[This story contains major spoilers from the series finale of Harlem.]
Tye (Jerrie Johnson), Camille (Meagan Good), Quinn (Grace Byers) and Angie (Shoniqua Shandai) got happy endings in each of their own ways in the series finale of Tracy Oliver‘s Harlem, with the characters least likely to settle down finding love and the ones who spent three seasons seeking out their better halves choosing themselves instead.
Wedding bells didn’t end up ringing for Angie, who called off her engagement to Mike (Luke Forbes) after their differences in opinion became too big to ignore, namely his inability to support her passion for acting. Yet, in a surprise move, Tye got down on bended knee and asked Eva (Gail Bean) to be her wife after facing her fear of true intimacy. Quinn, on the other hand, turned down a proposal of sorts to be Seth’s (Kofi Siriboe) primary partner in an ethically non-monogamous relationship, choosing instead to explore the possibility of single motherhood — no doubt inspired by Camille, who after giving birth, reunited with Ian (Tyler Lepley) in the final moments of episode six, “Dear Harlem,” creating the family he always wanted.
“Playing someone as self-accepting, self-loving, confident and vivacious, and bold and vulnerable and authentic as Angie allowed me to love myself more and fall in love with the pieces of me that I’ve been trying to carve off in order to conform,” Shandai tells The Hollywood Reporter of her character’s impact. “She makes me want to share my voice and share my music, and show up in my relationships differently. I’m so grateful to her for that lesson.”
Below, Shandai and Byers talk with THR about the series finale and the end of their characters’ journeys, as well as their hopes for Harlem to be revived down the line.
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The emotion of the baby shower scene in episode five, “Fear Factor,” was particularly moving in light of the series coming to an end. What was it like to film that moment?
GRACE BYERS It was emotional for all of us. We were all there crying and truly saying goodbye to one another. It felt like it was a double entendre because we meant the words both for our characters and for ourselves personally. For me, it also hit differently having recently had a baby and knowing what it means to have friends and girlfriends around you to support you during that time. So that actually moved me, too. The community moved me just as much as the event.
SHONIQUA SHANDAI It was beautiful and enlightening. I found myself crying for the old Shoniqua who didn’t feel like she had a sisterhood in the moments where she needed it the most, but now had those shoulders to lean on. Doing that scene allowed me to connect even greater with these ladies and share more vulnerable moments, and even made me more aware that there were always friends there. I just hadn’t allowed them to be, to get into the most vulnerable pieces of me. The baby shower scene, specifically, was a monumental marker of growth and stretching my ability to allow people in.
Shoniqua, it looked like your character’s story would be wrapped up with a wedding and instead it ended in a breakup. Were you surprised how things concluded with Angie and Mike?
SHANDAI Shoniqua was not surprised at all. Tracy is so brilliant that I knew what was going to happen in season three in season one. We were talking about it on set. “You’re going to meet this guy. He’s going to be a narcissist… it’s going to be this.” The brilliance of that, as an actress, is so beautiful because it allows you to deepen the arc. There are a lot of sets where actors — and kudos to them — are getting scripts and they have no idea [what’s going to happen] the week of, but that’s not the process of Tracy Oliver. I’m really grateful that she trusts us and values our input, but more so allows us the opportunity to really craft. If I hadn’t done that, maybe I wouldn’t have fallen in love so much in season two, because I want it to feel gut-wrenching. I want you to think that it’s going to work. I want Angie to fully be engaged so that the rip-away is even harder. So no, I wasn’t surprised, but I’m also really, really proud of Angie for choosing herself, for choosing her first love. There will be a man who’s able to accept you in all of the nuances that you are, that won’t want you to diminish or make yourself smaller or make your family smaller. I’m proud of my sister for choosing herself and knowing that she’s deserving of everything.
Quinn also chooses herself and decides to end things with Seth. How do you feel about where things ended for your character romantically, Grace?
BYERS It’s so funny because there’s this running joke with a lot of the execs as they talk about Quinn’s storyline. They’re like, “If it were me… I might have reconsidered that decision, Quinn.” But I do believe that it’s less about what she wasn’t choosing and more about what she was, and I think that’s what matters. I think that’s how we are in life and how we should be in life. People like to focus on loss more than they focus on gain. When you say no to something, you’re saying yes to something else. At the end of the day, no matter what it is you’re choosing, whether it’s your time, your peace, whatever it is, it’s so important for you to remind yourself of what you’re saying yes to. I think that that’s where we can applaud Quinn. To say, finally, without the influence of anybody or anything particularly, society or her mom or whoever else, she is saying yes to this and I think this is what we can celebrate for her.
Tracy said she originally was going to have Quinn go through a pregnancy journey in season three. Did she talk to you about that?
BYERS She did. I think it was a really great storyline, especially with her and her mom, like how that dynamic was going to play out, plus we already got introduced to all of Quinn’s family. And then it seemed like there was a world where Quinn could be like the mom of the group because she is so nurturing and so caring and loving. I believe the right choice, of course, was Camille because there’s so much around that and there were so many things that you could discuss, like the fertility journey, the possibility of potential termination. Like, what if I kept this baby, and what would this mean for me and/or me and Ian? I think we could cover more topics with her so I’m so glad that that’s the decision they made in the end because it did feel so right.
Quinn was kind of rooting for Ian and Camille the entire series—
BYERS Kind of?
Okay, she was.
BYERS She needs them to be together! They’re her story, they’re her fantasy storybook love.
Were you, in real life, hoping Ian and Camille ended up together?
BYERS I mean, that’s what it was all about. I did. Did you not, Shoniqua?
SHANDAI I was over Ian and Camille. They are so toxic.
BYERS This is where we are like our characters in the series.
SHANDAI They are. It’s like it’s a merry-go-round. Girl, get off the ride. Like maybe let them mature, like a Mr. Big, then come back later. Give us six seasons and then Ian can come back and they get back together. They needed to mature and grow, but they did. And that’s Tracy’s writing, but also the actors that play them, that you see them quickly have to adjust as you would in real life if there’s suddenly a pregnancy and a baby. You hope that both of you decide to put on your big girl, big boy boots and rise to the challenge and they both did masterfully.
Fans are already asking about the prospect of a Harlem movie with the show being canceled, what do you say to that?
SHANDAI Ask for it. Ask and it shall be given unto you.
BYERS Please. Make a petition. And sequels, right? Like Harlem One, Two, and Three. Yes, absolutely.
SHANDAI And then a spinoff later. Resuscitate us.
Speaking of sequels, Grace, we know Tracy’s working on the script for The Blackening 2. How are you feeling about revisiting that movie?
BYERS We really had a blast on The Blackening. The cast is super talented and very funny. And they were sick of us [on set]. Every three minutes, they were like, “Can y’all just do your job?” And we’re just over there having a ball. So I’m looking forward to the story that we’ll be telling in The Blackening 2, and so excited to reunite with the cast and looking forward to also collaborating with Tracy again, of course. So blessings all around.
Shoniqua, is music your focus at the moment?
SHANDAI Yes, I just dropped a new single called “Feel My Love” and the music video by Shea William Vanderpoort is out. He directed all of the Girls Trip musical episodes of Harlem. And then [I’ll release my] EP. A little snackula to whet the appetite.
Tracy said she might actually pursue the idea of Girls Trip the musical.
BYERS It needs to happen. Please, Broadway aficionados, let it happen.
SHANDAI And Shoniqua needs to star in it because I would love to.
BYERS Yes, [it should] happen with and only with Shoniqua.
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All three seasons of Harlem are currently streaming on Prime Video.
