BB Exclusive: Jordan Buhat Talks his New Freeform Show, grown-ish
Tonight, January 3, Freeform will premiere its new series, grown-ish. A spin-off of ABC’s hit comedy, black-ish, the show follows the Johnson’s oldest child, Zoey (Yara Shahidi) as she embarks on her first year at college.
We here at BeautifulBallad had the amazing chance to speak with one of the stars of the show, Jordan Buhat. Jordan plays Vivek and during our chat we talked about what drew him to the role, working with some of the black-ish cast and so much more. You can read our interview below.
On grown-ish and his character, Vivek:
“The show’s about a bunch of college kids, including my character, Vivek, in their first year of college. It’s about having a lot of first experiences, a girlfriend, drugs, sex, dating, and late night classes. And it’s about us thinking that we are ready to be grownups, but, of course, when we think we know things, most of the time we don’t.”
On what drew him to wanting to play Vivek:
“The fact that he’s so different from me is one thing that drew me to Vivek. There’s always reasons for why people do things and just because Vivek is a drug dealer it doesn’t mean he’s stereotypically the worst guy you’ve ever met. He has his reasons for being a drug dealer and it all comes through in the show.”
On if he watched black-ish before auditioning:
“Yeah. I saw a few episodes before I had auditioned for the role. I thought it was hilarious. Of course, it’s a hilarious show. It was just nominated for Critics Choice and Golden Globes [awards]. I thought it was a very funny show and I hadn’t seen all of it, up to date, until that point, but I had seen a lot.”
On if the show will be similar to black-ish in not shying away from topics:
“Absolutely. There’s a very political climate in the world right now and there are times where we touch on people’s different political views, that’s going to be something that really sticks out. The things that are a big hit in college, we’re not going to be shy about it. Drugs may come up on shows, but with this show, it’s a forefront and what we’re actually thinking about and what we’re actually talking about.”
You can read the rest of our interview under the jump. Make sure to let us know what you think and look for Part 2 of our interview tomorrow, January 4.
Photo Source: Freeform/Andrew Eccles
On if there is anything he is excited for fans to see from his character this season:
“Like I said, Vivek is very impulsive, very driven, very goal oriented and he sets his sights on something in the season and he doesn’t let it go. He’s very endearing person, he’s also very smart, very driven and he is going to go for some things. Some things he’s going to get and some he’s not. And it’s very exciting to see his arch throughout the season.”
On if the show was anything like his own college experience:
“Absolutely. That’s what I love about the show is things that I went through in college, things that my friends went through in college, these are things that are all very real. These are all real situations and I think it’s going to be really relatable to viewers who are going into college and who went through it or who are in it.”
On working with the black-ish characters:
“I get to work with Deon Cole all the time and he’s amazingly hilarious and he’s fantastic to work with. As for other characters, I believe there are a couple of times when Zoey’s parents poke in, but other than that, I hope to work with many more of the black-ish characters like the siblings.”
On the black-ish character he would most like to work with:
“Let me see. Zoey’s grandmother (Jenifer Lewis) would be amazing to work with. That would be fantastic.”
On what fans can expect this season:
“They can expect us to be very real. Like I said earlier, we don’t shy away from topics about drugs, sex and stuff. These are things that we used to shy away from and we never really talked about them. These things are happening in society and people have real questions, so we’re going to answer them. They’re going to be the very front of our episodes. They can expect us to be very real and for us to not be hiding behind any sugar coated walls.”
*This interview has been edited for clarity and length.