It seems we’re gearing up for an explosive Good Trouble finale!
So much has happened this season on Good Trouble, the addictive series proving why it has successfully earned its fifth season renewal.
One of the season’s highlights has been watching Malika as she came into her own, learned to put herself first, navigated the nuances of her love life as a polyamorist, and continued her activism and advocation.
And that’s why it was such a pleasure to catch up with Zuri Adele again. From how instrumental her experience at Spelman and wellness are in shaping her artistry to the importance of paying it forward, as said once before, she’s the epitome of good vibes only.
Not only did Adele tease what the future may hold for Malika and Angelica, but she dropped a juicy tidbit about why we should tune into the finale, and from the sounds of it, we will NOT want to miss it! Check it out below!
First, we need to talk about Malika’s love life. I was a bit heartbroken when Malika and Angelica sort of ended things. It was disappointing, but it was a very mature, healthy parting of ways that I appreciated. But it doesn’t feel over. So can you tell me a bit about that?
Yes, it feels like it’s not all the way over because they’re still expressing that they’re missing each other. And yeah, we’re still being taken along for the ride, which has sometimes been Malika’s pattern, with Isaac in particular just taking our time and doing the dance.
We see that come up again with Angelica; I like that. I like that they’re doing something really new for each of them. It doesn’t surprise me that it’s taking them a little time to figure out their next step.
They’ve been great teachers to each other, and they’re trying to figure out if their season is up or if there’s still more time left. It’s an interesting little dance that they’re doing. They’re trying to be healthy and not be toxic.
Right. They are really healthy, even though it’s complicated because Angelica still has a hard time with polyamory. But they’re not as toxic as other couples.
That’s true. I’m proud of her. Malika is going on her journey. She’s learning a lot through her romantic experiences and learning to still put herself first.
That’s been huge. One of the most pivotal points of her coming out of that relationship with Dyonte and going into the one with Angelica was being able to put herself first and aspire to do everything she desired — between relationships, her job, and so forth.
Yeah, I’m proud of her. That’s something that we’re we’re learning to do more and more these days. Collectively, we’re holding each other accountable to take care of ourselves and put ourselves first.
Yes. That is very important, I think, especially for her just as a Black woman, because it just does not happen as it should.
No, it doesn’t. It’s good to put that on TV.
Do you anticipate Malika meeting new people soon, or is she just going to focus more on her work life? Because it also seems like she has some chemistry with the councilman’s son.
Yes, yes, yes!
Malika has options.
Yes. I anticipate that Malika will continue to choose herself and keep a few doors open. I’ll suggest that.
I love it. It’s so vague.
I know it’s so juicy. I mean, to be honest, there are still question marks. I have questions myself!
Congratulations to you guys for your fifth-season renewal. Five seasons is incredible.
Thank you! I feel so grateful. This show has been my classroom just in terms of learning to sustain this particular career, acting for television, and building in character, and this work family has been so great.
We’ve been through a lot together in recent years, and I’m glad we get to continue telling this story for at least another season.
I also feel that way about Malika. We have so much more to do. She and I have more to do, and the ensemble has more to do. We’ve got more good trouble to shake up.
It feels really good. So many shows are important and well done, but they don’t get to this point of five seasons or even a second season. It puts a lot into perspective. We are fortunate to have this particular job at this time. It feels great, and it feels right.
I love that we got more background on Malika, particularly about her being unhoused. The flashback with Alice is probably one of my favorite moments from the series. Were you excited to dig into that part of your character and the origin of that relationship with Alice more?
I’m happy we had that moment. We even cried before we started filming it. We had a quick camera setup rehearsal right before we were already there. We were like, “Oh, I love you, sis!”
We just felt the blossoming of our friendship in this process. It was nice to have a flashback and really feel it, you know?
I think that’s better than if we had just seen that at the beginning because Sherri and I have built that relationship with each other, and we were able to tap into that in a truly authentic way during that scene.
She and I have been talking and saying we’ve been wanting to know more about what those days were like for Malika and Alice, so it was great that we saw it come up in the script.
I hope we get more of those flashbacks. The hair and makeup and wardrobe teams are so good when it comes to all those flashbacks; we’ve all changed in the last several years. They did such a great job of bringing our looks back to the spaces they were to match that first encounter.
Yes, I loved that. I also loved the conversation with Luca, who is such a great addition.
Yeah, he’s perfect. He’s such a great addition to our family — Brian as well. What I love about our show is that we can keep bringing in new characters and get to know and see new sides of the other characters’ world.
Malika has been making some waves in Lucia’s office. I love seeing her try to navigate office politics because she always finds a way to do what she wants.
She really does. She’s so bold! She has a lot of audacity. I could never! Maybe I have been. She inspires me. I can see moments where I look back, and I’m like, “Oh, that was audacious.” These issues are so important to her that she doesn’t think about how bold she’s being by addressing them, but she’s being really bold.
Everything in that office feels like a chess match. Moves are made all the time, and she usually gets out of well. Except now, her women’s center could come at the expense of the encampment. What can you tell us about that coming up?
Well, it’s looking like she has an opportunity to take another step forward with her women’s center at the expense of the housing encampment. And that is where we started to see that Malika’s personal life interferes with her professional life and goals. It can get a little messy.
