Alscott & Rodney are Centering Black Queer Stories with Transplants
In this episode of Odejuma, Harry chats with Alscott Worrell and Rodney Hawkins Jr., the creators and stars of the YouTube series, Transplants. They discuss the transformative nature of the show, the importance of telling authentic stories that reflect the lives of Black queer folks, and the impact it has had within the community.
The conversation covers a variety of topics, including the challenges of bi-coastal production and the significance of creating genuine queer characters. Alscott and Rodney share their personal experiences of trusting their instincts, the value of collaboration, and the responsibility of representation in media, highlighting the importance of community in their work.
Through humor, honesty, and heartfelt moments, this episode emphasizes that storytelling is not merely a form of entertainment; it serves as a means of being seen, imagining freedom, and building a legacy. If you appreciate Black creativity, queer joy, and the future of inclusive media, this episode is for you.
Watch Transplants here: Transplants Episodes + Aftershows - YouTube
Transcript
Hi, my name is Harry and welcome to Odejuma.
Speaker A:Odejuma recognizes the magic of storytelling.
Speaker A:From personal experiences to stories of adventure, from tales of resilience to finding joy in the simple things, this story seeks to inspire, entertain, and educate because there is power in the stories of everyday people.
Speaker A:And these stories are worth telling.
Speaker A:Hey, y' all, How y' all doing?
Speaker A:Welcome to another episode of Odejuma.
Speaker A:And I'm super excited about this episode, actually, because I have the creators and stars of one of my favorite YouTube shows, Transplants.
Speaker A:High Score and Rodney.
Speaker A:How y' all doing?
Speaker B:We're doing good.
Speaker B:How are you?
Speaker C:Hi, how are you?
Speaker A:I'm doing really good.
Speaker A:I'm really excited to dive into this conversation because I really love the show.
Speaker A:I saw the show when it came, I said from Twitter.
Speaker A:I got the.
Speaker A:I saw when it was promoted on Twitter.
Speaker A:And yeah, that first season 1A, there's a lot of hype, a lot of conversation that is backed those three episodes.
Speaker A:So I'm excited to dive into this conversation, but also curious to know about your journeys as filmmakers, as actors, and just creating this great work of art.
Speaker A:So I want to start with that.
Speaker A:Like, how did you all find your journey into filmmaking?
Speaker A:How did that happen for y' all?
Speaker A:Whoever wants to go first can go first.
Speaker C:Yeah, I'll go first.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:I started at a young age.
Speaker C:I started like writing little superhero scripts, thinking that I was going to be a child writing star.
Speaker C:And then I went to like school for culinary and kind of went in a different direction.
Speaker C:And then in my adult years, early 20s, is when I like started to pick up my first camera, my blackmagic cinema camera.
Speaker C:And it kind of was like went from there.
Speaker C:I had my first screening for two short films that I did in Brooklyn.
Speaker C:And then I just kept kind of going and creating and finally moving to la where then that's where I met Al Scott.
Speaker C:And, you know, we started to create transplants and not even thinking that it would be here, which is still like crazy to see viewership, but we literally were in his living room just like, hey, let's just, we got a camera.
Speaker C:Let's create.
Speaker C:Like we're just going to create a lane for ourselves.
Speaker C:And here we are today.
Speaker B:Similar to Rodney, mine started when I was pretty young.
Speaker B:I don't think I knew what I was doing then.
Speaker B:We don't really talk about the jobs and television and film when you come from a low income family.
Speaker B:And so it wasn't until I was 28 that I really like sat and reflected on what it was that I loved to do, and it brought me back to childhood producing with my cousins.
Speaker B:I don't know if you remember those cameras that used to plug into the VCR and you could record things.
Speaker B:So we used to produce our own little shows.
Speaker B:And when Aaliyah first died, we produced our version of 106 in park.
Speaker B:We called it 206 in park.
Speaker B:It was absolutely horrible.
Speaker B:But.
Speaker B:But it was such a good time.
Speaker B:And so, like, when I turned 28, I was just trying to figure out, like, what I wanted to do.
Speaker B:And film kind of, like, kept coming up because it had been something I had done consistently.
Speaker B:And so I took a master class from Shonda Rhimes, and I wrote my first script, and I tried to film it.
Speaker B:And we got, like, three, maybe four episodes finished, and I just didn't love it.
Speaker B:And so I did two short films and then moved to la.
Speaker B:And that's where Rodney and I met.
Speaker B:And we were going to do another short film.
Speaker B:Prior to transplants, I can't remember.
Speaker B:We weren't.
Speaker B:I think it was, like, casting or something.
Speaker B:Something was, like, off, and we weren't quite feeling it in the way that we wanted to.
Speaker B:To move forward.
Speaker B:And so transplants came up.
Speaker B:We tried to film it ourselves.
Speaker B:I need to see if I can find that footage.
Speaker B:But we tried to film it just Rodney and myself, camera.
Speaker B:And it was a lot of work.
Speaker B:And so once we found other people who were, like, willing to invest the time because we realized we couldn't do it ourselves, we were able to actually complete it.
Speaker B:And so that's where transplants came.
Speaker A:That is pretty awesome.
Speaker A:And from what y' all are sharing, y' all are actually transplants.
Speaker A:I'll wear transplants at some point.
Speaker A:I don't know whether.
Speaker A:I don't know whether there's a timeframe from being a transplant, you know, but that is kind of like, you know, your experience also moving from your home, from where you were raised, to la.
Speaker A:How much of the show is autobiographical?
Speaker A:How much of it is fiction at this point?
Speaker B:Honestly, it's so funny.
Speaker B:Cause when we first started film, when we tried to film it our first time, Chad, my character in the show, did not get fired, but then I got fired for the first time ever in life.
Speaker B:And once that happened, we, like, wrote it into the show.
Speaker B:So I feel like there are parts, for me that were personal, and there were a lot of things that were pretty true about my life, but not all of it.
Speaker C:Yeah, for me, because we actually started to really come up with the idea because of a funny story that I told Scott about being choked by the trade.
Speaker C:So that was very true.
Speaker B:I can relate.
Speaker A:That is.
Speaker A:That is the first scene in the show.
Speaker A:I'm like, yo, y' all are coming in hot.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker B:Oh.
Speaker A:Not mad at it at all.
