- The most valuable thing that the show has given me
is friendship amongst all of these ladies and the fellas.
I'm just so happy that I have them and they're so talented,
but they're also my friends and we have fun on set,
and we'll always be close outside of set.
- I've gained family members,
and what really is there in life but family
and people that you can be yourself around?
- My gosh, the amount of love I feel every single day.
'Grown-ish' has given me some of the best friends
that I'm ever gonna have.
- It's definitely community,
in terms of what the show has offered us.
To have such an incredible cast,
and for that to be matched with the crew
that joins us every season, is really special.
Hey, we're the cast of 'Grown-ish.'
- And these are the top seven ways we have grown
since Season 1.
- [Emily Arlook] One way I've grown since Season 1
is the courage to take more risks,
both on set and I think that translates off set,
because I get very nervous quite often.
And sometimes I'm like, "Oh, I have this idea.
"Maybe I should try it. And should I and should I not?"
And then I get too scared,
I'm like, "I don't wanna waste people's time
"and if they don't like it —"
It's so easy to get in my head,
so I'm like, "I'm not gonna do it."
And then, of course, I regret it,
and when it's too late, it's too late forever.
And I think that that's kind of a metaphor for life,
quite often, is it's like, you get one shot
and, like, leave it on the floor,
and if it works, it works.
If not, at least you tried.
So, I think taking more risks,
that is something that I will take with me.
- The way I've grown since Season 1 is becoming better independently.
Living independently, responsibility,
the grown-up things, the 'Grown-ish' things.
That's been it for me.
- I've grown in a lot of ways.
One, I've grown as an actress.
I have also grown in learning how to speak my mind.
Like, we have the best costume
and glam people ever on the show,
and I remember in Season 1,
I would be scared to ask for eyeliner
or a little bit of extra makeup.
And now, I'm not scared.
Now I'll be like, "I don't like this, I like this.
"Can I have my hair this way?"
So, I've been learning to speak up,
and I've also learned that you can have fun
while you're working.
I work really, really hard,
and a lot of times I tend to get lost in that sauce
and not enjoy myself.
So, you know, being with people that I love,
and who constantly make me laugh and uplift me,
it was like, "Oh, I can do both."
I definitely think Jazz has taught me to take no [bleep],
and 'Grown-ish' has taught me how to cuss.
I didn't cuss before the show,
and now I have a really big potty mouth. It's bad.
- I love it so much.
- It's bad. [Laughs]
- One way I've grown since Season 1
is really guided by my character, Zoey,
of being OK messing up.
That was a big lesson for me.
I think, especially, with my character
being a year older than me,
I feel like it was helpful to, kind of, go through
the general ups and downs of just being a human, existing.
And then, even shooting a show,
I feel like that's an exercise in being OK messing up.
You know, we come in and 'Grown-ish' was a big experiment.
All of us coming together from totally different,
kind of, backgrounds and experiences
to try and figure out what's our funny
what resonates with us,
like where can we take our characters?
It was a real collective effort,
and I think part of us being OK failing
allowed us to experiment in ways
that really freed us up to say,
"Let's try an episode like this.
"Let's try an episode that plays in the dark.
"It's a bottle episode.
"Let's try an episode that's an homage to 'Homecoming.'
"Let's try an episode that's tackling these huge subjects."
It really came out of a fearlessness
to know that, even if we messed up,
we're really happy that we attempted it.
Honestly, this is actually a perfect example.
High risk, high reward,
messing up but coming up with the funniest stuff ever
is Trevor.
I mean, he is so down to take a scene and make it his own,
and sometimes it leads us down a rabbit hole,
but so many times, some of our favorite Aaron moments
and group moments are in response to him
just, like, living in the moment
and saying what feels true to him and his character.
- They are very correct.
I think I'm always just trying to have a good time,
and I like to be challenged.
So, I mean, I think that's part of the reason
why I don't really look at my script as much,
so I can, like, try and, like, walk the line
of do I know it or not?
And that, like, gets my stomach churning. It gets me excited.
But yeah, I definitely am that person. Yes.
And I'm always trying to make someone laugh
while they're, like, doing a scene,
I'm, like, behind the camera doing something.
I like to make it fun, man.
- I hate the fact that it feels like
we're throwing Trevor under the bus at all times.
- He's the only person we name check.
- One way I've grown since Season 1 of 'Grown-ish'
is what to do with my money.
I feel like such an adult when I talk about that lately,
but, you know, it's important to do some things
for your future and for your family
and for yourself, especially, but yeah.
- One way I've grown since Season 1
is just education on the world.
You know, I grew up in a different time and before internet.
And so, being on the show and unlearning a lot of things
that I learned growing up,
and just being around Yara and Chloe
and just the cast has really educated me on the world,
and what's going on.
And it's made me a lot more passionate about my community.
We all just grew as artists.
You know, comedy was - I mean, not for Yara, obviously,
because she came from 'Black-ish,'
but for all of us, I think comedy was a learning experience.
And working with an ensemble,
and just really learning timing,
and just growing up ourselves, individually
and with our characters. You know,
we're all different from our characters,
Emily and I, in particular, are a lot older
than our character.
So it was very interesting understanding
the way the world works now versus how we were growing up.
- To eat a little bit better.
I've gotten to the point to where
now, what I eat shows externally
and just physically, like, energy-wise.
So today doesn't count, 'cause I had, you know,
some bad things today.
Some very deep-fried chicken
and some, you know, barbecue sauce, some fries,
But typically, you know, I'm trying to do just oatmeal,
egg whites, spinach, some grilled chicken, you know?
- We've known each other for so many years at this point,
and especially coming back for Season 4,
we had been so isolated for so long,
and it was such a breath of fresh air to be reunited.
- For Season 4, the writers gave everyone their,
like, justice, as far as
not only wrapping up their story line,
but being able to tackle,
like, some real, heavy, emotional things.
- My favorite thing about going into Season 4
is just the ticking clock
of, you know, the anticipation of graduation. [Laughs]
Because there are things that need to get done
in all of these characters' lives before,
if they are, graduating.
So it's just everything becomes a lot more important
to them, as well as to the fans.
- It definitely felt like a graduation when we were filming.
[Laughs]
We were filming those scenes, like, as we started the season.
So it was a bit bittersweet because we were like,
OK, we're graduating from this college experience,
this college life,
but we're also, like, graduating together as a whole,
but then again tomorrow, we're gonna be starting the season.
[Laughs]
- I think watching the people around me
just elevate each day,
get better at what we're doing,
just as actors, and as people, you know what I'm saying?
I think, just in the way that we've,
you know, opened up to one another and communicated,
and we've realized that
it doesn't have to happen on your own,
this growing up thing. It always helps to, you know,
talk to someone and to have friends
that are willing to listen.
You know, every time we have, like, a premiere
or something, I always, like, kind of get into the group text
like, "Wow, I'm grateful to work alongside such talented,
"you know, actors and good people."