Conversations with the Cast and Crew of ‘The Crossover’

Season One of the Disney+ series, The Crossover is available to stream on the network right now, and while we’ve already taken the time to review this dynamic and powerful coming-of-age story, there is so much to discuss when it comes to this incredible series. For this is also a labor of love, one that was years in the making, and the cast was supremely passionate about making it and for proof… look no further than the conversations we had the Executive Production team of the show: Kwame Alexander, Kimberly Harrison, and Damani Johnson. And with the cast of the series: Jayln Hall (Josh/Filthy), Amir O’ Neil (Jordan), Derek Luke (Chuck), Sabrina Revelle (Crystal), Deja Cruz (Maya), Skyla I’Lece (Alexis) and Trevor Bush (Vondie).
 
John Betancourt: For the producers of this show, what does it mean to have this poignant story arrive on television and for the cast, what does it mean to be part of this important project? 
 
Kwame Alexander: Well, you know, we started this process, John, right before the pandemic. And I think, you know, it's served during a period of uncertainty and hopelessness working on this project, which is so full of hope. And inspiration is served as sort of a balm, you know, that allowed us to sort of cross over into a space of hopefulness into a space of, of dreams do come true, which is the perfect thing. To answer your question, for me, this is a dream come true to see this book that I spent the last 10 years with traveling around the world reading the students to see it now be able to reach millions and millions of folks is… is otherworldly.
 
Kimberly Harrison: Same I mean, I'm just so excited for everyone to see it's full of hope, full of inspiration. But there's also representation, I mean, to be able to sit down and watch a show, and, you know, with your kids and see representation and see, you know, themselves up there, I mean, that… I'm just excited about that. My children particularly have not experienced that, you know, in quite a while so I'm excited for the whole world to see on The Crossover.
 
Damani Johnson: Oh, yeah, I… there's just so much about it, that makes me feel warm inside the making of it, the people involved with it, these two on screen with me (via Zoom). It's such… it's a family show on air and off air, and we just couldn't be more thrilled.
 
Jalyn Hall: It means the world to me. It's been a longtime dream of mine and aspirational goal that I have met and continuously living it out. And I'm really excited to see where this goes.
 
Amir O’Neil: I mean, yeah, it's amazing. You know, this project… it's like Jalyn said, it's something that I've always really wanted to experience, and I'm so happy to like got the opportunity to, especially with such an amazing cast and amazing writing, and such an amazing crew. I mean, yeah, it means everything to me.
 
Sabrina Revelle: What does it mean, to me, it means it means being seen, it means having the world, you know, hopefully, feel like they're being seen, especially the Black community. Yeah, to be a part of this project means fun. It means love. It means so many things. I'm very excited to be a part of the project, but also to showcase this beautiful family in the way that we showcase it, middle class, Black, you know, dealing with all our trials and tribulations in the way that we do. As partners, as a team, as Derek likes to say, you know, that the Bell family is the team. And I love that description.
 
Derek Luke: Yeah. For me, right now. They, they, they paired me up with a coach named Chris Johnson. And when I was there, they had so many players that were training. But one of the things that stood out to me is now, they have like, international players like kids from China. And like all over Germany, Africa, and you know, they've been there for a while, but now they're on the ground. And what I thought was interesting was the men and women that have been responsible for transforming the sport. And Disney+ with the reach they have, like, this is one of the times when you get introduced to a family, and athletic family. And, and a, a mom, a brilliant mom, kids who have a passion. And so, I think for me, one of many notes is that I think that The Crossover, culturally, is a story that will help pivot and shift culture, to seeing themselves in a more balanced way.
 
Skyla I’Lece: It's great. It's an… it's an amazing opportunity to be able to bring the character of Alexis aka “Miss Sweet Tea” to life.
 
Deja Cruz: In one word, honestly, everything, it means everything to be a part of something that is so relatable, so special and so powerful. It was positive energy filming the show, and its positive energy coming out of the show as well.
 
Trevor Bush: I agree with everything they said it's a powerful message and to be a part of it is wonderful and be able to bring it to life from the book. That's just, you can't ask for anything better than that.
 
John Betancourt: Let’s talk a little bit about the one message that everyone hopes audiences take away from this series. 
 
