“Forever”: Lovie Simone Opens Up About Black Girlhood, First Love, And The Pressures Of Coming Of Age

I loved watching Forever – it felt like the kind of drama that I’ve been wanting to see since I was a teenager. So I wanted to start with asking, when you first heard about the series, what was it that made you say, “I have to be a part of this”?
Lovie: After receiving the audition, I ordered the original Judy Blume book so that I could get to know it a little bit more. And after reading the book, I was like, “Oh my god, I love it so much, I’m gonna have to be a part of it.” I love books; I’m an avid reader, so for me to be able to play out scenes from a book that I love is amazing.

The original novel is set in 1975, and Mara Brock Akil has adapted the story from suburban New Jersey to a modern LA setting with Black protagonists. How did you approach transforming the novel’s Katherine into Keisha in a way that felt authentic?
It wasn’t as hard as I thought it’d be going into it, only because the book – and the show – was written out to be very honest. It’s very truthful, which makes it very timeless in a sense: everything that was going on back then is still happening today, even though it might look different, with social media and technology and stuff. But as far as feelings and hormones and parents, all of it is pretty much the same throughout time, so that’s what I love about the book and this adaptation of the story..