The Run the World ladies are back and ready to take on….well, the world!
Best friends Whitney (Amber Stevens West), Renee (Bresha Webb) and Sondi (Corbin Reid) are still on a mission to make all of their dreams come true despite life’s hurdles as Run The World returns for its second season.
“What I love about this show, in real life and on the show, is that we’re so different from one another and yet we’re still tight, good friends and can support each other,” West told Shadow and Act. “And we’re not competitive with one another and I think that’s what true friend groups look like. Everyone’s got their own thing, their own interest and ambitions and the way that one’s an extrovert and one’s an introvert and one’s, you know, interested in games and one’s interested in fashion. Everyone’s interested in different things, but they still have such a grounded friendship and love for one another.”
For Webb, her character symbolizes what it means to take risks and go for all that life has to offer.
“She’s taking chances with her fashion and her hair… she’s finally doing what makes her happy,” said Webb. “Even if it doesn’t make sense to anyone else, she’s figuring it out and walking it out boldly. And she’s just embarking on such a new place that she’s never been before and I love that you get to see a strong woman that has it all figured out, or looks like she has it all figured out, be a little insecure about it.”
Similarly, Reid’s character is taking her own happiness back into her hands throughout the course of the new season.
The actress explained, “I think you get to the end of the first season and a lot of viewers, and myself included, were like, ‘Wow, this woman is doing such a beautiful thing by being this caretaker, but she’s sacrificing a lot.’ She’s sacrificing a lot by way of her relationship with Matthew and also her career, she’s putting a lot at risk and she’s taking a back seat in a lot of ways. She’s so intelligent and she’s so capable and she’s so ambitious.”
What’s more, the character serves as an inspiration for the actress, even in her own personal life.
“When you get to season 2, you get to see what else she can do and what the possibilities are,” said Reid. “And it’s very exciting. It’s almost like she’s a race that’s been held behind the finish line or behind the starting line and somebody cut the ribbon and said, ‘Go.’” That’s what the season looks like for her and I think it’s inspiring to me because when you are in a relationship or anytime, just as a woman, I think society tells us that we’re supposed to be a caretaker or put [ourselves] second.”
The men in the series spoke about how their characters can often be art imitating life.
Tosin Morohunfola, who portrays Ola, the former fiance to Whitney, says he resonates with “too many qualities” when it comes to his character.
“I mean, obviously, he’s a first-generation Nigerian,” he recalled. “So he’s a doctor, my dad is a doctor and I come from a lot of medical professionals, but also, he’s just a guy who’s honestly very loving, very committed, [and] very supportive to his partner. And I think the way he handles the conflict at the end when he finds out that his fiance was cheating on him, was in a very measured, but angry kind of paternal vibe and scolding, and weirdly, I definitely do a little bit of that when I’m in conflict scenarios.”
Jay Walker’s portrayal of Jason (Renee’s estranged husband) mirrors his own journey to taking leaps of faith.
“I wouldn’t be here having this conversation with you right now had I not made the decision to simply try,” he said. “Life is too short not to do the one thing that’s in your heart so if it’s really in your heart go for it. I hope if people watch Jason, they don’t go about it exactly the same way that he did, but I hope that they reached the same conclusion that sometimes, you just have to take a leap of faith.”
Series regular and television veteran Erika Alexander plays Barb, a woman who equally admires the drive and wit of the millennials at the backdrop of Run The World just as much as she despises it.
Luckily, in real life, Alexander says the current state of television for up-and-coming as well as today’s actors and actresses is beautiful to witness.
“The sky’s the limit and the limit is the sky,” said Alexander. “We’re in a space now with the internet and all the tools we have around us, including our phones, that if you want to do something, you can really do it. You don’t have to wait for someone to come find you. When I was younger, you had to be discovered, or you had to do theater to get your start… you really do have more ways to push out your stories and to be you and I think that has never been in history in this way.”
Season 2 of Run The World is now airing on Starz.