Kwame Alexander: Well, there's no team tighter than family. Say yes to what's possible. When I was three years old, my dad took me to a basketball court. And he had me shoot free throws. I couldn't get the ball anywhere near the net. The playground supervisor came over and said, “Let me lower the goal.” He pulled out his wrench. L”et me lower the goal for your son so he can make the basket.” My dad said, “No. No one's gonna lower my son's goal. He doesn't know he can't make it.” If there's anything that's a message for me, is never let anyone lower your goal. Always shoot for the sun. That's a basketball rule that we hear in the show. And that's what I think the metaphor is for me.
 
Kimberly Harrison: For me? It's the family bond. You know, I just think more than ever, we need this bond to see this bond we you know, and so, I hope that's what our viewers take away is like this really special bond that this family shares.
 
Damani Johnson: Oh, sticking with what Kwame said, there's something about you, you keep shooting your shot, right? Like, you miss 100% of the shots you don't take. And so, there's something about you know, keep trying, no matter what happens, no matter adversity, no matter what comes up. You just keep climbing. You keep shooting. It's awesome.
 
Amir O’Neil: Um, just to, to learn how to adjust, learn how to adapt and learn how to roll with the punches of life. You know, it can be overwhelming sometimes. And you feel like, it's just too much. And you might want to give up. And the important thing is to always keep hope. And remember that there is a light at the other side of the tunnel.
 
Jalyn Hall: I feel as though, well, first off, there's going to be you know, a multitude of things that people take away that are unique to them. That's a given. But if I had to say something, you know, kind of concrete, I will say that I would love for them to take away that every day is a new day to learn and change and evolve. Because here's the thing with these coming-of-age stories, you need them, because it shows you that it's okay to fall down. Because getting back up is only going to make you stronger, and only going to make you smarter. And that's… that's the message I would like to send to the world is that all these variables of your life, they help you in every way.
 
Derek Luke: That we all need each other. We all need each other in our best. And to play those positions, like I was referencing sports, like, you know, in sports, you always hear about, like, who's being traded. And the job on our team, the Bell team, is to stay healthy for Chuck. You know, Sabrina can speak to, you know, her character, but just… just seeing family as an important balance to life. And know that we want the Bell family to be that team that the world roots for.
 
Sabrina Revelle: Yeah, it's so many things to take away from the show. But speaking of, if I may speak from my character's point of view, I do want a lot of a lot of men out there to recognize that it's okay to come in partnership. You know, I speak a lot about Crystal having a nine to five and her husband having a nine to five, so she shouldn't have to come home, and then the weight of the house is so solely on her. So true partnership, I think is really big. And I want to get that message out there to men and women. Because I think a lot of times, we feel like we have to and we're supposed to and I think it is developing a lot of stress that's leading to a lot of disease like we're speaking about, although I know we speak to Chuck's character a lot but it leads to that with women as well. All women and particularly you know Black women, I think it's important to know that you don't have to be superwoman in that way. It's okay to have a partner and lean on a partner and I want to promote balance you know, if at all possible, we know sometimes that's not possible and then you do have to put on you Superwoman cape and do it all you know, because you have to. But if you don't have to, I want to strive that more partnership is created and I hope our show um, shows that, you know, and entices people to want to do that. And vulnerability too, with the kids with all of us. But especially with the kids too. They're very vulnerable I feel, and I think there's something that I think more of us need in the world.
 
Trevor Bush: Yeah. You know, like, there's ups and downs in life, you don't know what's going to happen, you can kind of prepare for it, but sometimes you can't. So just being able to find someone close, get a relationship with your family if you don't have one, get a relationship with your friends, because that can really help you get through life.
 
Deja Cruz: Family doesn't have to be blood. Tt can be someone around you, it can be a co-worker, just find that person to support you and, and be there for you when you're down.
 
Skyla I’Lece: Yeah, and it is so important to find that support system, that inner circle for yourself, so that when life gives you a curveball or when things aren't… when you don't have all of your ducks in a row, because everybody has those days or those months or those years where everything is not the way you planned it to be. But having those people that support you no matter what is so important to be able to bring you up and you know, make you smile on the days that you are sad.
 
John Betancourt: What are you most excited for viewers to experience this season? Without spoilers of course?
 
