Interview With Bernard David Jones & Marcel Spears | #TheMayor
As part?of the?#ThorRagnarokEvent?hosted by Disney, we sat down for an exclusive Interview with Bernard David Jones & Marcel Spears, stars of ABC’s “The Mayor.” You know them as Jermaine & T.K., the Mayor’s BFF’s. These guys are just as great off-screen as they are on!?
ABC’s 2017 fall schedule included one new comedy: “The Mayor.”
ONE.
Make this one good, guys! No pressure or anything.
Great news for ABC and the cast: it’s not just good, it’s fantastic!
When we met with Bernard and Marcel, the pilot episode had aired and we had the extreme pleasure of screening the second episode, “The Filibuster,” with the stars.
Everyone in the room howled with laughter, including Bernard and Marcel who were watching it for the first time.
This show is smart, it’s funny, and it has heart. Just like the stars we interviewed.
I dare you not to fall in love with these guys!
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The Mayor
The premise of “The Mayor” is very 2017. Upcoming rapper Courtney Rose (Brandon Micheal Hall), backed by his two best friends Jermaine (Jones) and T.K. (Spears) runs for mayor of his town.
He doesn’t want to win, actually; he just wants to get his name out there- a somewhat extreme publicity stunt.
Something about him captures the heart of his city and he?accidentally wins, forcing the young Mayor to make some grown-up decisions for his California town.
The series stars Brandon Micheal Hall as Courtney Rose, Lea Michele as Valentina Barella, Bernard David Jones as Jermaine Leforge, Marcel Spears as T.K. Clifton and Yvette Nicole Brown as Dina Rose.
“The Mayor” airs on Tuesdays (that’s TONIGHT, y’all!) at 9:30/8:30c on ABC. You can also watch On Demand or on the ABC App.
Exclusive Interview With Bernard David Jones & Marcel Spears
When we met Bernard and Marcel at the ABC Studios, we knew instantly that we were in for a real treat.
And I mean: instantly.
They both stood at the door, welcoming each and every one of us into the room with?big bear hugs.
I don’t know about you, but most of my Tuesday afternoons don’t start out like this!
Once we settled down and screened the show, we started asking questions. One of the first questions we had was about the chemistry of the cast on the set.
Both Marcel and Bernard profess that the cast quickly became a family, hanging out together and supporting each other.
They had such great things to say about the women they work with and it’s clear there is mad respect (and a lot of love) on the set!
The Women of “The Mayor”
Marcel Spears:? “I mean, I don?t like him [pointing to Bernard]. We do this for the cameras.”
Bernard David Jones:? “Oh, it?s amazing. I mean, we have Yvette Nicole Brown.
If you?ve ever met her, you?ve ever talked to her, you?ve ever seen her in anything?people are like ?Yvette, we love you. We love you. We love you.?
And I always say, Yvette, you know what, I hope that people love me the way that they love you and respect you, and she said, just be yourself and have a heart for people.”
Marcel Spears:??”The thing I like about our show or our cast, it?s a family.
We have fun on set and the cool thing is the women are the pros in the situation, so?we make sure we look out for our girls, but they are bosses.
Like, the women on this show are bosses. Lea?s been doing this for ten years. Yvette?s been doing it for twenty.”
Bernard David Jones:? “They are vets.? And we?re like, what?s going on?
I mean, just to be in the presence of such professionals [with] just years in the business.
From being like, relative newcomers to this whole thing — yeah, his first TV show. Couldn?t tell, right? He?s so good.”
Marcel Spears:?”It?s my first one, but I?ve been ready, yo.? I?ve been ready.”
Check out this clip, and I think you’ll agree. He’s OH-SO ready for this.
The Politics of “The Mayor”
Since the Mayor is obviously an elected official, and the show’s topics would have some political undertones, I was curious how they were handling this aspect.
After apologizing for such a heavy question, I jumped in any way and asked how they felt about taking on a politically flavored show at this time in our country’s climate.
I honestly couldn’t have loved their response more. I found myself nodding along and thinking yes! yes! YES!
This is what our country needs right now.
Bernard David Jones:? “I was gonna just say, as artists, it?s kind of our duty, our job to be able to hold a mirror up to our country, our world and say, this is what?s going on.
How do we fix it? What can we do to fix it?
And I think our show is an awesome representation of what happens when somebody that has a heart for people, that understands community and unity, leads with love.
How that can affect a community and you know, this guy, he has no political experience. He didn?t mean to win. He was doing what millennials do: trying to get some of that ka-ching.”
Marcel Spears:??”Trying to get the followers up.”
Bernard David Jones:??”But he didn?t stray away from the responsibility.? He took it head on and I think that?s a good lesson for all of us.? You know, all of America.
If there?s something going in your neighborhood that you want to change, take leadership.
Take ownership of your community, so I think it?s a great opportunity to be able to be some type of maybe a catalyst for mobility or, in your communities for some type of change.”
Marcel Spears:??”So that people aren?t exhausted with it so much and they can really get down to what it?s about and what it?s about is taking care of the people around you.
Like, really taking care of your community and making sure that you?re looking out for the next person.
Whether you disagree on how to go about doing that, the end goal is always the betterment of the community.”
Bernard David Jones:? “And I think what?s also special about our show is that we come from a non-partisan standpoint, so there?s no, ?you have to be a Democrat? or ?you have to be a Republican.?
We don?t choose sides. We present what?s going on these communities and we offer solutions on how to fix it.”
Working With David Spade on “The Mayor”
We were dying to know.
How is it like working with David Spade? The man, the myth, the legend…
Bernard David Jones:??”He?s great, man. From the first table read to now, he?s just been amazing. Very supportive.
I went up to him, I said, David, you have a star on the Walk, the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
He?s like, yeah, you know, but you got to pay the upkeep and all that.
You have a star. You are David Spade!”
Marcel Spears:? ?”He?s legit. He?s like, he?s the coolest cat I?ve ever met.
David, he is cool. He?s so good at being like, really snarky. The stuff that he?ll come up with on the fly.
He?ll be reading the page and then he?ll make a side remark.
Next thing you know, it?s in the script next time we get it.? Like, he?s so good.? He?s sharp.”
The time just flew by.
If I had space, I’d share everything they said. This whole interview was quotable.
They made us both laugh and think, and in the end, we all became super fans. That’s pretty amazing to do with a room full of entertainment bloggers!
?The Mayor? was created by Jeremy Bronson (?Speechless,? ?The Mindy Project,? ?Late Night with Jimmy Fallon?). Jeremy Bronson, Daveed Diggs (Tony? winner for Broadway?s ?Hamilton?), Jamie Tarses (?Happy Endings?) and James Griffiths (?black-ish?) also serve as executive producers. The series is produced by ABC Studios.
THE MAYOR (Tuesdays at 9:30/8:30c on ABC)
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BERNARD DAVID JONES?(?Jermaine Leforge?)
https://twitter.com/BernardDJones
https://www.instagram.com/bernarddavidjones/
MARCEL SPEARS?(?T.K. Clifton?)
https://twitter.com/mrmarcelspears
https://www.instagram.com/mrmarcelspears/
Patty Holliday is the owner and creator of all things No-Guilt Universe. As a lifelong fangirl and pop culture connoisseur, she’s been creating online since 2009. You can find her work at No-Guilt Disney.com, No-Guilt Fangirl.com, No-Guilt Life, and as host of the top-rated No-Guilt Disney Podcast.