Speaker C:For my character Dion, him just, like, coming from money and being a Nepal baby, in a sense, you know, I couldn't relate for that, so I did have to pull that from somewhere.
Speaker C:But, yeah, I think there were.
Speaker C:There are a lot of.
Speaker C:A lot of qualities in Dion that I do see in myself.
Speaker A:Yeah, I really.
Speaker A:I think what I really like about the show is how it talks about the realities of figuring out yourself in that there's that gap between, like, 25 and 35 when you're navigating adulthood as, like, a young, black, queer person.
Speaker A:And we don't really get a lot of shows that capture that authentically.
Speaker A:And I really.
Speaker A:I think that's what.
Speaker A:That's what made you resonate.
Speaker A:You have over a million views on your first episode.
Speaker A:How looking at the response of that first drop.
Speaker A:You know, what is the thing that still shocks you about how the community responded to, you know, the work of art that you all made?
Speaker C:Yeah, I know.
Speaker C:I mean, going back to our screening, I was new to L.
Speaker C:A.
Speaker C:And I really didn't know anybody.
Speaker C:I was like, I know, Scotty.
Speaker C:You better not start crying.
Speaker C:Not to right now.
Speaker B:It's crazy.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:I didn't know anybody.
Speaker C:So to see 100 people in the audience was like.
Speaker C:And, like, it was like, this is our dream.
Speaker C:Like, this is our dream.
Speaker C:So to see those people, like, support us.
Speaker C:And, like, I remember me and Al Scott.
Speaker C:Oh, my gosh.
Speaker C:Sorry.
Speaker C:I remember me and Al Scott.
Speaker C:Like, we're, like, in the corner.
Speaker C:Like, we're watching people, like, laugh at our jokes.
Speaker C:And, like, it's just.
Speaker C:I did not expect to be emotional today, but it was.
Speaker C:It was just an amazing feeling.
Speaker C:And it's like, I want to continue to feel that.
Speaker C:And that moment, I will never forget, like, that was, wow, all right, I'm done.
Speaker B:I would say something similar.
Speaker B:I mean, even this moment, for me, is the part that, like, still, like.
Speaker B:Or even.
Speaker B:You know what?
Speaker B:I can think of a few moments.
Speaker B:This is one of them.
Speaker B:But I think one of the moments where I, like, actually cried after, aside from the screening, because we both cried a lot.
Speaker B:I think there are pictures of us actually crying.
Speaker B:Just crying would be during the strike.
Speaker B:I went out with my niece, and we were.
Speaker B:You know, we were picketing and showing our support for the wga.
Speaker B:And there were some WGA writers who, like, recognized me from the show and was like, hey, like, I love transplants.
Speaker B:And like, for me, that was such a moment of like, wow.
Speaker B:There are people who are in this industry who are doing the things that we're doing, but doing it, you know, through studios, and they're getting paid to do this, whereas Rodney and I are working full time jobs or at one point, I was doing a lot of gig work.
Speaker B:So doing that and trying to figure this out.
Speaker B:And so it was.
Speaker B:It's been really nice to see that the show resonates with people and that even.
Speaker B:That it resonates with people and that people who are not even queer identify with what our characters are going through.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker C:Yeah, I agree.
Speaker C:I have a couple of friends.
Speaker C:My friend, hey, Niko, her mom, like, literally has been waiting.
Speaker C:Like, she just text me the other day, like, are you sure?
Speaker C:Is it come?
Speaker C:I'm like, yes.
Speaker C:Like, her.
Speaker C:Her mom is like, you know, she's an older woman, so it's like, for her to resonate, like, that feels amazing.
Speaker C:That means we're.
Speaker C:Yes, we are.
Speaker C:We wrote a queer show, but we wrote this for everyone, you know, so that's true.
Speaker A:And I think a lot of people tend to forget that queer stories resonate with everybody.
Speaker A:Yes, it's a queer story, but at the heart of it is a human story of two friends trying to figure out life.
Speaker A:You know what I'm saying?
Speaker A:And I could also kind of relate.
Speaker A:Not like I'm a international trans, but I moved from a different country to the US in my 30s.
Speaker A:And so just trying to navigate life also kind of, like, resonated with the story.
Speaker A:I'm curious about, like, people who actually, like, I know I kind of asked this kind of like before, but the folks kind of like, expect you to be like your characters when they meet you in person.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:I mean, I've met people who are like, I've gotten mixed reviews from Chad.
Speaker B:I've met people who are like, your character is so mean.
Speaker B:Like, are you like that in real life or, like, prejudging me because they think they don't like Chad.
Speaker B:I'm like, there are some qualities about Chad that are very true to who I am, but Chad in itself is not who I am.
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker C:It's so funny.
Speaker C:I'll go a different route.
Speaker C:Like, I've actually got hitting up on, like, Jack, and people were like, oh, like, you're Dion from, like, transplants and asking me about My preference.
Speaker C:Because we all know Dion's preference.
Speaker C:And I'm just like, hmm, this is interesting.
Speaker C:This is like a new level that I never thought I would have to explain before.
Speaker C:So, yeah.
Speaker C:Just to piggyback off of Scott.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:I think, you know, we have qualities, but we're definitely different from.
Speaker C:We're acting.
Speaker C:Okay.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Or even like we talked about a little bit before we got on the call, like, me being back in education.
Speaker B:So I recently moved from LA to Philadelphia.
Speaker B:And, like, when the kids don't like you, they don't Google you, but the minute they start to like you.
Speaker B:And so they didn't like me for, like, the first month because I'm very strict, but then they started to Google me and then they saw that I was smoking and they were like, going around the school like, oh, we saw Mr.
Speaker B:W smoking weed.
Speaker B:And I'm like, actually, I'm acting like this is not who I am.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker A:Given Abbott elementary low key.
Speaker A:That is.
Speaker C:It's.
Speaker B:It's.
Speaker B:And then, trust me.
Speaker B:And they act just like some of the kids from Abbott.
Speaker B:So it's Philly.
Speaker B:I mean, Abbott is such a true depiction of teaching in Philly.
Speaker C:Wow.
Speaker A:And also your.
Speaker A:Your transplant again from.
Speaker A:So how are you navigating that, though, also.
Speaker A:And also, what does that creative partnership look like between y' all now that you all are in different cities also?
Speaker B:Yeah, I will.
