Adapted from Octavia E. Butler's critically-acclaimed novel of the same name, Kindred centers on Dana, a recent Los Angeles transplant and aspiring screenwriter. The 26-year-old Black woman inexplicably finds herself jumping through time back to an Antebellum plantation during the 1800s. Somehow, a waiter named Kevin gets whisked away along with Dana. The two must navigate the racially-charged period and figure out a way home, but there are other players in the narrative.
Luke, portrayed by Austin Smith, stands as an enslaved foreman on Tom Weylin's tobacco farm. The mysterious Olivia, played by Sheria Irving, is a defiant Black woman who lives close to the Weylins and has surprising ties to Dana. Lastly, there's Sarah, portrayed by Sophina Brown, an enslaved woman who despises her boss, Margaret Weylin, for personal reasons. Brown, Irving, and Smith recently spoke with CBR about heritage, adapting Butler's novel, and their characters.
CBR: What about the script and the Kindred universe really hooked you?
Sophina Brown: Definitely the way Octavia Butler brings the present to really confront the past. It tackles these themes and topics in a way no other project really does. It is fascinating. As a reader and as a viewer, you are left always to ask yourself, "What would I do, bringing all my resources, wisdom, and knowledge into Antebellum south? What would I do?" Every viewer is going to answer that question in a different way, and hopefully, it's an active answer.
Austin Smith: There is a thriller aspect, a mystery aspect to the book that I think is what makes it a page-turner. You really try to figure out why Dana is being called back in time. When you finally get to the end of the book, and you realize the purpose she was sent back there to achieve, you are like, "Whoa. I did not see that coming." I think [Creator] Branden [Jacobs-Jenkins] has expertly set that up in the script. It's just such an amazing story to be a part of. It blends all these genres and inspires such an important and necessary conversation. It's such a pleasure and a privilege to be a part of it.
Sheria Irving: Yeah, a pleasure, a privilege, and an honor to be part of the Octavia Butler universe. It's amazing. It's tremendous to be part of this ground-breaking series that is the first screened adaptation of her work. That's wonderful. Also, I love her writing. My favorite book of hers is Fledgling. The way that she creates characters and creates these worlds, I am really smitten by her work. It was a no-brainer to be part of this project.
There is some disturbing material in this show. Were there any particular moments that didn't sit well with you?
Smith: Yes, there were, but we all recognize that our discomfort pales in comparison to that of our ancestors, who actually experienced this brutality with no respite or getting in a car at the end of the day and going back to the apartment. It's the way that Branden has included some aspects of American slavery that will be very surprising. Some of the more pedestrian ways in which slavery is brutal are reflected in this series. That is one of the ways I think this will be different from other shows that deal with the subject matter.
Irving: Just to piggyback, the job of an actor is to tolerate discomfort. Secondly, the job of us, as Black people, especially in this story, is to honor those enslaved people that came before us... our ancestors. That was a tremendous honor and goal of ours. I think we all had that in our heads to make our ancestors proud, to make Octavia Butler proud, as well.
Can you introduce us to your characters and how they bounce off of Dana and Kevin?
Irving: I play Olivia. Olivia is a fierce, sharp-minded, resourceful woman. She is Dana's long-lost mother, who Dana rediscovers. She is a key in Dana returning home. She, too, is a time traveler. Olivia is a modern-day woman taken back into the 1800s and has to establish a new identity and maintain her freedom.
Smith: I play Luke, who is one of the enslaved people on the Weylin plantation. Having grown up with Tom, he has a little more proximity to power, so to speak. He still doesn't have as much agency as he wants, but Luke is somebody who thinks that he will be able to leverage his intellect, his resourcefulness, and his skill to make a better life for him and his family. I think Dana and Olivia represent opportunity and possibility. He is hopeful that some combination of his skill and whatever this power they have to show up and leave whenever they do -- he is hopeful that some combination of that will lead to an improvement of his station.
Brown: I play Sarah. I am, first and foremost, a mother who will do anything for my children. I am also the head of the cook house, so I am the enslaved cook of the Weylin plantation and in control of everyone's food source. With that comes a bit of authority, a bit of agency, and more power than some people think I have.
What does she make of Dana and Kevin when they show up at the Weylin doorstep?
Brown: From Sarah's perspective, I'm like, "Something is going on here. This enslaved woman has some sort of power over this white man." I see that right away, and I don't like that. I am very challenged by anyone who has more power than I do -- that looks like me, at least. I have to figure out, very much in terms of Olivia and Dana, how to quell these wild cards that could come in and disrupt the order that I keep and who could turn a lot of my plans upside down. I have issues. I have issues...
Catch Kindred streaming now on Hulu.