Grounded in Comedy But Not Gimmicky: Sasha Leigh Henry Sets Up The Innovative BRIA MACK GETS A LIFE

By BILL HARRIS Special to The Lede Does Sasha Leigh Henry see imaginary friends everywhere now that she has successfully created BRIA MACK GETS A LIFE? The innovative Crave Original Comedy series, which debuts Friday, Oct. 13 with the first three episodes, focuses on the title character, a young Black woman freshly graduated from university, played by Malaika Hennie-Hamadi. Bria’s confidence is occasionally bolstered – for better or worse – by her invisible “hype girl,” known as Black Attack, played by Hannan Younis. “People who have seen the show tell me all the time that they just had a Bria and Black Attack moment, it’s super funny,” Henry admitted. “And my mom in particular thinks she really has it. She thinks she has nailed down what would make the perfect Bria and Black Attack situations, for them to get into some trouble. She’s always like, ‘oh, I thought of this funny scene you could use,’ and I’m like, ‘well, mom, why don’t we just put it in a notes folder, and at the end of the year, you can give it to me, so I can read them all at once.’ ” Helpful suggestions from friends and relatives aside, Henry has placed Bria at a crossroads as BRIA MACK GETS A LIFE begins. After seven long years getting her degree, Bria “Mack” McFarlane is hoping to move back home and take a break for a few months, or perhaps a year, or maybe even longer. But when Bria’s mother Marie, played by Leslie Adlam, shares that she has some substantial plans of her own, Bria is pushed to enter the workforce far sooner than she had imagined, and in ways that are far more irritating than she had ever envisioned. “For Bria, it’s such an alarming awakening, that it really has to jolt her into action,” Henry said. “The Marie character represents her generation so well, basically saying to Bria, ‘yeah, babe, we’d all love that. That’s what everyone would love to do. But there’s a reality and a practicality to the society we live in.’ So Bria is trying to preserve some semblance of what she wants, while also meeting the demands of reality. It’s fun to watch her be so wide-eyed and naively ambitious about certain things. And every so often she does get a win, it does go in her favour.” The idea for BRIA MACK GETS A LIFE notwithstanding, for the concept to really work as a TV show, Bria and Black Attack had to be cast properly. “I think you’re definitely right, nailing the chemistry between them was paramount,” Henry said. “I’m a huge fan of BROAD CITY, and with that character chemistry, I could watch those two girls do anything, or go anywhere. They could revive it, and the new season could be them in space, and I would still watch it.” So Henry explained that rather than identifying the top individual pick for Bria, and the top individual pick for Black Attack, and throwing them together afterward, the top five possibilities for Bria, and the top five possibilities for Black Attack, were all called in, and they read scenes in every possible combination. “It was a bit of an audition gauntlet,” Henry recalled. “But the synergy was really important, and it just jumped off the page when Malaika and Hannan were together in the room, in a really special way. And then the more we were talking to them after the audition, we found out that they have the same birthday, and it all felt very kismet the more we got to know about them.” Of course, when anyone describes BRIA MACK GETS A LIFE, it’s only natural to mention the Bria-Black Attack relationship first. It’s the hook that gets the most attention. But an admirable quality of the series is that it doesn’t overuse that element. “That’s something I was very mindful of, because I especially didn’t want Black Attack to become a gimmick,” Henry agreed. “Her presence wouldn’t be as impactful if she were around all the time. And it’s very easy, because they have such great chemistry, to want to put them together in every scene. But ultimately, it’s Bria Mack getting a life, and part of that means, we need to see what her swing is, or how she’s going to confront something on her own, and then the sidebar happens with Black Attack. You know, when something reaches its critical peak, then Black Attack comes in. So I’m glad to hear that landed with you. It’s still special when Black Attack comes into the scene. You feel a little bit excited, maybe even a little bit nervous. Where is this going to go? What’s going to happen here? What is she going to say?” Find out by watching BRIA MACK GETS A LIFE! billharristv@gmail.com @billharris_tv