Grace Byers Talks Quinn’s Transformational Arc in ‘Harlem’ Season 2

Image via Amazon Studios

I’m going to say it, but I think Season 2 is even better than the first. How did you feel about it?

I’ve been on a few TV shows now, and whether it’s TV or a movie, anytime there’s a sequel, another season, I feel exactly the way you do: How is this going to either level up, top the first, match the first, be a nice continuation of the first? I was just so happy with the work that we produced when we were on set and just even more thrilled to see how everything came together in the end. I really do believe that people are going to feel the same way that you and I both do, which is that this is such a worthy and wonderful follow-up to Season 1. 

In season 2, the characters’ personalities, their anxieties, and their troubles are more distinct, specifically for Quinn. Can you talk about the challenges of adding more depth to this character who at first came off as more shallow?

A lot of this is Tracy’s brilliance. I tend to end up getting cast as people who are rich, who have a lot of money, or who are very privileged. I was really reticent to step into a role that was like that. So when Tracy and I were chatting about it last year, it was so important that we showed Quinn, and we see this with all the characters, but it was important that we show Quinn as somebody who was extremely human, very flawed, very relatable, like we all are; just really erring on the side of her humanity. In Season 1, there’s an introduction to Quinn starting the journey of discovering her identity in this phase in her life. In Season 2, you see her deep diving even more into that. If I could put it all in a nutshell, it’s really about the journey of the deeper dive journey of identity for her.

She discovers a lot of things about herself in different realms, and we see this playing in the channels of sexuality for sure. It really is so beneficial for this kind of representation because a lot of people are going to relate to Quinn’s journey in a whole other way. What’s beautiful about that is that we see, in more ways than one, that money is not the answer to happiness, and that money can’t fix everything. We know this already, but we see it at play here. I just loved having that exposure and that kind of spin on the idea of, well, what does this privileged girl know about struggle? 

The mental health aspect in this season was not only relatable but very accurate and true to what a lot of people are dealing with. How was it to portray this moment for Quinn where she realizes, “I’m heartbroken, but this is deeper than that”?

It was delicious. As an artist, you live for scripts like this. I have always wanted to delve into characters that were multifaceted, that had many different layers to them, that there was more to the eye when it came to who they were and their struggles. I can show the colors of a character’s emotions and their personality.

My background is in drama, so comedy is fairly new for me. It’s a new venture within these past few years. So to be able to dip back into that and to find that mixture was a wonderful challenge. I’ve never done this before. I’m either doing dramas, or I’m doing comedy. They’re both very deeply intertwined, and some of the best comedy is rooted in drama. But to be able to fluctuate in the way that Quinn does was not easy, and it was really exciting to be able to undertake that challenge. 

Their friendship is the core and the heart of this show. What does it mean for you as a woman to be part of a show that accurately depicts not only friendships between women, but also friendships between Black women and minorities, which is often what keeps us going in the hardest times of our lives?

Absolutely. It’s so vital. It’s essential. I look at my own friend group, which in a lot of ways reflects the friend group that’s on Harlem. If you have an excellent friend group, which is harder to come by as you get older, your circle starts to get smaller and smaller, but if you have those few friends that really have your back and you’re able to have those safe environments, those cushions of vulnerability that you can land on softly in moments of difficulty and struggle, it’s like no other.

I’m fortunate to be able to have that in my own life with the women of color in my circle and the way that we’re able to have each other’s backs. To be able to depict and reflect that in Harlem is personally important and deeply special for me. The bonus is that the cast all really do love each other, and we really do share a very special friendship outside of the work that we do. We deeply care for one another, so it’s something that feels very organic. the chemistry is easy, and we’re deeply supportive of one another. So I’m also doubly blessed to be able to have that too.

What I love about this show is they’re all thriving in their own ways, but they’re also struggling in different parts of their lives, which is normal. 

That’s right. There’s also self-judgment, right? You look at your life and you say, “Well, my life looks like this on this side, so why am I having to deal with this on this side?” It’s just exploring that dichotomy and understanding that that’s part of what it means to be human and complex. I did a post earlier this year where I spoke about just 2022 being overwhelming in a lot of ways. I didn’t say whether it was positive or negative, but I said overwhelming. The response I got, with me currently expecting, people tried to turn it and say, “Well, you’re pregnant. Look at the bright side.” 

It really started to trigger a conversation. We need to make more space for each other when there are wonderful, amazing things going on in our lives and when there are overwhelming things that are going on in our lives. We are not a one-trick pony as human beings. We are very faceted, we are very dimensional. When we make room and space for those dichotomies to exist at the same time, we make more space and room for grace and humanity.

And it also doesn’t make you ungrateful.

Absolutely. It could be just a circumstance or a moment or a season. It doesn’t mean that this is the definition of your entire life or anything like that. All of these conversations are so apropos right now, especially as we look at the way Harlem’s been doing that. There are so many positive things that are happening in each of these girls’ lives. Then there are struggles that they’re dealing with as well. We get to see them negotiate and navigate both, and do it with a support group, sometimes trying to do it by themselves. I really hope that when people see the second season, they’re able to feel seen in a lot of areas of their lives. That would be beautiful.