Speaker B:I'm going to speak to Matthew a little bit about here, Matt.
Speaker B:So Matthew is our third executive producer.
Speaker B:He also is our line producer.
Speaker B:And so Matthew lives in New York and has always lived in New York when we were filming Transplants.
Speaker B:So we've always had to navigate the whole bicoastal thing.
Speaker B:Like, there have been times where it's been 11pm or 1am on the west coast and he is up, you know, making sure.
Speaker B:So I feel like it has been one of those things that's consistently helped a lot to make sure that we are in.
Speaker B:It's helped a lot to make sure that we have had the chance to navigate that already.
Speaker B:So me being here hasn't really disrupted the creative process as much as it's made sure that we are communicating better and more effectively.
Speaker B:Shout out to Matthew because they don't really associate him with the show, but he's a huge part of why we're able to do anything.
Speaker B:So huge.
Speaker A:Shout out to Matthew.
Speaker A:I'm also, before I go into the new season 1B, I want to talk about, like, episode 3, two things, actually.
Speaker A:First of all is the concept of a rent party.
Speaker A:I feel like I like when shows are also educational as well as, you know, just fun as a light watch.
Speaker A:You're watching people just have a good time.
Speaker A:But also, I never knew about rent parties and that it was a thing that happen.
Speaker A:Is that something that was intentional with the show, giving a little bit of history lesson?
Speaker A:We've seen a couple of sitcoms do that across the years, but was that something that was intentional for y' all when you were writing the show?
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker B:So rent party.
Speaker B:Well, first of all, like old sitcoms, when you watch the Parkers, you watch Moesha.
Speaker B:Like, they always did a really good job of balancing the fun with the real life, with the history.
Speaker B:And so when we, like, were going through the season and figuring out, like, how we wanted to end that first half of the season, I definitely wanted to highlight a rent party one because I had lost my job.
Speaker B:And so I was thinking, like, it would be really nice if someone was paying my rent or at least helping me.
Speaker B:But also, we don't talk about a lot of our history because so much of it is hidden or they're trying to get rid of it like we see in politics right now.
Speaker B:And so it was a very intentional decision to include that in the show so that people who didn't know would have an opportunity to be curious about it.
Speaker C:Definitely.
Speaker C:And I would definitely give Al Scott credit because it was, like, his idea to put the rent party.
Speaker C:And I didn't know about rent parties, to be very honest, so I was just like, oh, like, I didn't even know this existed.
Speaker C:I'm like, keep that in my back pocket.
Speaker C:You never know.
Speaker C:Okay, Pay this rent because LA is high.
Speaker C:Okay, High.
Speaker C:But, yeah, I think it was.
Speaker C:It was great to.
Speaker C:We got a lot of good feedback from that, so I was happy that we were able to put that history lesson inside the show.
Speaker A:That's pretty cool.
Speaker A:And thanks, y' all for doing that.
Speaker A:You're definitely educating me on what a rent party is.
Speaker A:I have that in my back pocket now for when times get hard.
Speaker A:I definitely will betray one and inviting the people to it.
Speaker A:Another thing about that third episode, because I actually rewatched it before, you know, I got up on this interview, the cliffhanger that we were left with.
Speaker A:Right on.
Speaker A:All for both characters and, you know, the love stories that were there.
Speaker A:Was it intentional to actually end on the cliffhanger also?
Speaker A:And how was that going to Translate to season 1B?
Speaker B:That's a good question.
Speaker B:Ooh, Rodney, you want to take this or you want me?
Speaker C:Yeah, I'll take this.
Speaker C:So for both characters, but to start with Dion, I mean, it was the big F bomb.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:I think that's what took our supporters by storm.
Speaker C:So I'm excited for what the audience will see in part B of how Corey and Dion's relationship, like, expands.
Speaker C:And just also Deon, because we.
Speaker C:I feel like Deion.
Speaker C:We see him as a surface person right now of, like, oh, he's just dating the tree.
Speaker C:He's, like the average gay.
Speaker C:But, like, we actually start to see Deion and who he is with the help of Chad, even though he hates to say it, but Chad definitely helped shape Deon into a lot of his decisions.
Speaker C:And for the cliffhanger for Chad and Brandon, I mean, one, they have the dreamiest scene, like, I feel like, of the episode, to be honest.
Speaker C:I think everyone resonates.
Speaker C:Like, they have a great chemistry.
Speaker C:So I'm, like, really excited for people just to see a couple or a person that looks like they could be a couple and be on a high and, like, where they're gonna go in part B.
Speaker C:So I'm excited for the audience.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:What I will add for episode three specifically is so episode three, when I wrote that, there was an extra scene that actually came after that would cut.
Speaker B:So in that scene, there was, like, me, my character, and Rodney's character actually came together and, like, had a conversation to kind of, like, debrief about the party.
Speaker B:And because it made a better cliffhanger to not include it, we decided to cut it and kind of just let it be that so that people would want to come back.
Speaker B:That being said, I'm very excited for 1B because we do get to see both of those relationships play out and how our characters respond to them.
Speaker B:I will say we've released teasers for both of them that are.
Speaker B:And the.
Speaker B:The kind of gave it away for.
Speaker B:For my character that him and Brandon do end up, you know, rekindling.
Speaker B:And there is something there, but there is still more that has not been revealed about how that came about, what it looks like after that moment, because so much happens after that moment.
Speaker C:Yes.
Speaker B:And I would say the same for Corey and Dion.
Speaker B:Like, we get to see a lot of Dion's growth and the way that he navigates that relationship with Corey and realizing that growth is not linear.
Speaker B:It's one of those things that, like, there will be days where you feel like you've made a lot of growth, and then you will have a moment where you regress.
Speaker B:And so I'm excited for people to see how those play out with both of the characters.
Speaker A:I'm excited.
Speaker A:I'm excited to dive in to watch.
Speaker A:It's also really nice to see, like, black queer love on screen.
Speaker A:Certainly with the teaser that was shown, it seems like both characters find a healthy form of love and relationship, but also love has his drama, you know, so it's fine.
Speaker A:We know that it'll be drama involved.
Speaker A:But it's nice to see a level of black queer love that we don't really get to see.
Speaker A:It's always very interracial and nothing against interracial folks, but, you know, it'll be nice to see two black people who are queer and who are loving on each other, messiness and all.
