Amir never has to survive a homophobia storyline in A Different World, and Jordan Aaron Hall says that’s the point.
In Netflix’s sequel series, Hall plays Amir, a Hillman student whose first year ends in a messy love triangle and a cliffhanger. Hall spoke with BLKCinema.com about joining a show with this much legacy, why Amir gets to simply exist, his storyline with Jalen and Hazel and the scene he asked showrunner Felicia Pride to add.
On joining the ‘A Different World’ legacy
Hall said stepping into the franchise came with responsibility, but also freedom, because Amir is a brand-new character.
“I think it was an honor to have an opportunity like this bestowed upon you. When you know something means so much to the culture and to Black television at large and to the world at large, you can feel a sense of responsibility to step into a piece like this and to make sure that it’s honoring the integrity of the original show, while also taking liberty to push it forward to another generation,” Hall said. “I think all six of us felt that sense of responsibility. And for me, I felt a different kind of responsibility, yet freedom, because he’s not a character that is tied to the old show in any way. I get to show up and bring my own flavor to this character and this world in a very contemporary way, which I think is beautiful.”
He also said skepticism about revivals isn’t unfounded.
“I think the preconceived notions aren’t completely inaccurate. There needs to be a push for greater original storytelling, for new stories to be broken, for us to be giving room and space to new creators and new ideas, and I think that’s where a lot of people’s frustrations are coming from,” Hall said. “But I felt empowered in this version, because it’s more of a sequel and less of a reboot. You don’t always get to have the people with you in a continuation, and I think our show is different because we get to have the people that made the show iconic originally alongside us.”
Why Amir’s story skips the bullying trope
Hall said Amir’s arc reflects a story that doesn’t need to center pain.
“I just don’t think it’s needed, in terms of where we are as a society and as a people. Not to say that there is not validity to going there, but I think that there is more to be said about our joy and our coming-of-age-ness as queer people,” Hall said. “Ava DuVernay talks about the concept of normalization, which is that this person can exist in this world as themselves, and we don’t have to tokenize it or make a moment of it. I think Felicia, whether or not she was conscious of it, did that. She let Amir really exist as he is, and didn’t necessarily feel the need to make a political statement out of him.”
“The statement comes from him existing, from him finding love, from him falling out of love, from him relating with his friends or not. That is where the story lies,” he continued. “The familiar thing is to choose the trope where he gets bullied, but I think we’ve seen enough of that, and this show got to portray somebody that is nuanced beyond what we’ve seen typically of queer characters on screen.”
On Amir, Jalen and Hazel
Hall said he was caught off guard when he learned Amir’s storyline would involve Jalen, who his best friend Hazel had fallen for.
“The way that they get there is kind of messy, and I will give credit to Felicia Pride for making that messy. When I first heard that we were going there, I was like, what are y’all doing?” Hall said. “I think it does happen to a lot of people, where they end up in a situation where somebody falls for them that isn’t typically what they would experience. And I love that Jalen was genuinely just uncertain, as opposed to having this fear-based wall. He acted more out of a place of, I genuinely have never felt like this before, and I think that is refreshing.”
“It asks a lot of what friendship means. What does it mean when you both fall for the same person? Hazel was very hurt, rightfully so, and she hurt Amir because of that,” he continued. “I think their friendship is so beautiful because they find a way to come back to each other even within all of that.”
He also praised how Hazel’s anger is written.
“What I do love is that Hazel never says anything that’s outwardly homophobic,” Hall said. “When she talks to Jalen, she says, you could have just told me you were gay. She didn’t say there was a problem with him being gay. Her problem was that he lied to her.”
The Amir and Jalen scene Jordan Aaron Hall asked for
Hall revealed that the emotional office scene between Amir and Jalen in the season’s final stretch exists because he pushed for it.
“Felicia wouldn’t mind me saying this. I asked her to put that in,” Hall said. “We were going to season break, and we were still figuring out what happened to them, and I said, Felicia, I would be so upset if we went to season break and I never see anything happen between them. And I was so grateful that she listened to me, because we got a draft maybe a few days later, and she had changed it and put that there. That scene is so important, and it was so beautiful the way it’s done.”
He credited his scene partner for the moment.
“That’s a credit to Eli, who plays Jalen. He was so openhearted in that scene and got so emotional with me,” Hall said. “By the time I finished watching the season, just as a fan, I was like, I want them together. They are so cute.”
Jordan Aaron Hall on the Season 1 cliffhanger
The finale leaves Amir facing a warrant after he goes to a protest instead of meeting Jalen. Hall said Amir is left reeling.
“I think in that moment, it’s just defeat. Amir is feeling very defeated, and he’s also feeling very fearful in a lot of ways, because I don’t think he knows what happens next,” Hall said. “He went to the protest. He did stand up for something that he thought was right. It’s just he ended up forgetting another part of his life that he needed to get to. I think that’s a testament to being young and maybe missing a priority or responsibility that you have, and it sucks that it comes to a head in that way.”
A Different World has since been renewed for Season 2, and Hall said there’s more to Amir’s past still to come.
“From what Felicia has told me, there are some reasons as to why some things have happened, and of course I can’t give them away,” he said. “But we’ll get a little more of Amir’s backstory and find out why it is that that’s happening.”
The OGs and the new cast
Hall said the original cast welcomed the newcomers with open arms.
“The OGs are so brilliant and legendary and skilled at what they do, so to get to be on a show with them and to breathe the same air as them was such a gift,” Hall said. “They could have been super closed off and not open to us, and they were not. They were super open and really let us take up space, and encouraged us to go out there and do something that was ours. That is something I will always cherish.”
He said the six new leads clicked from the start.
“The six of us had this instant chemistry, and it happened at the chemistry read when we all came out to LA and tested for the network. You could feel it in the room,” Hall said. “We all went out that night together and got drinks, and thank God we got the show, because if not, it would have been really awkward.”
“Darryl told us, you guys stay together, and we always have taken that with us. We’re still so tight, and we love each other like we’re family,” he continued. “I think that’s also a testament to Mama Allen. She is so good at fostering a family environment.”
Featured image photo credit: Netflix
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