FOX’s newest hit comedy series “The Cool Kids” is taking viewers by storm. The show takes a comedic twist in the senior living home environment. Familiar faces such as David Alan Grier, Vicki Lawrence, Leslie Jordan, and Martin Mull are bringing nothing but laughs to the screen. The star-studded cast sat down with the Los Angeles Sentinel Newspaper at the Fox Studios Lot. Special guests Jackée Harry and Rick Fox also joined the conversation. The duo will appear in an episode as a couple.
LOS ANGELES SENTINEL NEWSPAPER: I will tweet about this soon but that brings me to my next question. As an artist, how has social media impacted your career?
DAVID ALAN GRIER: Well it gives me a direct platform to communicate with my fans. It took me a while to get the hang of it from a comedian point of view. The first couple of weeks they were told me to say something funny. I was just confused. But once I got the hang of it, I realized it’s all about being your authentic self.
LAS: What’s been one of your favorite parts about filming so far?
GRIER: Well it has to be working with Jackée of course!
JACKÉE HARRY: Oh yes, I agree! We are just a pair. It all just fits naturally. You don’t really have to force it.
LAS: I saw that comedic chemistry just a few moments ago between you two.
GRIER: You want to know something? We never worked together before. We’ve known each other for years, but never had to chance to actually work together so it is exciting.
LAS: Jackée, how are you using your platform to uplift upcoming black entertainment hopefuls?
HARRY: I try my best to recommend anyone as much as I can but make sure they put in the work first. I was even telling David about this. I started from the bottom. I was in the dressing room putting costumes for people, I did grip for cameras, I did it all. I have evolved over the years. Being a history teacher has taught me a lot.
LAS: Oh that’s great! I didn’t know you use to teach history.
HARRY: Yes. American history. I’ve always been a veracious reader. It taught me how to connect with the younger audience. I’m honest with them but sometimes I take their sides. It all depends on the situation.
LAS: Rick Fox, if you could go back in time and give yourself advice what would it be?
RICK FOX: One thing I pride myself on is I’m able to get up quickly from mistakes and not be paralyzed by them. I would give myself the advice to get up even quicker if possible. It’s all about failing as soon as possible. Fail as much as you can. I try to instill that in my son too.
LAS: Do most people believe your journey was easy?
FOX:. I’ll use my son as example. He sees me on television, movies, and all of that but he only sees the highlight reel. He doesn’t’ really see the struggles. If the highlight reel of my life movie is 3 minutes then I have over 3 hours of nothing but failures. People are making the failures drown out the potential. It’s the hard work that becomes your championship moment. All of those moments eventually wash away.
“The Cool Kids” appears on the FOX Network.
