Harlem is coming to an end, but its cast and storylines have expanded in its third and final season.
New to Tracy Oliver’s Prime Video series are actors Gail Bean (P-Valley), Logan Browning (Dear White People) and Kofi Siriboe (Queen Sugar), the budding love interests of three of the show’s main characters Tye (Jerrie Johnson), Ian (Tyler Lepley), and Quinn (Grace Byers), respectively.
Quinn in season three, after embarking on a self-love journey in season two, finds herself believing in the possibility that she can have it all again when she encounters Seth (Siriboe), a Major League Baseball player who seems a likely candidate to make her personal and professional desires a reality. Similarly, Ian and Portia (Browning), take their childhood friendship to adult levels as they attempt to realize their longstanding dream of having a family with one another following his breakup from Camille (Meagan Good) last season. Meanwhile, Tye, determined not to repeat past relationship mistakes, has her fortitude tested when both a professional and romantic proposition presents itself in the form of Eva (Bean), a venture capitalist and daughter of additional season three guest star Robin Givens.
“Tye and Jerry are one and the same, so it was very beautiful, very fun, very energetic and very much a rollercoaster playing her love interest,” Bean tells The Hollywood Reporter. “Playing her superior was like work. But playing her love interest is very unexpected, it’s [up and down]. But that’s what makes love interesting.”
Below, Bean, Browning and Siriboe talk with THR about joining the cast of Harlem, how their characters’ stories intertwine with the series leads and where audiences will see them next.
***
How did each of you come to be a part of Harlem and did you know it was going to be the show’s final season?
LOGAN BROWNING I was invited to come. This was fresh off of the strikes, the top of [2024], and I was like, “I love Harlem.” I don’t think I knew it was the last season, but it was an immediate yes.
GAIL BEAN I did not know it was the last season. This was my third time auditioning for this show — I think I’ve auditioned probably every season. After the last audition happened, I got a call back while I was in the car. I’d gotten my times mixed up and probably about five minutes before the audition started, I double checked my email and I was like, “Oh, crap, it’s in five minutes.” I was in a Lyft coming from my friend’s house in Jersey to my house in Brooklyn, and I was like, “Okay, let’s try to go back. Let’s try to go back.” Then I realized we’re not going to make it in time and my friend was like, “I’ll just get you to a hotel in the city,” and I was like, “No, I’m not going to make it. I’m going to do the audition in the car.” So I did my callback in the car from my laptop, and I was certain I did not get it. After the first scene, they were like, “OK, thank you.” I hung up and they called me, and were like, “Could you get back on?” And I said, “Oh, I thought I did so bad in the first scene that you all were like, ‘bye.’” (Laughs)
KOFI SIRIBOE I’d worked with Stacey Muhammad. She was one of the directors on Queen Sugar and she called me and was like, “I’m working on Harlem, and I feel like this character might be you,” and I was like, “Alright, bet.” I was excited to just be in New York. I love New York. And as Logan said, the strike was quiet. I was wanted to exercise and get my juices flowing so it made sense. I had no idea it would be the last season.
Gail, who were the other characters you auditioned for in the past?
BEAN Oddly enough, they were all love interests of Tye. So she was like, “I’m glad it was this one,” because this one had the longest arc.
Logan, right from the start, it seems Portia and Ian’s relationship will be tested, though your character seems surprisingly tolerant of Camille’s interferences. How would you describe Portia and was it hard wrapping your mind around her?
BROWNING It was hard wrapping my mind around, as a fan of the show, intervening this kind of situation that I’ve watched. It’s different when you’re someone who has no idea what’s been going on in real life, but — and maybe Ian had shared with Portia some of their ups and downs — I just think Portia was ready. All of us, in our 30s, get to this age where you’re like, “I’m ready.” Ian and her had a prior friendship and it felt like they had both had relationships where they learned a lot so it was like, this feels safe. This feels good. Maybe we weren’t both perfect in the past, but let’s try this out. And I think that there’s something friendly and light and fun in their relationship, even though there’s a lot of drama.
Kofi, as soon as the trailer dropped, fans on X started rooting for Quinn and Seth without even knowing what he’s about. Should audiences trust your character?
SIRIBOE Yes, until proven otherwise. I saw graffiti on a wall that I took a picture of recently, funny enough, that says “trust” in big words and then underneath it says, “but verify.” I think the verification comes from tuning in. But even me playing Seth, I didn’t know if I should trust him. Every page I was like, “What the f-ck? What is he about to do?” I was just waiting for something because any time somebody comes into a show I’m like, “What’s the catch?” And the catch was a catch, but it was a very nuanced catch, a very honest catch. I think that was the part that I had to discover and align with because you won’t see it from the jump. There were assumptions, there was a lack of discernment, there was so much self-awareness you thought, but then the blindness that comes from emotion and from desire made what seemed so transparent and so safe somehow, in just a second, turn into something else. When I was reading [the script], I wanted to blame someone. I wanted to blame Seth, but I was like, hold up, I’ve got to do him justice because this is his truth. It was an amazing emotional journey.
You all come from series where you were either leads or regulars, what was it like coming into this as newbies with a well-established cast?
BROWNING I loved it so much because it was a show that already existed. We all got to watch it and soak it in. When you’re the lead of a show, you have to do a lot of work, not just your script work, you have to show up for your crew and your cast and your guest actors, which these women and Tyler did. They really welcomed us and that is a job in itself. But what I loved the most was watching. When you’re watching at home, you’re watching the characters, but when I was on set, I was watching my actor friends perform and I was amazed because at that point I could see the lines on the page and then see their work and go, “this is your interpretation and it’s beautiful.” That’s what I loved about being in this position.
SIRIBOE Coming from a show for seven years, starting with the show, kind of creating that identity from scratch, as Logan said, there’s a lot of pressure and weight and responsibility that comes with that. There was a lightness coming into this and being like, how can I be the best tool to support what already exists? I was really focused on what I meant to Quinn. That was the point of Seth. So it was nice, because I had a very concentrated effort. I could really relax and be the tool I needed to be and just think of the service.
BEAN I’m so used to being a part of ensemble cast, but this felt very concentrated. I didn’t get to really work with the other cast members. It was me and Jerrie’s storyline, and every day was fun and playful on set. They were like a fly on the wall in our lives. Jerrie is a phenomenal leader because she really sets the tone. It starts from the head down, the way the crew treats you, and the cast and the crew, when I came in, it felt like they had already known me for so long. Every day working on that show, I was so grateful. The experience was like none other.
What do you each have coming up next?
BEAN I have a movie, Both Eyes Open, in select theaters now and after Harlem, season three of P-Valley.
BROWNING I have a show called Criminal coming out on Amazon, starring Charlie Hunnam, Emilia Clarke, Luke Evans and Adria Arjona. It’s based on a comic book series and I’m playing an internal affairs detective, which I never thought was in the cards for me. It’s very different and dark and I can’t wait to see that myself.
SIRIBOE I’ve been working on a a big personal project. It’s called Tola. It’s a creative residency for artists here in New Orleans. We’ve been renovating for two years — two years too long — but we’re finally at the place that I always wanted to be. We’re doing a big opening exhibit to the public for the first time for Super Bowl February 6-8, and then taking it to L.A. for Frieze. It’s called “Black in Every Color, Art in Every Form,” so we’re talking about fine art, of course, but also photography, culinary artists, designers, execs, actors, musicians, the spectrum of art, and of course, Black art. That’s what I’m excited about right now.
***
Season three of Harlem is currently streaming on Prime Video with the first two episodes, followed by two episodes dropping weekly until the Feb. 6 finale.
English (US) ·