Cast of Hulu's 'Queenie' talks about show's heart

The Hulu original series, "Queenie," tells the story of a Jamaican British woman who confronts the realities of living between cultures and dealing with a break-up. In this episode of ABC's On the Red Carpet Storytellers Spotlight, Dionne Brown, who plays titular character Queenie Jenkins, and Bellah, who plays best friend Kyazike, speak on the show's meaning and their connection to their characters.

Brown felt a deep kinship to her character, as she felt that the struggle with achieving happiness as a 25-year-old filled with uncertainty was relatable.

"I'm trying to remember what that felt like for me in my younger 20s, like, 'Oh, no, I thought... I'd be here and I'd have these things, and these things would make me happy, and now that I don't have them, what does my happiness look like?'" Brown said.

She went on to say, "I didn't know that other women felt like this. I thought I was the only one."

Bellah also appreciated getting to be a part of such a relatable story, and she sees the heart of the show as a story of connection between girls and the importance of making mistakes.



"It's the girlhood," she explained. "It's Queenie being messy and that being okay. It's Kyazike being her friend that she calls. It's just about leaning on community, and knowing that you're you are not alone."

The star felt lucky enough to find that type of female friendship for herself on the set of "Queenie," with her becoming close with the actress who plays her onscreen best friend.

"At the beginning, we [Brown and I] were like, 'Okay, two Black girls, we're doing this and it's fun, and it's amazing," Bellah said. "As the series went on, and as we were filming, there was this deep sense of sisterhood and understanding, and the long days we were doing together and the jokes that we were cracking together."

Through the story of "Queenie," and storytelling in general, Brown hopes that viewers will feel included and experience a personal connection to the titular character's journey.

"What I love about the art of storytelling [is] the relatability, to see yourself in characters, the ability to understand that you're not alone, and that there's someone somewhere in the world going through the exact same thing as you, and it's just painted differently with words with song, with acting, with media, with anything," Brown shared. "It's beautiful."

Watch "Queenie," streaming now on Hulu.

Luke Richards, Alexis Johnson-Fowlkes, Eric Corrales and Emma Newman contributed to this story.

Disney is the parent company of this Hulu and this station.