Speaker A:So that's really good.
Speaker A:How many episodes are we gonna expect in season 1B?
Speaker B:There are four.
Speaker B:Episode 4, 5, 6, and 7.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Four.
Speaker C:Four episodes longer.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker A:Okay, so what is like, what is like the length?
Speaker B:The shortest is 22 minutes.
Speaker B:The longest is 27 minutes.
Speaker B:So in the first season was.
Speaker B:Or the first half of the season, I think was 16 minutes for the first episode.
Speaker B:And then episode three was like 13.
Speaker B:But we pushed for like a full network length show.
Speaker B:So we.
Speaker B:We try to stick between the 22 and like 28 minute ish mark.
Speaker B:And honestly we shot way more than that.
Speaker B:And we in editing cut down a lot because there are some things that we filmed that just didn't work.
Speaker B:And so we cut or it didn't work in the way that it was written.
Speaker B:And so we had to reorganize.
Speaker B:Like editing is.
Speaker B:It's.
Speaker B:It's like a gift and a curse because it's a lot of work, but it also allows you to really change the way story is told.
Speaker A:Yeah, yeah, I feel that.
Speaker A:And that is really.
Speaker A:That is.
Speaker A:I'm excited to hear all of these things, like, news to me.
Speaker A:And it's like I'm feeling very excited to see how the story goes, how the story evolves, and also just learning that a lot of intention went into creating this next batch of episodes.
Speaker A:Can you talk to us about, like, the production aspect?
Speaker A:How did that happen?
Speaker A:Is that.
Speaker A:Is the creative team larger now?
Speaker A:How did funding work?
Speaker A:All that good stuff?
Speaker B:Yeah, the team.
Speaker B:So because the episodes got longer, the team definitely got bigger.
Speaker B:I would say, like, our core team has always been Rodney, Matthew and myself.
Speaker B:And so that team has not gotten bigger, but the team, in terms of the amount of people that came together to make it work was just.
Speaker B:It's just phenomenal.
Speaker B:Like, even recently we had to do some reshoots and so Todd, who's one of our actors, worked with Rodney to get some stuff shot that has been very helpful in like, filling some gaps that we went through.
Speaker B:And like, after looking at stuff over and over again, you start to realize, oh, something's missing.
Speaker B:Which is one of the challenges to something being longer.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:Like, you have to really make sure that, like, you are feeding it to the audience in a way that is not giving them too much so that you're implying that they can't handle it, but it's giving them enough that they can follow the story.
Speaker B:And so I'm so thankful for our village and the people that have come because it has been a labor of love.
Speaker B:And we lost our dp, like maybe like three weeks into filming the second half.
Speaker B:Director of photography for people who are not familiar with film.
Speaker B:And so they're in charge of like, make sure the visuals match the director and the writers and the showrunners overall vision.
Speaker B:And so losing that meant that we lost a camera person.
Speaker B:We lost another thought partner.
Speaker B:And so it really came down to Rodney having to DP the episodes that he directed and myself having to DP the episodes that I directed, which is just like a lot of hands on the same.
Speaker B:Like, it's a lot.
Speaker B:And it also.
Speaker B:You lose a little bit of that collaboration.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:Because now you have one voice doing all these things as opposed to multiple.
Speaker B:But it has been.
Speaker B:It has been a journey, but one that I feel like I've learned so much from this that we can take it to our next season, which I'm excited.
Speaker B:Our actual second season.
Speaker B:I'm excited for you to know more about that when we get there.
Speaker B:But yeah, that's all I really have to say.
Speaker B:Rodney.
Speaker C:Yeah, to your point, it was.
Speaker C:It was a labor of love.
Speaker C:Now I remember a specific.
Speaker C:A couple specific dates, but like when I think that was episode five, which was like our pop up shop, which you guys will see, and it was just me, and I was Scott.
Speaker C:That's it.
Speaker C:Like, we did not have a sound.
Speaker C:We did not have a.
Speaker B:No, we had Blair.
Speaker B:Blair did sound.
Speaker C:Okay.
Speaker C:We did just her.
Speaker B:She was in another room.
Speaker C:She was.
Speaker C:Yeah, so that's all we had.
Speaker C:So no pas, no nothing.
Speaker C:So.
Speaker C:But it's one of the best shots that we kind of like have and just like experience.
Speaker C:So.
Speaker C:And oh, on top of that, we had, I think nine extras.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker C:So it was a lot of moving parts and it was a continuous scene as well.
Speaker C:So anyone in television knows how hard that can be.
Speaker C:You have to definitely be on Point to make sure everything matches up.
Speaker C:But I just remember it just makes you want to do it even more.
Speaker C:And just seeing the final product, yeah, it was some hard days, but I wouldn't, I wouldn't trade it for anything and I wouldn't pick anybody else because in that moment I feel like we are all stressed.
Speaker C:But like our Scott was like, well, we all have no choice so we got to figure this out.
Speaker C:And I wouldn't want to do this with like anybody else.
Speaker C:Like Al Scott is like a trooper and I hope I'm that trooper to him.
Speaker C:Like we still looking back at just seeing what we have created.
Speaker C:I still cannot believe, like I watch it every day.
Speaker C:Look, not me about to get motion game, but I literally watch.
Speaker C:I know it is just because people don't understand how hard it is.
Speaker C:You know, we're not backed by a studio.
Speaker C:We're putting our hard earned money into that.
Speaker C:Speaking to the financial part, like that was Matthew, Al Scott and I like working full time jobs.
Speaker C:Like sometimes, look, I might have to eat noodles this week.
Speaker C:Like it was really that lifestyle.
Speaker C:But I wouldn't change it for the world because people see the labor that we put in and when people see the final product, I think that's just going to make us more relatable and I can't wait, you know, because we will be mainstream and I'm excited about that journey coming up.
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah, yeah, sorry.
Speaker B:The financial piece was a huge part.
Speaker B:So we did a fundraiser.
Speaker B:So our original strategy was to film the first three episodes, use that to launch our fundraiser, and then use that money to fund the rest of the episodes.
Speaker B:We launched a fundraiser.
Speaker B:Did not go well.
Speaker B:We did not get any money from it.
Speaker B:And so now with episodes that were significantly longer and had all of these different characters that were not included before because I think we did the first three episodes, not including extras, with three, with four.
Speaker B:No, five.
