February 21, 2019 

By Lapacazo Sandoval 

Contributing Writer 

 

Emmy-winner Lena Waithe who serves as BET’s Executive Producer on the new series “Boomerang” made it crystal clear that the new show is nothing like the 1992 movie “Boomerang” which starred Eddie Murphy and Robin Givens.  Boomerang is also co-executive produced by Oscar-winner Halle Berry.

 

 

This is a reboot that actually makes sense.  BET had so much confidence in Waithe’s creative vision and direction for the new series, that they gave “Boomerang” a 10-episode straight-to-series order. In the industry that’s seen as a big vote of confidence. Now with the first season complete and the fans and critics weighing in it’s a pretty safe bet it will get a nod for a second season.

 

 

Here’s why—the show is fresh.  The series follows the lives of millennials Jacqueline Boyer’s (Givens) son and Marcus (Murphy) and Angela Graham’s (Berry) daughter as they attempt to step out of their parents’ shadows and make a legacy of their own and their quirky and complicated set of ride-or-die friends. 

 

 

Keeping it on point, Waithe co-write the pilot alongside showrunner Ben Cory Jones (“Underground, Insecure”). Dime Davis directed  multiple episodes, including the finale marking a reunion with  Waithe; the two worked together on the Emmy-Award winner’s Showtime drama “The Chi” as well as the Netflix film “Step Sisters.” Waithe’s Hillman Grad Productions VP production and development Rishi Rajani will also exec produce the Paramount Television comedy.

 

 

 

To get a better look into the meat and bones of the series, I suggest that you visit the BET website (the link is listed below). There are several short but insightful behind-the-scene videos that give a glimpse into what makes Waithe, “the boss” tick.  And there is a lot to chew on:  “There’s no point in trying to remake a classic. It can’t be done,” Waithe said. “So, we want to create something fresh that speaks to a new generation.”

 

Indeed, that’s just what the Emmy-award winner Waithe did in casting a new generation of up and coming actors who have been the focus of positive word-of-mouth from the critics and the growing fan base.  

 

Inside BET's swanky New York offices, we sat down to talk with the six millennials o discuss what love means to them and their characters in BET’s “Boomerang.” The cast includes Tetona Jackson, Tequan Richmond,  Brittany Inge, RJ Walker, Leland Martin, and LaLa Milan.

 

Los Angeles Sentinel: Hello, cast of “Boomerang.” I’m going to ask the same question to each of you. That question is what does love mean to you and what do you think love means to your character?  Go.

 

RJ WALKER: For me, Love is, to be selflessness. Regardless of what you’re going through if you love someone or something you’re going to do whatever it takes to either get that or please that. For my character, David whose a wall street guy turned preacher, 26, and now divorced from crystal for him, God is love.  God embodies so much to David even though he’s dealing with his divorce he still has a love for Crystal. God brought her into his life at an early age. He was blessed to have her. The family is love. His friends.

 

 

TEQUAN RICHMOND: Great question, for me love is gratefulness, appreciation, and appreciation.  I feel if you appreciate something you care about it.  And I feel that taking that kind of appreciation for some body’s feelings or what someone might want in their life, it shows a type of intimacy and a time of appreciation that is love, to me.  For my character, Bryson I feel that he just wants to be appreciated.  He wants to be seen. He wants to be noticed for what he actually is and not for what other people think he is. 

 

TONA JACKSON: Love … I think that for me, like RJ said, love, is selfishness. I believe in putting myself first but also being able to put the other person first.  Loving someone unconditionally through their flaws. Seeing past the flaws and having patience. I think for my character Simone — who is privileged and very driven—I think she’s definitely trying to figure out what love is.  So I think you see that in her journey in the show.

 

LALA MILAN: I really appreciate your question about love. Let me think. Love is EVERYTHING. Literally when you love a person wheater it’s a friend, a family member or someone that you’re in a relationship with you will literally do everything to show them that you love them; that you appreciate them, respect them and that you never want to hurt them in any way, and if you do you feel really guilty about it.  Love is literally the root of every relationship that you care for as far as I am concerned.  For my character, Tia —whose working as a stripper and dreaming of a music career—love is interesting and I say that, to say, that as a lesbian she’s dated a few people and she knows for sure that she’s into women but she’s still trying to figure out how to maneuver in that situation, if you will. I feel that over time she’ll figure it out but for now, she’s still just testing the waters of exactly what love is for her.

 

BRITTANY INGE: For me, love is a journey and it’s one that starts from the inside out.  I think that when someone learns how to really dive in and learn how to love themselves than they can be a better vessel [of love] to the people around them. For my character Crystal whose in the process of divorcing, David, I feel that [for her] love is synonymous with marriage and building a family.  Where we meet her when the show starts, she is now in a place where she is forced to have to turn some of that love back, inwards, toward herself.

 

LELAND MARTIN: Love, for me, is an indescribable thing.  To be honest with you, I don’t think there is any force in the universe that is stronger than love.  So the only word God because God encompasses everything. Family love. Friendship. Relationships. I feel like there are so many definitions at different times that love would take on the characteristics of trust or whatever, you name it.  I believe it’s an all-encompassing thing. the strongest force in the universe. For my character Ari who is sexually fluid, he doesn’t understand love outside of friendship, yet. He’s a bi-sexual male that’s very free when it comes to the way he expresses his flesh but I feel that the only way that he expresses, his love is in friendship.  He cares about these five think of him but outside of that, he’s very unapologetic with how he lives his life.

 

Here are the cast social handles!

 

Twitter

 

@BoomerangOnBET

 

@TdashRich

 

@itstetona

 

@LaLaMilan

 

@brittany__inge

 

@lelandmartin

 

Instagram

 

@ boomerangonbet

 

@tdashrich

 

@itstetonajackson

 

@lalamilan

 

@iamrjwalker

 

@brittanyinge

 

@lelandmartin

Category: Arts & Culture