NBC’s The Grand Crew Returns for Season 2 on March 3rd, 2023!
Los Angeles, CA – NBC’s hit comedy series The Grand Crew is back with a brand new season! Premiering on March 3rd, 2023, the show promises to bring even more laughs and hilarious moments to viewers across the country. Created by Phil Augusta Jackson, the show follows a group of friends who bond over their love of wine and navigate the ups and downs of life in their 30s.
The first season of The Grand Crew was a critical and commercial success, earning rave reviews for its sharp writing, talented cast, and relatable characters. Season 2 promises to build on that success with even more witty banter, zany antics, and heartwarming moments. Fans of the show can expect to see their favorite characters return, including Wyatt (Justin Cunningham), Noah (Echo Kellum), Anthony (Aaron Jennings), and Nicky (Nicole Byer).
To celebrate the new season, we sat down with creator Phil Augusta Jackson and the cast of The Grand Crew for interviews. Wyatt (Justin Cunningham), Noah (Echo Kellum), Anthony (Aaron Jennings), and Nicky (Nicole Byer) shared their thoughts on the show’s success, their favorite moments from filming, and what viewers can expect in Season 2. Their candid responses are sure to get fans even more excited for the new season.
The Knockturnal: So I just want to ask you, you know, what keeps you inspired when writing for the shows, specifically?
Phil Augusta Jackson: What keeps me inspired when writing the show? I think the, um, really exciting part about this show is that, um, I’m working with my friends in front of and behind the camera, uh, and so what keeps me motivated and excited is that I get to work with people that I really love and trust, um, and, you know, we pull from experiences based on real life, real life emotions, real life situations and things of that nature and so I think, um, yeah those are the things that keep me motivated. I get to work with a great group of people that I’ve known for a long time, uh, and also, um, the fact that, um, the inspiration for this show is rooted in my real life. You know, I have a good group of friends that we drink wine from a wine bar and that’s the inspiration for this show. When in doubt, we just kind of lean on, um, real life experiences and figure out ways to heighten it and make it the most fun for, um, the show that we’re putting together.
The Knockturnal: Do you find yourself at any point— you know, you mention, uh, the production challenges. Do you think that has ever gotten in the way of when your writing— and maybe there’s a particular situation or scene that you want to put the characters in— do you ever feel like there’s, like, an obstacle holding you back from doing that because of production?
Phil Augusta Jackson: No, no, no. I— We’ve been really fortunate on this show to show the stories that we told would have all been stories that I wanted to tell. Um, there are production challenges, uh, on any show, just given budget, given how many pages you have to film, and there’s a myriad of challenges no matter what show you’re dealing with, but that hasn’t gotten in the way of, um, the creativity of the show, even though, a lot of times, um, you know, something does come up and you’re unable to do one set piece that you had in mind. It forces you to get more creative about how you do something just as good, if not better, with the resources and the time that you have. But, um— but, yeah, no, I feel really fortunate with, um, the creative collaboration, um, uh, amongst everybody that’s working on this show and it’s been, uh— The challenges are all normal challenges, um, and I think it’s been a really good dynamic so far, yeah.
The Knockturnal: Going from Season One to Season Two, what changed in your writing and what have you, like— going to Season Two, what was one of your biggest goals for the characters and the show?
Phil Augusta Jackson: For sure. So, given that this is a hangout show, um, and, in so much of what I think, uh, makes a hangout show work is wanting to hang out with the characters that you’re watching. So Season One, to me— I like to describe it as, like, setting the table, you know, letting everybody that watches the show know what characters you’re going to be interacting with from week to week, um, what makes them unique and special, and what makes the, uh, um, pairings amongst the different characters work and what makes them dynamic as well. And so, Season One, to me, is, um, you know, obviously the show needs to have jokes, it needs to be funny, and you need to have good storylines, but, to me, Season One was about ‘okay, let me show you who these characters are and, to me, Season Two is about ‘alright, let’s really, really dive in and have some fun with it now’ and so, I really do feel like Season Two, um, is, uh, just pushing the funny more, pushing the heart more. We’re not leaning away from moments of, uh, compatibility, passion, and heart, but also I think we’re also not leaning away from moments of comedy. So we’re trying to just really, really expand on both and make the show even more fun than Season One was. Connecting Season One was really fun.
The Knockturnal: Mhm. And who is your favorite character?
Phil Augusta Jackson: They’re all my favorite characters.
The Knockturnal: No! You have to pick one!
Phil Augusta Jackson: Hmm. I created this show; I can’t do that!
The Knockturnal: Favorite moment. One of your favorite moments between your characters.
Phil Augusta Jackson: I can give one for each character.
The Knockturnal: Okay.
Phil Augusta Jackson: Okay, so, uh, I think Noah in the therapy episode was super, super funny and that had a good mix of humor and kind of truth in a sensitive in the Black community. Um, I think that, uh, Wyatt was super funny in the competition with Wyatt and Kristin in, um, the competition. I think the relationship dynamic between them was just great in that episode. Uh, I think Sherm was hilarious in, uh, 109, um, vineyards as the host of the perfect pair game show and his catch phrase ‘Ya know, that’s how you sip it.’ Um, I think, uh, who else did I miss out on…I think Anthony was awesome in, um, in, uh, 208 wages, when he had, uh, to do the negotiations. I think he was also great in, uh, the dancing scene with, uh, with Gracie and, uh, that was my favorite moment between the two of them and my favorite moment for Gracie— one of my favorite moments for Gracie slash Faye as well. Did I cover everybody? I think so.
The Knockturnal: I think so. Okay.
Phil Augusta Jackson: I think so. I love them all *laughs* I think— I can’t choose!
The Knockturnal: It’s okay. I’m sorry.
Phil Augusta Jackson: I can’t choose! It’s hard!
The Knockturnal: My last question will be: What are you looking forward to for fans to experience the second season? What do you think they’re gonna…
Phil Augusta Jackson: What I’m looking forward to is fans experiencing more fun, more laughs, more heart, um, and more wine.
The Knockturnal: More wine!
Phil Augusta Jackson: Yeah. More wine, absolutely.