Speaker B:Me, Rodney, Chris, Isaiah and A.J.
Speaker B:yeah, just five characters.
Speaker B:And so the second half, like Chad has a therapist.
Speaker B:Like we meet Dion's mom.
Speaker B:You know, we introduce different love interests for both of them.
Speaker B:We get to meet the person that my character moved to LA for and get a backstory on how that even happened.
Speaker B:So there's just so much that really went into it.
Speaker B:And the scene that Ronnie's talking about, we did another like a pop up shop for Cannabussy.
Speaker B:And it's literally half of the episode where you wouldn't know it when watching it, but Rodney and I were the only people there.
Speaker B:We did the camera.
Speaker B:I set up the light.
Speaker B:I went to his house, and we set up the lighting the night before.
Speaker B:Like, it was just so many moving pieces.
Speaker B:And as much as I'm thankful for extras, I don't like working with extras because it requires.
Speaker B:I don't like working with extras when you're wearing 18 million hats.
Speaker B:Yeah, it requires so much instruction and so much directing and when you're trying to be in front of the camera and behind the camera, and, like, it's just.
Speaker B:It's really hard to, like, really get into character as an actor when you're doing so much.
Speaker B:And so, yeah, it just.
Speaker B:It was definitely a journey.
Speaker B:And it looks, like, so good, though, so I'm so excited.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:And it's just.
Speaker A:Just want to just give you all grace that you all did that by yourselves.
Speaker A:You should be incredibly proud of the work that you put into putting that out there.
Speaker A:And like you said, it's just like a stepping stone to bigger and better things.
Speaker A:So just very proud of y' all and the work that you're putting.
Speaker A:And the community is also really proud of y' all.
Speaker A:You know, it is something that is good representation for us.
Speaker A:It's nice, like I said, to see us in our fullness and with our flaws and with our quirks and everything.
Speaker A:And.
Speaker A:Yeah, very, very thankful for that.
Speaker A:And.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:So, yeah, I just want you to just bask in the glory that you all put out for extra episodes that are longer.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:And we're excited to see them.
Speaker A:I'm curious about the lessons that y' all have learned personally as filmmakers from being involved in this project.
Speaker A:What have you learned just in general also, as writing these complex queer characters?
Speaker A:How has that changed your perception on how you perceive life, how you move through life?
Speaker A:How has that also changed, too?
Speaker A:If y' all can talk a little bit about that.
Speaker B:For me, I would say speaking to how writing these characters have changed me, I think they pushed me to be more vulnerable in my writing.
Speaker B:There are so many things about Chad that I love, but I do think there are moments in hindsight where I'm like, I could have pushed Chad a little bit more.
Speaker B:I could have pushed his complexity, his nuance a little bit more.
Speaker B:And so that's one of the biggest takeaways that I'm taking away from this is like, how are you authentically showing up for your characters and allowing them to have fun in a way that is still going to educate and allow people to feel seen?
Speaker B:Yeah, I'll start there, and I'll let Ronnie.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:Making the characters authentic I think that was important, especially because for writing for Dion, you know, I don't know what it is to be rich and have a big company in the US But I also wanted those conversations between him and his mother to be real, you know, and I think that was important to stretch my writing ability.
Speaker C:And like, though I have not experienced that, what experiences have I had with my mom or, you know, people around me that put their foot down on me and what that looks like?
Speaker C:So I'm excited with that.
Speaker C:And also just friendship.
Speaker C:I mean, we.
Speaker C:The show is based with.
Speaker C:To this.
Speaker C:This friendship and sometimes frenemies, the way they treat each other.
Speaker C:So even with that, just jolly drawing from a lot of inspiration with my own friendship.
Speaker C:But also, you know, Al Scott would challenge me a lot of the times, like, hey, like, let's.
Speaker C:Let's push the envelope.
Speaker C:You know, though, like this.
Speaker C:We don't want to spoon feed you guys, you know, we want you guys to, you know, think outside the box.
Speaker C:So, you know, that person rallying, which was outsky at the time as we were writing, was like, really good for me, just expand my writing ability.
Speaker B:On a personal.
Speaker B:On a personal level, I would say to trust my gut.
Speaker B:I think sometimes when we get into an industry where we don't 100% feel valued or validated, because a lot of times people, they're like, oh, you have a show on YouTube that's cute.
Speaker B:Like, there's always a little bit of, like, shade towards it, right?
Speaker B:You kind of, like, don't.
Speaker B:I'm not gonna say you don't value it, but, like, you can kind of get in your head about it, especially living in LA and being surrounded by people who, like, are working at the Netflixes, are working at the Peacocks and the Paramounts, right?
Speaker B:But in every decision that we've made about the show, when I have not trusted my gut, it's come back to bite us in the ass.
Speaker B:And I think a huge one.
Speaker B:And I'll speak publicly about this because I know he wouldn't mind.
Speaker B:And if he does, sorry, brother, but like, rdp, like, I wanted to replace our DP after the first three episodes because I wanted to explore, you know, what it would look like for the second half to look slightly different, right?
Speaker B:To, like, play around a little bit more.
Speaker B:Also someone who had a little bit more availability and flexibility in their schedule.
Speaker B:And I wanted our dp, who also was Brandon in the show, I wanted him to be able to solely focus on that.
Speaker B:And so we ended up not, you know, replacing him because the Work was strong, and, you know, he really wanted to do it that moment.
Speaker B:I wish that I listened to my gut where we had just kind of replaced him because him not being a part of the rest of the project really did hurt our timeline, really did hurt the amount of investment we were able to do in other areas or put our energy in other areas, because we were having to now juggle this other job.
Speaker B:And finding a DP in LA when you're not paying them and, you know, is a lot, because a lot of this has been volunteer labor, which we're very, very thankful for.
Speaker B:And we've been putting out our own money, right, to make this happen.
Speaker B:Because for Rodney and I, it's been about creating and, like, being able to show up and put characters out into the world that we don't normally see, whether or not we're getting paid for it, because we love it.
Speaker C:Right?
Speaker B:And I'm so thankful because everyone on this project has invested their time and their energy.
Speaker B:And I know, like, this is not a personal attack on rdp because, you know, the reality is a paid job came up.
Speaker B:He had to take it.
Speaker B:But at the end of the day, like, my gut was like, hey, do this, and I didn't do it.
