'Kindred' Creator And Star On Reimaging Octavia Butler's Iconic Story For New FX Series On Hulu: 'A Lot Of Rigor'

Playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’s new FX series Kindred is a 21st-century adaptation of Octavia Butler’s iconic sci-fi novel. It’s a haunting show about a modern-day Black woman who is continually snatched back and forth through time from her home in 2016 Los Angeles to a Southern plantation in 1815. 

In her first leading role, Juilliard graduate Mallori Johnson portrays Dana James, an aspiring TV writer trying to find her place in the world after her grandmother’s death. However, just as she begins to settle into her new home in LA, she is violently ripped from the present and thrust into the past, a place that has intrinsic links to her bloodline. 

Ahead of Kindred’s Dec. 13 premiere, Shadow and Act sat down to chat with Jacob-Jenkins and Johnson about the beauty of Butler’s work, updating the story, and why it’s never been more relevant. 

Continue reading at Shadow and Act.

This Is A Defining Moment For Zolee Griggs: EXCLUSIVE

Often times, Disney kids can get typecast or stuck in a box–unable to shed their former child star personas to step fully into Hollywood as adults. Wu-Tang: An American Saga actress Zolee Griggs hasn’t had that issue. The Corey in the House alum has been in the industry for the majority of her life–and at age 20, she’s already been seen in everything from HBO’s Ballers opposite Dwayne Johnson to the beloved tru TV series, Adam Ruins Everything.

Now, Griggs is prepared to get even darker. She’s snagged a role in Hulu’s Wu-Tang: An American Saga– an epic mini-series following the formation and rise of one of the biggest hip-hop groups–The Wu-Tang Clan. Set in Staten Island in the ’90s, An American Saga is a gritty depiction of the crack-cocaine epidemic in America, poverty and being desperate to find a way out.

On the series, Griggs stars as Shurrie– Booby “The RZA” Diggs’ (Ashton Sanders) sister. Shurrie is an optimist who can see the light at the end of the tunnel when many in her position cannot. Ahead of Wu-Tang: An American Saga’s debut, STYLECASTER sat down with Griggs to talk, The Wu, becoming Shurrie and this new era of her career.

Continue reading at STYLECASTER.

Image: Instagram.

Ebony Obsidian Has The Range: EXCLUSIVE

It’s always challenging to step into someone else’s shoes. However, Wu-Tang: An American Saga actress Ebony Obsidian has mastered the act of not only becoming someone else–but stepping back in time entirely. Though Obsidian has been working in Hollywood for the past several years–she first garnered significant attention in Barry Jenkins’ breathtaking 2018 film, If Beale Street Could Talk. Bringing James Baldwin’s words to life–Obsidian slide seamlessly into a heartbreaking love-story set in the 1970s.

With Wu-Tang: An American Saga, Obsidian is transporting us back into time once again. Now, she’s bringing the real-life story of hip-hop pioneers the Wu-Tang Clan to the forefront of television. Set in Staten Island in the ’90s–Hulu’s Wu-Tang: An American Saga is a stellar miniseries based on Bobby “The RZA” Diggs’ novels The Wu-Tang Manual and The Tao of Wu. It is an unlikely story that brought together RZA, GZA, Ol’ Dirty Bastard, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God and Masta Killa to form a group that would become one of America’s most unlikely success stories.

Ahead of the series premiere on Sept. 4–STYLECASTER sat down to chat with Obsidian who plays Divine’s (Wu-Tang Productions CEO and RZA’s brother) girlfriend Nia. We talked stepping into Wu Tang’s world, finding the right roles and her upcoming Tyler Perry project, Sistas.

Continue reading at STYLECASTER.

Image: Instagram.