We got to chat with Braelyn Rankins, Nadine Whiteman Roden, Aadin Church and Sebastian Spencer who star as the Richards family in the Peacock original musical-comedy series “Take Note.”
Braelyn Rankins (Doom Patrol, Genius: Aretha) stars as Calvin Richards, 14-year-old who has a wonderful, close-knit family. Nadine Whiteman Roden (Designated Survivor, Murdoch Mysteries) plays Calvin’s mother, Drea; Aadin Church (Broadway’s Dreamgirls, Sister Act) plays Calvin’s dad, Reggie; and Sebastian Spencer (Overlord and the Underwoods) plays Calvin’s brother, Jaxon.
The Richards can survive anything as long as they’re together. And good thing because Calvin was chosen to compete on a tween reality singing show – “Take Note” – and they’re going to spend the summer navigating the crazy ups and downs of new friendships and competitions, while being thrust into the national spotlight. Take Note will introduce a new generation to Pop, R&B, Country, and Rock classics along with originals by emerging musicians written specifically for the series.
Check out our interview with the onscreen family!
You all make such a great family on screen. Was it instant chemistry?
Aadin: Yeah, it was.
Braelyn: Yeah, there was instant chemistry.
Aadin: It was pretty obvious from our first table read and just hearing the boys act out their parts and see my TV wife to her thing was just like, ‘Oh man, I got goosebumps.’ I got goosebumps at the table. I knew this was going to be amazing.
Nadine: I have a tendency to cry when I’m happy, or sad, or anytime, but I definitely burst into tears that day. I was so excited. From the moment we sat down, we felt like a family.
Sebastian: I remember the first person I met that first day at the table read was Aadin and he just welcomed me with open arms.It was instantly like love at first sight.
Nadine: From the minute! Even just watching people ordering their lunches, like all of a sudden you became like, ‘you’re not gonna have that? Why don’t you have a little bit …’ we just kind of turned into a family. It was really special.
Sebastian: Every single thing that we did helped us to get to know each other better. And I feel like that really helped.
Braelyn: But it was instant. Everybody just started hanging out and we had some great bonding moments.
The show touches on a lot of topics, some are very much light hearted, some are more serious. What was it like to come together as a family to discuss these types of things?
Aadin: It was cool.
Nadine: I think it was super cool because I think that the boys, especially, were growing and changing and really finding their way as actors in it while we we’re doing the show. I don’t have children, but I felt this real sense of protection over them. And it was kind of amazing, it touched our hearts and they surprise you. The boys are so incredibly talented and Aadin, I mean he’s ridiculously talented, we know that already. But the amount of heart each person brought to these characters just made it so easy to just slip into it. It was like a comfortable shoe. We were just there.
Sebastian: I definitely felt the other side of that. I love the way you guys just brought us in and you guys helped us come in and I don’t know how else to explain it. Like, you guys just let us be ourselves and you guys just helped us out and I’m really thankful for that. Thank you guys for that so much.
Aadin: What was great was to to read those scripts daily and to delve into those subject matters that you’re talking about. One of them that really hit me, not to say too much, touched a little bit on the Civil Rights Movement. And it kind of caught me in the midst of it. And it was a scene that Braelyn and I do together. While we were reading it, it just choked me up a bit. We were touching on something that means so much to me and to the world. And so it was just like, ‘wow, I didn’t know we were gonna go that deep on this kind of comedy, lighthearted series,’ but we did and it worked so well and I can’t wait to see it all come together.
Braelyn: Yeah, I think some of the more serious topics were definitely challenging to shoot, but I think they’re gonna come out pretty well. I think they’re gonna relay well to the audience.
Sebastian: From the moment I read the pilot, I can already tell that the show would be amazing. But when I saw that in the script, I was like, ‘Okay, this show is definitely going places. This is definitely going to be like the show of the year.’ That totally reassured me, like,’ okay, everybody’s killing it. The show has amazing writers…’ like everything is just going the way it should be in order for the show to get like a Grammy or something.
What are you most excited for people to see when they watch the show?
Nadine: I’m excited for people to see these young people and how talented they are. The singing in this show is off the chain! Is that what old people say? Is that a thing anymore? I don’t know. But there was a day early on, I think we were still doing table reads, that I got to hear Braelyn sing something, and again, I burst into tears because it was unbelievable. I was like, ‘wait a minute, who is this child?’ And then to see the kids all perform together, I don’t think people are ready for the amount of talent that we have added here. I don’t think they’re ready.
Aadin: They’re not ready.
Sebastian: Somebody had a recording of Braelyn singing one of the songs from the show. I literally remember hearing that and then I look over at him, because he’s sitting right next to me, and I’m like, ‘is that you singing?’ And he’s just like, ‘yeah,’ and then I’m like, ‘dude!’
Braelyn: I’m definitely excited for people to see the music. I think the music is amazing.
Aadin: Off the chain, amazing!
We’re gonna bring it back.
Nadine: Drea’s new catch phrase!
Is there anything else that you all want to say or add about “Take Note?”
Aadin: Oh man, the performances from Sebastian Spencer, from Braelyn Rankins, from Nadine Whiteman Roden, my family, my TV family is just phenomenal. We came together so well. I think we gave a performance that exceeded expectations. And I can’t wait for the world to see.
Nadine: Absolutely! I am also excited for people to see a beautiful black family that is so in love with each other. I’m really, really excited to bring that to the world. I want more of that in that.
Sebastian: It’s not very often that you see that in the media and I’m so happy to be a part of sharing that image with young black families and black people. I’m very excited to see that and I really just want to be a beacon of light and hope to anybody who’s watching.
Aadin: And here we go, during Black History Month. This is a perfect time to drop the show.