Speaker B:And so it's not the first time.
Speaker B:But that's like, one example, like, trusting your gut.
Speaker B:And not just when it comes to film, just in everything.
Speaker B:Like, if it's not aligning, if something seems off, trust your gut and you don't need a valid reason.
Speaker B:Right?
Speaker B:Just go with what you feel is leading you in that direction, because nine times out of 10, you're not going to regret it, but you're going to regret not trusting your gut.
Speaker C:Definitely.
Speaker C:And for personal me, I would say just being more vocal, which is very surprising.
Speaker C:A lot of people see Deion and he's just this ball of energy.
Speaker C:I am actually the opposite.
Speaker C:Unless I, like, really know you, I'm very, actually timid.
Speaker C:A lot of people don't know that.
Speaker C:I was scared as hell when we did our Q and A.
Speaker C:I was telling Elska.
Speaker C:I was like, oh, my gosh, I'm having a Z attack.
Speaker C:Like, literally.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:I think now just learning from this experience.
Speaker C:I just want to be more vocal.
Speaker C:This is important for me to be vocal because we're creating and we want to make sure that our points are getting across and our characters are reading well.
Speaker C:So I'm definitely excited about season two and just being that vocal presence for my team.
Speaker C:So you guys are definitely in a treat, not only for part Two.
Speaker C:But for season two.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Okay, cool.
Speaker B:I'm so excited.
Speaker B:I'm excited for one part, too, but we'll get there.
Speaker A:Have y' all.
Speaker A:Have y' all read to season two already?
Speaker A:Because I'm hearing many references to the second season.
Speaker B:We have not written it, but we have come up with.
Speaker B:So part of our time off was also rebranding Transplants as a show.
Speaker B:Originally, Transplants was about Dionne and Chad and their journey as transplants.
Speaker B:And because there are so many stories, so many queer stories that are not told, we wanted to diversify a bit.
Speaker B:And so.
Speaker B:And also just from a business standpoint, right.
Speaker B:Making sure that we're marketable, but also not, you know, pigeonholing ourselves into, like, one specific audience.
Speaker B:And so what came out of that was every season making it an anthology and every season following a different set of transplants in the new city.
Speaker B:And so our second season will highlight a trans woman, which I'm very excited about, especially given the.
Speaker B:The shift in the way media is handling our trans women and our trans men.
Speaker B:And so we're very excited about that.
Speaker B:We're excited to be in a new city.
Speaker B:I'm excited for Rodney's leadership on that.
Speaker B:I'm exc.
Speaker C:Excited.
Speaker C:Ronnie, what are you excited about?
Speaker C:Yeah, no, I'm excited to, you know, be in those writers room and also for us to shed light on new writers, you know, so that's.
Speaker C:That's big.
Speaker C:That's something we'll be looking for because we have, unfortunately, you know, it's been just me and Al Scott, so, you know, to bring in other people and give other people a chance, because that has always been the goal, to source and work in parallel so that people could get a chance.
Speaker C:To be honest, everyone doesn't get the chance.
Speaker C:What we did, we didn't, again, know that this was going to happen.
Speaker C:So now that we do have the platform, I'm excited to give other people opportunities as well.
Speaker A:That is beautiful.
Speaker A:And I'm excited to.
Speaker A:That's a very important story with Dolores and, you know, the attacks on trans rights right now globally.
Speaker A:And so, I mean, I'm kind of excited for that, too.
Speaker A:I'm also very curious about your friendship, because working with your friends sometimes can, you know, sometimes it ends well, sometimes it doesn't.
Speaker A:How do y' all stay true to keeping your friendship together?
Speaker A:Together, as well as maintaining a very strong professional relationship?
Speaker C:Yeah, I think the biggest thing is going to be communication.
Speaker C:And I think through this journey, Al Scott and I have learned that just having full transparency, communication and also just knowing each other's styles in communication.
Speaker C:Like, I think sometimes we just want to work with people.
Speaker C:And, like, I know, like, for example, it's big people out there.
Speaker C:We're like, oh, I just want to work with them.
Speaker C:But you don't even know what their management style is.
Speaker C:You don't know how they talk to you.
Speaker C:And you could get on set and be surprised.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:So, you know, that's why going into season two, I'm excited, too, because I feel like me and Oscar have definitely worked on that a lot.
Speaker C:Just a relationship in general, so.
Speaker C:And we have to be strong for the people around us.
Speaker C:That's what's really important.
Speaker C:Because if we fell, then everyone else fell.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And I don't know if you know, but Ronnie and I met on Instagram.
Speaker B:Like, we were not friends before.
Speaker B:We were friends before transplants, but we were not friends.
Speaker B:We became friends because we both loved creating.
Speaker B:So Rodney hit me up on Instagram, and we had a short film that we were going to do that I spoke a little bit about earlier, and that's how we started to build a friendship.
Speaker B:But I'll piggyback on everything he says.
Speaker B:Communication, being transparent, knowing that there is going to be conflict, but healthy conflict is always going to be the thing that moves us forward, not hold us back.
Speaker B:And so making sure that we are communicating, we are saying when we don't like something or pushing back, you know, because without those conversations, it's just like this false.
Speaker B:This false sense of calm which just will blow up and.
Speaker B:And nobody will benefit from it in the long run.
Speaker C:That's real.
Speaker A:That's real.
Speaker A:I'm gonna lighten things up a little bit and ask some, like, fun trivia questions, like, get to know y' all questions.
Speaker A:The first one is, what are the top three songs on Yalls playlist right now?
Speaker C:Oh.
Speaker C:Oh, that's a good one.
Speaker B:I actually can think of a few because.
Speaker B:So I'm a huge music person.
Speaker B:One of my favorite parts has been doing music transplants.
Speaker B:I'm so excited for second season because Rodney really loves scores.
Speaker B:So just incorporating more scores into the season.
Speaker B:But right now, there is this artist.
Speaker B:I don't know how to say his actual name, but it's spelled m n d S n g or something.
Speaker B:I think it's like an abbreviation for my song.
Speaker B:Not 100% sure, but it's this song called I hope you're doing okay that I really, really love.
Speaker B:And I write to a lot of.
Speaker B:There's this band.
Speaker B:Did y' all Know that Cleo Soul is in a band.
Speaker B:So Cleo Soul is in this band called Salt, and she's been in it for very, very long time.
