The season finale of NBC’s “Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist” airs TONIGHT, Sunday (05-03-20). The musical dramedy centers on Zoey Clarke (Jane Levy) a smart computer coder who magically begins to hear people’s innermost thoughts through song.
John Clarence Stewart (Netflix’s “Luke Cage” and “What If”) stars as Simon, a new co-worker whom Zoey bonds with over the death of his father. After a season of ups and downs, we were left with the cliff hanger as Zoey and Simon debate on moving their friendship into the relationship zone. EUR’s Jill Munroe talked with Stewart about his journey to the role, Black men discussing grief on TV, his favorite musical numbers of the season and how he’s been keeping himself occupied during the Covid-19 crisis.
JILL: How have you been doing during the pandemic?
JOHN: I cry sometimes because it’s hard, I listen to music, I dance. I’m learning to be creative just for me. So much of my creativity is wrapped up in my vocation, so I’m learning how to reclaim that. Writing, reading, dancing, singing. Just doing whatever I need to do to feel good. And lastly, probably the most important thing is reaching out to my community because it’s easy to feel disconnected.
JILL: You have a diverse background, theatre, Luke Cage. On this show – a drama with an integrated cast – having a Black man as a lead and love interest as a lead character isn’t the standard. What has that experience been like for you?
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JOHN: What drew me to the show initially was Simon and his arc, specifically what he’s going through. This idea of grief and loss is something that I’m very familiar with, I lost my father 13 years ago. When I read the pilot I thought, what an opportunity for me as a Black man in this project where we use music to talk about the inner world.
There are a lot more examples in media now than there used to be of Black men navigating emotional spaces, and traumas and grief. But, I don’t think it happens enough, so I’m happy to be a part of that arc in the legacy of television.
As far as being a budding love interest, Jane- who is the lead – and Skylar – who is the triangle, the trifecta in the show it was important for all of us, well, I’ll speak for myself – is that there are not these tropes. Austin (the show’s creator) has been very deliberate about that. In Simon’s journey through grief, which is what connects them and starts that budding part of the romance, that it’s not nefarious or coming out of ill will. But that it’s coming from a human and vulnerable space, and I think that’s honest.
JILL: You get to show off all aspects of your talent with this show. Your acting, your comedy chops, drama, singing and dancing. What is it like rehearsing for this. How far in advance to you record the songs? Do you know at the start of the season what songs you’ll be working on? And at what point do you add in the choreography?
JOHN: We don’t know at the beginning of the season what songs we’ll be singing. That happens and sometimes fluctuates during the season. We’ll get wind about a song and then it will change within two or three days. We have to then record another version of the song, and then we have to change the choreography. Stuff like that.
There’s a lot of structure to it because it’s necessary, we have to have that. But there are a lot of unknowns. For me, coming from the theatre and having done TV- it’s like you said, a unique blend. Everything that I’ve done has been outside of my comfort zone. Singing and dancing on this level with people I admire and respect – being choreographed by one of the most iconic choreographers of our time – Mandy Moore – and realizing as time has gone on that I can do it. It’s all in me. I can do it, and I can do it well. I can say that without pride, but with a sense of confidence. When I booked the show, I didn’t know that I had that. When I went into the audition, my thought was that I wanted to make my dad proud.
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JILL: How much time do you spend rehearsing.
JOHN: Sometimes an hour, maybe an hour and a half. Sometimes it’s less than that. Jane is pretty much in every scene, so there’s even less time for her.
JILL: Do you have a favorite performance from the season?
JOHN: Yeah, it’s “Happier” and number I did with India de Beaufort (“Jessica”) she’s incredible. She’s an incredible actor, singer. She played my fiancé and there were a few things that I loved about it. One, there’s the believe that when a relationship ends there has to be a lot of vitriol there, we push against that archetype by showing love in transition, which can by difficult in some ways. Two, the song was supposed to be one person singing, then Austin had the brilliant idea to make it a duet. And when I listened to the words, it sounds like a conversation between two people, and it fit so well.
The season finale of “Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist” airs TONIGHT, (and every Sunday) on NBC at 9:00 PM.
EUR Extra Coverage …
From “Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist,” Skylar Astin and John Clarence Stewart Take the Whisper Challenge:
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