'Dear White People' season 3 is actually 'brighter' and not 'super dark' for Sam, teases Logan Browning
Netflix's ultra woke black-comedy 'Dear White People' made a significant shift in terms of their narrative in the recently released third season, by focusing on exploring individual character arcs more than their activism this time. While fans are in two minds deciding whether the shift was apt or not, creator Justin Simien and lead actress Logan Browning would like to remind everyone how the show's extremely meta-theme of growth only helps things 'bloom' further.
MEA Worldwide (MEAWW) caught up with Simien and the entire cast at the 'Dear White People' season 3 red carpet ahead of the show's Netflix premiere on Friday, August 2, and we were able to get some pretty intriguing insights from both Browning and Simien regarding the new season's plot.
"I actually feel like this season (three) is brighter," remarks Browning who plays the role of the main character, Sam White. Browning's Sam can be seen leaving behind her titular radio show in pursuit of her thesis, and this comes after she underwent some major grief and loss in the previous season. Season 2 saw Sam coping with the loss of her father, and then her reaching back to her roots for some much-needed reconnection. And now she's back and better than ever as we see her explore the individual aspects and nuances of the character, beyond her very vocal activism via the radio show.
But even though Sam is done with Dear White People and advocating against the various injustices and bias faced by the African-American community in the US, Browning says her character only grows further despite such a crucial element of her arc being dropped right at the beginning. For that, we have the traumatic events in her life that we saw in season 2 to thank. "When you deal with something traumatic, it's always a part of you, but you're always looking for the light at the end of the tunnel - what makes everything better and what's the purpose behind it all. So that's what Sam's doing.," she explains. "She's a little bit lost this season because she's really trying to figure out who she is after all of this trauma, but I would say in this season, she's actually in bloom. That's what the theme is (for this season) - this yellow, spring awakening theme. I don't think it's super dark for her."
As for Simien's take on the whole thing, he gushed about Netflix's keenness in exploring a sudden, vastly different essence, saying: "I have seasons worth stories to share and it's so happened that you know, Netflix really was interested in pursuing them!"
'Dear White People' season 3 premiered this August 2 and all three seasons are available for streaming on Netflix now.