Speaker B:It's S A U L T.
Speaker B:And I really, really, like, love them.
Speaker B:Like, they have this song called Higher that she sings with the band that I really love.
Speaker B:And then there's another one called Fearless.
Speaker B:I've been really finding music without a lot of words.
Speaker B:Has been, like, my go to lately, because the world just feels a little bit overstimulating with everything going on.
Speaker B:So those are my top three.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Listen to them get a chance.
Speaker C:They're so good.
Speaker C:So I just.
Speaker C:And I just seen Coco Jones, but Coco Jones thing for you is has me in a chokehold right now.
Speaker C:I think I'm listening to the whole album every time I'm in the gym.
Speaker C:Also, similar to what else got said listening to Scores.
Speaker C:So I've been listening to the Sinners Score album lately.
Speaker C:It was so good.
Speaker C:Oh, my gosh.
Speaker C:Like, and rather be.
Speaker C:I think Haley.
Speaker C:What's his name?
Speaker C:Leon.
Speaker C:Yeah, Leon and Haley.
Speaker C:Rather be.
Speaker C:I love that song.
Speaker C:I love R B.
Speaker B:So nice.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:R and B.
Speaker A:I'm here for it.
Speaker A:I'm here for it.
Speaker A:If y' all could cast anyone on Transplants, like, anybody, who would you want to see on the show?
Speaker B:Oh, that is such a good question.
Speaker B:I have a few people, but I'm like, I have.
Speaker B:I have to thank my.
Speaker B:Like, my number one.
Speaker C:Number one.
Speaker A:You can give me your top three if you have too many people on your mind.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:Nicole, Bahari, Lovey, Simone, which was.
Speaker B:She was so good.
Speaker B:And forever.
Speaker B:It's just.
Speaker B:She's just so good.
Speaker B:Oh, this third one is wearing me out.
Speaker A:That could be a solid two.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And honestly, Monique, I'm sorry, Monique.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker A:Monique.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:I watch the Parkers every single day, and it's just like the comedic time and like, the.
Speaker B:Just hands down, those were good.
Speaker C:How do I follow up?
Speaker C:Erica Alexander first tour.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:I don't know where she would fit in, especially, like, with this show, but I just want to work with Meryl Streeps.
Speaker C:I'm sorry.
Speaker C:I'm like, I'm fitting.
Speaker C:I don't know where it could be.
Speaker C:I don't know where.
Speaker C:And Kelvin Harris Jr.
Speaker C:Ever since I seen his preparation for the Lion King, I was just like, oh, like him giving the different variations during his audition, I was like, oh.
Speaker B:Oh, yeah.
Speaker C:I wanna.
Speaker C:I would love to work with him.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:And his.
Speaker A:And that press run was one of my favorite press runs.
Speaker A:That press Run and the press run for one of them days up to, hands down, love the chemistry between the.
Speaker A:Between the actors and those press runs.
Speaker A:And that's pretty good.
Speaker A:My next question actually kind of answered it a little bit.
Speaker A:Sitcoms are like, very inspirational or TV shows.
Speaker A:Do you all find very, like, do you all draw inspirations from.
Speaker B:I don't know if you've ever seen Broad City.
Speaker B:So when we came up with Transplants, the intersection that I like to associate it with.
Speaker B:I know Insecure is not a sitcom, it's more of a dramedy, but was Insecure in a Broad City.
Speaker B:If you've never seen Broad City, it's about two friends who live in New York, and it's just.
Speaker B:It's a little ridiculous.
Speaker B:But also, if you've ever lived in New York, like, you kind of realize how not ridiculous it is.
Speaker B:Like the episode where someone steals their AC from the street corner, which is such a real New York thing.
Speaker B:So, like, I feel like that's where, like, some of the ridiculousness comes from, from in our show, which.
Speaker B:Go ahead.
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah, I would say that.
Speaker B:And then like I said earlier, like, the Parkers, like, making sure that we are, like, creating some type of dialogue around things that people wouldn't normally know about.
Speaker C:Yeah, I would have to agree.
Speaker C:Yeah, definitely.
Speaker C:Broad, steady and insecure, but also living single.
Speaker C:Like, I think living single.
Speaker C:And even shows like Girlfriends, they just tackled those conversations that normally weren't had.
Speaker C:So.
Speaker C:And I feel like we did a really great job.
Speaker C:We got to give ourselves a pat on the back for that.
Speaker C:We had a lot great conversation, especially, I mean, one through three.
Speaker C:But four, four through seven, you definitely.
Speaker C:We definitely get into some things.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Okay, cool.
Speaker A:I'm excited about that.
Speaker A:Where is Yalls favorite travel?
Speaker A:Your favorite travel, Your dream travel destination?
Speaker A:What would you say is the place you want to go unwind and stuff like that?
Speaker C:I would have to say.
Speaker C:I mean, I.
Speaker C:I travel often, but I, I.
Speaker C:Africa.
Speaker C:Like, I have.
Speaker C:I haven't been there, and I would love to go to Africa and.
Speaker C:But, like, be there for a while where I can go to, like, Cape Town, you know, Egypt.
Speaker C:Like, really go to different places.
Speaker C:So, yeah, I'd say Africa.
Speaker B:I don't know if I have a dream place.
Speaker B:I know how I want this place to make me feel.
Speaker B:But as someone that's moved a lot, I don't know if a place will ever make me feel the way this, that.
Speaker B:But, like, I like, I want to go somewhere that's full of nature.
Speaker B:So the first thing that came to mind was actually Bali or, like, Thailand, because those are places that have a lot of nature, and I love nature.
Speaker B:And I feel like sometimes there's just so much noise, especially living in a city, that it would be nice to go somewhere and, like, live there for a few months and just, like, be creative and feed my creative inner child.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:So, yeah, I would say one of those, like, tropical places.
Speaker B:One place that I do love that does that is Mexico City.
Speaker B:I don't know if you've ever been, but it's, like, one of my favorite cities, so.
Speaker B:But yeah, I gave pretty cool.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:The third season of the White Lotus was.
Speaker A:Was making me think about Thailand a lot.
Speaker C:So I was like, ah, that's.
Speaker A:That looks like a very beautiful, beautiful country.
Speaker A:Final fun trivia question.
Speaker A:What.
Speaker A:What are your.
