Check out our exclusive interview with Haaz Sleiman and Jearnest Corchado about “Little America”!
Poster for “Little America”
Premiering at the beginning of the year, “Little America” is the new TV series produced for Apple TV+ created by Lee Eisenberg, Emily V. Gordon, and Kumail Nanjiani. Each episode of the show is inspired by true stories featured by Epic Magazine about immigrants in America. Each story is filled with the laughter, romance, sadness, surprise, and inspiration that these real people, and so many of us who live here, experience in our lives. We got a chance to speak with Haaz Sleiman and Jearnest Corchado about the show. Haaz Sleiman appears in the episode “The Son” as Rafiq. “The story is kind of like my story in a way. Not fully, but it’s very personal and something I really relate to,” said Haaz, “I’m Arab, I’m Muslim, I’m gay, I’m from a small town in Lebanon which is a neighboring country of Syria, my character’s country of origin. So there were a lot of similarities and it felt very personal to me and was a story I always wanted to tell.” The story of finding a chosen family as opposed to the family you’re born into is a very relatable thing within the LGBTQ+ community. Haaz mentioned that the story would be great for
Haaz Sleiman as Rafiq and Adam Ali as Zane in “Little America”
a lot of queer people around the world who “are not aware of the idea of ‘chosen family’ or don’t think about it that much” said Haaz. Jearnest Chorchado appears in the episode “The Jaguar” as Marisol. The story follows her as an undocumented high schooler whose life is changed by a squash coach. Jearnest mentioned how important having a role like this is to her. “A 2020 thing that I’ve been taking with me is that I want to be walking more with purpose,” said Jearnest, “I want to be doing things that have purpose. I love ‘Little America’ because it’s not only for entertainment purposes its because it wants to actually teach, in the most beautiful, non-invasive way it teaching you that we are all human and that we are all the same.” With the changing media landscape, networks and streaming services are working to tell real
Jearnest Corchado as Marisol in “Little America”
stories that are diverse and inclusive. Jearnest talks about how seeing actresses like America Ferrera, Selma Hayek, and Penélope Cruz made her realize she can be an actress too. This show tells a lot of beautiful and endearing stories of people finding themselves and finding a life that they love in America. Check out the series on Apple TV+ and watch our full interview with Haaz Sleiman and Jearnest Corchado below!