Written by: Thegoldenmahogany
Who would have known that Our Kind of People as we know it relied on the career path of Yaya Dacosta as she deliberated taking the role? The talented Black actress who plays the lead in the upcoming TV show felt it was time for her to take on a more prominent character. She stated:
“Every time someone came up to me to tell me they loved April Sexton, the next thing out of their mouth was that they needed to see more of her,” DaCosta said in a recent interview. “And it echoed something in my spirit that was like: ‘Yes, I want to do something where I have more screen time, where I have more responsibility. I can carry a show. It’s time.’”
After six seasons in her previous role as April Sexton, she made the huge step of taking the job as single mother, Angela Vaughn.
According to the New York Times, Created by Karin Gist (Star, Mixed-ish, Girlfriends) and inspired by Lawrence Otis Graham’s provocative, best-selling nonfiction book of the same name, Our Kind of People premiered Tuesday.
It follows a single mother named Angela Vaughn (DaCosta), who moves from Boston to Oak Bluffs to start a Black hair care line on a property that she inherited from her late mother, once a maid on the island. But when Leah Franklin-Dupont (Nadine Ellis), a socialite and member of the Franklin-Dupont dynasty, refuses to accept her family into the coastal enclave, Angela uncovers a dark secret about her mother’s past that threatens to unravel the fabric of this exclusive, tight-knit community.
It almost never hit screens as an earlier adaptation of Our Kind of People never made it past the development stage, but Gist and Lee Daniels — who had previously worked together as executive producers on the Fox musical drama series Star — were more successful. They began working on their own version in the summer of 2019, and earlier this year, Fox executives greenlighted a 12-episode first season.
Being that Yaya lasted six seasons on a hit show and made her character a beloved one, this new lead beside other Black entertainers are well deserved. And in 2021, there is now another amazing Black woman conquering her craft and not only playing a role in a hit show, but serving as representation for others.