Speaker A:What are yalls Guilty pleasure?
Speaker C:What's the thing that you know guilty pleasure?
Speaker B:It depends on the day.
Speaker C:Okay.
Speaker B:I like sweets.
Speaker B:I'm huge.
Speaker B:I need to get over it, but I really like sweets, and I really need to get over it because I'm getting older, and it just does not agree my body anymore SW anything spicy.
Speaker B:Again, getting older.
Speaker B:Not really working out for me right now.
Speaker B:And kindness.
Speaker B:I love kind, like, kind people.
Speaker B:Those are my guilty pleasures.
Speaker C:My three guilty pleasure.
Speaker C:Well, as I am on a fitness journey because I am trying to get shredded, I noticed that on my cheat days, I want potatoes.
Speaker C:I want every type of potato.
Speaker C:I want every type of starch.
Speaker C:I want macaroni and cheese.
Speaker C:It's getting bad.
Speaker C:Like, to the point where not macaroni.
Speaker B:And cheese with potatoes.
Speaker C:It's bad.
Speaker C:I just.
Speaker C:I want every start.
Speaker C:Yeah, I'm trying to, like, fix my cheat days because I am not the rock, so I can't have cheat days like that.
Speaker C:But, yeah, I would say that guilty pleasure watching the boondocks.
Speaker C:Like, watching the boondocks.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker C:Like, I love a good episode.
Speaker C:I would definitely turn it on.
Speaker C:It's.
Speaker C:It's pure comedy.
Speaker B:It is.
Speaker C:I love it.
Speaker C:I would say that's it.
Speaker C:And a fine man.
Speaker C:I guess let's.
Speaker C:Let's just put out there a fine chocolate man.
Speaker C:That is.
Speaker C:Yeah, I would say that's probably my good.
Speaker B:No interracial dating for you.
Speaker A:Shout out to that.
Speaker A:Shout out to that.
Speaker A:Thank you all for sharing all of your yalls.
Speaker A:Guilty pleasures.
Speaker A:Really, really love to.
Speaker A:I feel like I kind of, like, know y' all a little bit more with, like, some of those responses.
Speaker A:So thank you for sharing.
Speaker A:Before we wrap up, I want to just know, like, what do y' all want, like, your legacy to be with this show.
Speaker A:And I feel like that shows that really impact the culture.
Speaker A:And personally, I feel like Trans Mass is in a very sweet spot where it can do that.
Speaker A:No pressure or anything.
Speaker A:But what do y' all want your legacy to be as you're moving into this new iteration of creativity with this show?
Speaker C:For me, I.
Speaker C:When I.
Speaker C:When I think of legacy, I think sometimes we pinpoint certain accolades, but for me, I want to be proud of myself and whatever that looks like.
Speaker C:And I want to love myself and just be proud of the work that I am creating and hopefully that I am changing the paradigm and perspective of people that watch my work.
Speaker C:And with that legacy, I want to have a legacy where I'll be able to help people that come after me.
Speaker C:And while I'm in the legacy and not being the token, you know, I don't want to be just the token queer show.
Speaker C:I want it to be multiple shows and everyone growing and creating financial stability and be able to be creative as their main source of income.
Speaker C:So ultimately, just to.
Speaker C:To be proud of myself and for my grandmother to be proud of me.
Speaker C:She's not here with us anymore, but I always think of her with everything I.
Speaker C:I've done in my life.
Speaker C:And, you know, at a young age, she always told me, you're going to be whatever you choose to be.
Speaker C:So the fact that I'm even here is just testament of that.
Speaker C:And, you know, I'm a gpk.
Speaker C:My parents were preachers, so, like, yeah, that faith has drove me here, and I'm just excited about the future.
Speaker C:And to your point, Transplants has done something that is very special, and it's going to continue to grow and get bigger.
Speaker C:So I'm excited for that journey.
Speaker B:Yeah, for me, I think of it as kind of like pillars.
Speaker B:I want.
Speaker B:It's important to me to build community.
Speaker B:It's important to me to educate.
Speaker B:And one of the things that I love about this show in general is the amount of people who have come on set with zero knowledge and have left knowing how to do a certain job because they've been taught how to do that job.
Speaker B:It's the moments where you tell me, hey, I didn't know what a rent party was, and now I do.
Speaker B:Like, that is the legacy that I want to leave.
Speaker B:I want to create art that can be seen and can be felt and shows the messiness of life.
Speaker B:Like, there is no relationship, no matter who we think it may be that, you know, whether it's a platonic or Familial or romantic.
Speaker B:Like, there is no relationship that's perfect.
Speaker B:And so I want to make sure that we are.
Speaker B:That I'm showing that on screen, that whatever I'm doing is building some type of community that you're learning and that you're.
Speaker B:You're laughing.
Speaker B:There's so many sad things in the world.
Speaker B:The last thing that I want to do is watch something that is going to have me sad the entire way through.
Speaker B:And for me, I just don't think that's realistic.
Speaker B:Like, I don't.
Speaker B:I remember being hit.
Speaker B:Hit by a drunk driver in, like, 20.
Speaker B: I think it was: Speaker B:And after we got hit and almost died, we were, like, on the side of the road, cracking up at jokes.
Speaker B:Because, like, that is the reality of life.
Speaker B:Like, no matter when it's sad, no matter how many, like, horrible moments it is, like, you will find that one moment of joy, and it will.
Speaker B:It may.
Speaker B:It may not fix the situation.
Speaker B:Most times it doesn't.
Speaker B:But at least you feel good about it in that moment, right?
Speaker B:And so I would say those are, like, the things that are most important to me.
Speaker B:And like Rodney said, just being proud of myself and making sure to always be proud of myself, because even when I fail, because that is how we learn.
Speaker B:You can't learn without the failure.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Awesome.
Speaker A:Well, thanks, y' all for the work that you do and for coming on my podcast is talk about your show.
Speaker A:Um, I'm a fan, and I will be watching this new season with Joy.
Speaker A:Yeah, I really appreciate y' all, and we're happy to support in any way that we can.
Speaker A:So thank you.
Speaker B:Thank you for having us.
Speaker C:Of course.
Speaker A:No problem.
Speaker A:And thank you all for tuning in and watching on YouTube or listening wherever you stream your podcast.
Speaker A:This is Odejo Ma.
