In “Raising Kanan,” Krystal Joy Brown portrays Renee Timmons, an anger management therapist who changes the lives of her students. Brown previously starred on Broadway as Eliza in Hamilton.
Brown shared with rolling out how honored she is to have a role in this series.
How do you approach the roles you’ve played since each character is so different?
Every role that I take on is so dramatically different. Eliza was a very feminine mother in nature. And Renee is a therapist and part of something that we’re starting to have more conversations about: mental health. This role is a fun balance of being open and meditative, calm, and also being a boss.
Has this opportunity opened your eyes to the real-life mental health issues people face?
Absolutely. I think it’s incredible that this particular show is centered around a woman. She’s technically the breadwinner, and she has all of these things [going on]. And I think we don’t often get to sit and be introspective; we’re about survival many times. With Renee, she has to figure out how she’s going to break through and the ways to best break through with people who either can’t imagine doing that for themselves or are highly resistant. So this is an opportunity for us to look at ourselves and say what we truly deserve, which is the luxury of self-analysis.
