“À La Carte” is a new drama series centered around the Black millennial dating experience.
Cast members Jenna Nolen, Jessie Woo, Kendall Kyndall, and Pauline Dyer talked to rolling out about their reactions to the script and their characters in the show as well.
What was your first reaction to the script and why did you choose this project?
Jenna Nolen: My first reaction to the script generally was like, “wow.” It’s a lot in six episodes. You have drama, comedy, and a lot of stuff going on, and it’s centered on mahogany. It really drew me in, especially my character, because she’s very complex.
Jessie Woo: My character’s lines are funny, so I was like, I would love to play a comedic role. You know, this is my first acting job, so I had been spending a year auditioning, and this is what I first got and it’s comedic. I get to explore sex in a very fun way.
Kendall Kyndall: What attracted me to my character was that he was me in a lot of ways. I have female friends, and he is the voice of reason for his friends, so I was like, “hey, why not dive into it.” On top of that, it’s an all-Black cast, and it’s about millennials. I’m a millennial, so we dive into a lot of issues that millennials have, especially when it comes to dating and being put on the side.
Pauline Dyer: I really liked a lot of parts of the script. It was created and written by Breanna Hogan. She’s an amazing, beautiful writer. She really made some authentic characters and you feel like you know them personally, and you feel like you have a mirror on yourself. I think all the characters are trying to come into their own in the professional sense, and also still exploring their identity and their sexuality, which are totally different.
How are you all similar to your characters?
KK: I’m very similar to my character, but there are some things that are different.
JN: Without saying much, I’ve gone through what my character goes through in the show, and so that hit close to home. It wasn’t that hard to tap into that emotion.
PD: I can relate to my character, but I’m very different from her. I think as actors we have to do our research and fill in for the things we didn’t go through that our characters are going through. The funny thing about my character was she was already Southern, and I’m from Mississippi, so I was like, what are the chances?
JW: My character is more free sexually, but I can relate to her being educated, free thinking, a smart mouth, and the life of the party. We do have a lot of similarities, while we have a lot of differences.