Jalyn Hall: The excitement. The enticement. Because there's… it has it all. It has the sports… now, when I tell you, the sports scenes, the basketball scenes? A-1 top tier, and I say top tier, because not only do they get the angles, right, but the sequences are perfectly cut, and it's actually us doing it and that, that adds another you know, perspective of fun for the both of us, because we actually got to put in our hard work on this. So, you have the sports, and you have the love, you have the love lives. If you didn't know it, you know it now. A big part of a teenager's life is their relationships. Not only with their friends, but with you know, finding love at such a young age, you know, so you have that, and then you have the friendship, and then you have parents, all of this stuff is so relatable, that you can't help but love the show. So that's what I'm most excited about.
 
Amir O’Neil: Um, I feel like I'm really excited for the audience to see how much anticipation is built up. Throughout each episode. You know, I feel like the journey from Episode One to Episode Eight. It's something that I'm excited about. I'm really excited for the audience to see it and just see how they react to that. You know, I feel like the show takes you on a journey. And like, the ending is, is crazy. Like, you won't expect it. Yeah, so I'm excited for the audience to see it.
 
Skyla I’Lece: I'm excited for them to experience, hopefully a new mindset. And hopefully they… they gain something from this show, whether it's they learn a new word, because this this show is very heavy set on new vocabulary. So, whether it's learning a new word, learning how to continue through life, again, when life gives you those curveballs, like how do you adjust and how quickly can you adjust and being able to learn that. So hopefully, they… they learn something, and they see the morals throughout because there are so many and hopefully, they tag on to at least to at least one or two of them.
 
Trevor Bush: You know, learning different backgrounds of different families and friendships that they can relate to. And then also like Skyla was saying, getting you know, getting a better vocabulary. Being on set… oh, there's so many words I didn’t know existed.
 
Deja Cruz: I'm excited for them to see the suspense in this. Watching it myself. I was like, “wow,” filming it. You don't see how much suspense comes into it until it's all put together. And I just want to shout out all the futures, the ones that play future us, they just did an amazing job. And I just want to, like, I can't wait for people to see these future scenes and it's really going to connect to the crew now, and the crew then.
 
John Betancourt: What are you most proud of when it comes to your work on this show?
 
Kwame Alexander: Um, what am I most proud of? That’s like… who's your favorite kid, John. (Laughter) I'm most proud of the performances. I'm most proud of what these actors brought to these to these characters to these words, how they embodied them, how they infuse them with their lives, how they took special care with these characters that have been living in my head for a dozen years. I'm… I'm most proud of that. If I have to answer what I'm most proud of, John. 
 
Kimberly Harrison: I'm most proud of like the vibe that is The Crossover. That's going to you know, come through on screen you're going to feel a certain way. I'm just really proud of like, the feeling that you are going to feel when you’re in an episode. I'm just really excited. Excited about that.
 
Damani Johnson: That we made the show. We felt like this is an important show that people need to see, and we went over so many hurdles and obstacles to get this show on air and we're just I'm so thrilled that we're that we're here talking to you now and that it is coming soon. 
 
Amir O’Neil: I would say, probably basketball and also just my acting, I felt like I was able to show my acting abilities very well throughout the show. I feel like it gave us the engine and the opportunity to display that and I'm really excited to see I mean, I'm excited for the audience to see it.
 
Jalyn Hall: Yeah. I agree with him the acting prowess that we were allowed and the creativity and that was an honor to be able to show to the world and also… my favorite… one of one of my favorite parts also was just how amazing the atmosphere was. We had Nerf wars, we played basketball with each other during lunch, we rode bikes literally to and from lunch like it was just our own… it was like a family reunion literally every day.
  
Deja Cruz: I'm most proud of the relationships I've built on this show everybody that we've worked with cast and crew. Just that, I feel like we just built a family and at the premiere, you're gonna see that for sure.
 
Trevor Bush: Yeah, no, that's a good answer. Building that relationship with everybody. And, you know, I'm in Kentucky. And now I know so many people from LA, New Orleans. And it's like, just kind of feel worldwide there.
 
Skyla I’Lece: Yeah, just these relationships are so real. And being able to build those relationships, on set, offset, meeting new people that we will have, like this cast, we will always be connected through this show, outside of the show, and just being able to build those relationships is so amazing.
 
This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity. 

---