I think it’s good for us to remember that Malika is new to politics and the protocols around that. It’s tough because it speaks to the fact that there’s so much in the past couple of years — there are so many corporations or leaders who want to get things right. And there’s always some sort of consequence, perhaps by helping one group.
One group feels left out, or one cause gets less attention than another. It brings up a necessary and present conversation about how we tackle these priorities because all of these issues are important. Shelter is important for everyone.
It brings up those conversations without needing to have a perfect answer to them. And I think that’s what good art does, but it’s challenging, tricky, and we don’t like how it feels now.
Switching over, I’m fascinated by your wellness movement, especially since you’re targeting minorities and marginalized communities. Tell me a little bit more about that.
Yeah. My personal wellness practice has been crucial in terms of my well-being. And that has a lot to do with movement or how I treat my body.
At first, that was from a goal of taking care of my instrument as an actor and thinking that that’s how I would perform in my best way.
That was my background from being in theater academically and with those like movement practices becoming a part of it and just learning that yoga, or working out, or various wellness practices are beneficial for me to share.
Then I wanted to share and make these practices more accessible, and being in wellness or academic spaces and seeing more people who look like me, wanting to have an experience that felt more like it was catered to my needs culturally.
I just decided to continue to create my own and then share that. I had a really good time. I had a really transformative chapter tapping into the yoga space. That was my part-time job, teaching yoga while I was auditioning. And it helped me support myself and lean into that wellness world and my love for teaching.
I was teaching acting and started to be able to incorporate teaching yoga there, so it kind of just all flowed all together. And now it’s like this is a part of me and how I like to practice activism within my community.
It’s just been organic, and it’s still flowing and unfolding. I’m loving it. The more I take care of myself, the more I can share something unique and specific with my communities and the world.
I definitely loved learning about that. It’s sort of something that seems to meld between you and your character, with Malika. The Trap Heals episode was one of my favorite events. It had me looking things up locally.
Oh yeah, those are the types of things I like to be a part of and curate to bring people together. And that’s the type of activism that’s different from protesting, and it’s equally important to keep our cups full.
Speaking of activism and experiences, I also see you went to Spelman, which I’m a little jealous about. I thought about it when I was in high school and chickened out. I thought it would be a great experience.
You have to go for a visit or a homecoming!
It was the best decision I made in my entire life, going to Spelman, and I was choosing between Spelman and USC. Right before I graduated from high school, both felt like great opportunities towards the end.
I’m really glad that I decided to go to Spelman and learn about theater and study acting from a perspective that catered to my need to learn more about our history as people of acknowledged African descent and to learn our history from well before slavery to learn the innovations that we were truly a part of and just learn history in a way that I had not learned it before.
That really informed my approach to studying theater and the playwrights we chose. And it was empowering to be in a room of all Black women playing all these different classical theater characters.
It was great to see ourselves as powerful in those spaces and not always be so pigeonholed to like what a White world thinks of a Black woman.
We got to find the diversity among ourselves. I could go on forever, but the sisterhood, community, rituals, the pedagogy of theater in particular, but of any craft, the way people were learning medicine, anything like.
But to do that, it’s so empowering to do it from our perspective and to really know our history beyond what Westernized textbooks have been teaching. I know that it informs my approach or my passion for playing Malika.
What attracted you to theater? If you weren’t an actress, I would’ve probably assumed you were an artist in some capacity.
My parents are writers, and my dad was a playwright and a performance poet. I was always sort of around a theater, performance, or art space. My cousins, aunts, and uncles are dancers and dance in an African drum circle. There’s always just some sort of like performance ritual around me.
I use my voice and body to tell stories. I don’t remember not pursuing it. I caught the bug. It’s been just really healing.
Maybe, too, as an only child, there’s something about theater classes where I got to play with, express, and emote with other peers in a way that I didn’t do because I didn’t have siblings to do that with.
You enjoy helping other people experience that, too, with your scholarship. That is really amazing. Seriously, I love that you’ve done that.
Thank you. It’s made possible by the support of many people donating, coming together, and saying yes. So yeah, that’s a community thing.
Of course, I feel like when you get ahead, you have to be able to reach back and help other people, too. We’re all in this together.
That’s right. I’m a recipient of scholarships, and that’s how I’m here.
Same here.
I’m grateful that I got to reach right on back. A lot of people reached out to me. A lot of people have been in the same boat. It honestly feels good to be able to pay it forward.
Is there anything else that you can tease or share about the season finale?
Just buckle up and have a nice cocktail and a good meal.
Oh goodness! I’ve needed a drink or two, especially with Gael and Isabella [Laughs].
You’re going to need it! [Laughs] Just wait. There is more. It’s going to be good, though.
We’re doing something different this season than we’ve done before. But there’s something new that we’re doing. I think that will be clear in the finale. And it will still leave with so many question marks, which makes me excited about season five. Really excited because I genuinely don’t know what will happen.
Sheesh, that’s an amazing tease. This season already does feel tonally different in a fun way. I was calling it a soft reboot. I’m excited to hear about this, and I can’t wait.
Oh yeah, you’re going to demand the next season after the finale. You’re going to demand it.
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You can find Zuri Adele on Instagram and catch her in the season finale of Good Trouble airing Thursday at 10/9c on Freeform.
Don’t forget to check out our Good Trouble Reviews, and if you need to catch up, you can watch Good Trouble online here via TV Fanatic.
Jasmine Blu is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on Twitter.