Netflix has a new show and it’s all about the culture. It’s the brand-new scripted comedy from the mind of rapper, actor, and producer Vince Staples.
The Long Beach native brings his life into reality in The Vince Staples Show. The five episode series was shot throughout Long Beach, which was an important detail for Staples because he wanted the series to feel authentic. “When you’re playing off of this hypersurreal type of environment, you have to have certain connection points that make people think, ‘Oh, is this real, is this not real?,’ ” he said in the press release. “We tried to tie things to true locations we know and love. There’s a lot of underlying things in shots. We have a lot of Easter eggs there, a lot of untold stories, a lot of things that are intentionally tucked in the back.”
During the comedic show, Vince is thrust into adventures while navigating life. He’s constantly thrust into all types of experiences while also figuring out how to appease his mother, girlfriend, and all those haters from his past who want a piece of him. Staples considered the show a full display of day-to-day reality — the good, the bad, and the things we’ve grown so accustomed to experiencing that they don’t carry any distinction.
“A lot of it comes from a real place. It’s just life,” he added. “Usually people pick, ‘this is a comedy or this is a drama’ [or] ‘this is serious, you can’t make it a joke.’ We lived in-between those moments, because that’s what life is. Sometimes things aren’t supposed to be funny but end up being hilarious. I just wanted to make sure I was showing the light sides of darkness and the dark sides of lightness.”
Home Grown Radio’s Lupe LLerenas was in attendance during the Los Angeles premiere of The Vince Staples Show, in which we spoke with the executive producers, cast members, Vince Staples himself, and the guests who joined the celebration.
The show is executive produced by Black-ish creator Kenya Barris. Barris told us that if he could describe the show in a few words, it would be “real.” He followed with, “Vince, sure it was real. That was the number one thing he went after, and that’s what I think we got.”
As for some of the cast members of the show, they expressed their gratitude for being a part of this series. Andrea Ellsworth, who plays “Deja” in the show, shared how incredible and super inspiring it was to her.
“I’m also a filmmaker, and I’ve been acting for a while,” she said. “So, seeing Vince’s delicacy with the show and the vision of sticking with it was a learning experience. He communicated his vision and showed me that if you have a vision, stick with it, and you can make something great.”
When we asked Vince Staples about his new show, he explained the importance of being authentic to what he wanted, which essentially felt “home grown” to him.
“It was important to shoot on location. It was important to cast local people to make sure we have moments that, you know… felt organic, and that’s homegrown. To ensure you stay true to what you got going on.”
Overall, The Vince Staples Show is an entertaining enigma, leaving the people wanting more. So, let’s hope we get another season or two.