Baldwin Hills cast dish about new season

By Tiffany White
Photographs courtesy of BET.com

The first season of Baldwin Hills introduced America to a different demographic not seen since The Cosby Show. Similar to how teen-beat sitcoms 90210 or Laguna Beach depict the life of wealthy white teenagers, Baldwin Hills showcases the innards of Baldwin Hills, a real Los Angeles neighborhood full of wealthy, famous, successful blacks and their privileged children. The first season followed a seven teenagers—Gerren, Moriah, Sal, Staci, Garnette, Gaven and Jordan—as they finished their senior year in high school and dealt with copious amounts of teenage drama. Although their surroundings are lavish, the Baldwin Hill kids go through life like any other teenager—except they get to blow $500 on one-day shopping excursions, of course.

The second season of Baldwin Hills, which premieres July 8 at 10 p.m. (ET/PT), picks up where the last one left off and includes five new cast members, replacing the ones who went off to college. Here, new cast members Justin and Ashley, as well as producer Sheri Maroufkhani, share thoughts on the new season, what they wanted to accomplish this time around and why despite what you see, they did all get along.

AMBERmag.com: Why was there a decision to add new cast members?
Sheri Maroufkani: We added new cast members for season two as quite a few of season one's cast (Garnette, Roqui, Mackenzy, Willie, etc.), went off to college.

AMBERmag.com: How are the new cast members different from last season's?
SM: For the most part, they are more expressive, they have more real-life drama, more adult concerns, and exhibit higher stakes and emotions when it comes to matters of the heart.

AMBERmag.com: Is there a particular criteria for selecting new cast members?
SM: It is very important that they have a real connection to the existing cast. When we originally cast for the show, everyone who came in was one or two degrees apart from everyone else. It's a small neighborhood and it was important to us that the cast have a real connection outside of the television show. Also, you benefit from the existence of those real relationships rather than creating them for the sake of a television series.

AMBERmag.com: What new drama will this season bring?
SM: Whenever you bring new people into the mix, there are some territorial issues that will always pop up. Drama will go off. As new cast member Lor'Rena proclaims in the first episode when talking about Gerren, "She has to realize, there's a new sheriff in town." That's what is so wonderful about all the kids, they are so real and keep it 100 percent. Often you revel in what they say as they tend to have NO filter when it comes to their thoughts, feelings, suspicions, etc.

AMBERmag.com: What are the major improvements this season will have over the last one?
SM: All around we have a tighter ship, from production side to the amazing dynamic with the cast. The stories flowed much better and the look, sound and feel of the show is just a marked improvement that you can actually see. That is directly attributable to a great deal of story preparation we do with the kids. Stories string from their real lives and we try to capture it in it's truest form.

AMBERmag.com: The last season had a small budget. Will this season go all out?
SM: Although I can say that we do a lot with a little, in terms of budget, the budget has no impact on our abilities and drive to create the best-looking, most moving television series dedicated to expressing a Black teen experience in America.

AMBERmag.com: Can you let us in on a particular interesting or surprising thing that happens this season?
SM: We touch on literally every issue a typical, coming-of-age teenager faces—sexual pressure, social pressure, scholastic pressure, career pressure, family pressure, etc.—and it all plays out in the show this season.

AMBERmag.com: A lot of people call Baldwin Hills the black version of The Hills. Will this season try to reach a wider audience?
SM: Absolutely. Many of the issues we deal with are universal and relatable to every teen in America. Granted, some issues are specific to the community, but the courage exhibited in dealing with them is inspirational. Also, I think the decision to include the parents in the show remains key. So many teen docu-soaps find their cast in a bit of a social vacuum. The parents in our cast, by the simple virtue of being on television, are mentoring by example, as do the kids, for the audience watching our show.

AMBERmag.com: What do you think was last season's greatest achievement?
SM: Finding an audience for the show! The first season began with a focus on life in the "black Beverly Hills." And, frankly, affluent black Americans hadn't been portrayed on television since The Cosby Show. In exploring the community, we found much more socio-economic diversity. And so, for season two we've begun exploring that diversity though cast and story.

AMBERmag.com: Do you think Baldwin Hills has succeeded in changing people's general perception of blacks?
SM: That would be the ultimate gift! I hope that we've just shed a little light on a community that was overdue for having its own voice on television. And although Baldwin Hills is not The Cosby Show or Boyz-n-the-Hood, it clearly has strong elements of both. It is that diversity of human experience that makes for the most compelling show —one that we had always hoped to achieve.

AMBERmag.com: Can you tell us what you hope this season will accomplish that the last season didn't?
SM: We want to explore deeper and more meaningful stories with the cast. We want to further explore the extremes in the community, in both our casting and our story-telling. And we want to create the most compelling show imaginable—a show with people and stories that find love and acceptance from every culture in our country. Ultimately, in best of all worlds, it would open the door for television storytelling that explores and expresses the experience of other cultures in this country.

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