know,
04:13when Lisa and Jackie, to even Carlton and Amira,
04:16it's a really cool spectrum of love that we get to show.
04:18Yeah.
04:19We got the big man here today.
04:20What is it like having Will Smith, you know,
04:24with you guys and is he coming to set
04:26and being around you guys, you know,
04:28and getting in with the show?
04:30I mean, Will's just the coolest dude,
04:32you know what I mean?
04:34And it's so funny too, because he's so giving.
04:37And not that you don't expect it,
04:39because on one hand, it's just like, he's the Will Smith.
04:42So I remember before I met him, I was like,
04:44I don't know, like, is he going to look me in the eye?
04:46And, you know, like the first day we all met him,
04:49he was like, you all are here for a reason.
04:52And you guys are going to go on the craziest journey
04:54of your lives, but hold on to each other.
04:56And throughout that, you know, he's come in,
04:58he's checked in on us and it's just really dope.
05:01Like at any point in time, we just text Will to be like,
05:03hey, Will, I'm really confused about how this works.
05:07And he's like, it's all right.
05:08This is how it is.
05:09This is so cool.
05:10This is an amazing resource.
05:11Amazing resource.
05:12What advice would you give a younger Jabari
05:14if they're playing Will?
05:16If a younger Jabari was playing Will?
05:18I mean, I know, what would you give yourself?
05:19What advice would you give your younger self?
05:21Oh, that they're playing Will.
05:23I'd probably say, trust yourself, trust your instincts
05:27and just show up every day.
05:30You know, there's going to be things in this life
05:32that, you know, take you away from, you know, your passion
05:35or try to take your passion away from you.
05:37But as long as you, you know, stay grounded
05:39and stay focused on the goal,
05:41that's probably what I'd tell myself.
05:42Just, you know, stay focused.
05:44Last question, why do you think Bel Air
05:45has resonated with the Black community so much?
05:49It's real.
05:50You know, I think it touches on real things
05:54that are happening.
05:56Give me a chance to say that.
05:56Say that.
05:57Yeah, set it up for me, right.
05:59I think Bel Air has resonated so much with Black audiences
06:03because it's real, right?
06:04These are real stories and these are real experiences
06:08that people are going through.
06:10And the fact that, I mean, how many times
06:13do people come up to you and they're like,
06:14yo, like, I feel like you're my cousin.
06:16Yeah, yeah.
06:17You know what I'm saying?
06:18And that's specifically like 40 to 50 year old women.
06:22Like, yeah, you're my nephew.
06:23Yeah.
06:24I've never met you before.
06:26But I think that's so beautiful
06:28about the impact of our show.
06:30The writers have really crafted some characters
06:33that feel familiar to everyone,
06:36that they feel empathy for and they feel love for.
06:39It's incredible.
06:40Yeah, same.