Let’s face it, 2020 sucks but one thing that is getting us through it is our friends even when you can’t be there in person for each other. Despite the chaos, there’s a comforting feeling when you can gather around a screen in poorly lit rooms in front of Zoom backgrounds or hoop on freezing FaceTime calls.
Life as we once knew it filled with privileges we unknowingly took for granted transformed when the lockdown was enforced in March. Stuck behind the same four walls for months can be daunting, mentally draining and more. How many hours can one watch Netflix without it staring at you in disappointment.
Through friends our shared experience can make us feel less alone and this is what NBC’s Connecting is about: friends trying to stay close (and sane) through video chats as they share the highs and lows of these extraordinary times.
Annie (Otmara Marrero) has a crush on her bestie Ben (Preacher Lawson), but emotionally needy Ben can’t let go of his Instagram influencer offscreen girlfriend. Pradeep (Parvesh Cheena) is stressed out by the ubiquity of his offscreen husband and kids, so he has to hide in the closet. Garrett and Michelle (real-life spouses Keith Powell and Jill Knox, allowing them actually to be onscreen together) have married-people problems. Ellis (Shakina Nayfack) is experiencing the dangers of the gig economy in a pandemic. And Rufus (Ely Henry) is a doomsday prepper, relishing his moment in the figurative sun.
Each week begins with the date, opening on “March 29, 2020” and jumping to April 15 and May 25 in the subsequent episodes.
They’re surrounded by friends each dealing with the crisis in their own way, as they discuss everything from the silly to the sobering, which includes hearing from a nurse seeing the virus’ impact firsthand as well as the Black Lives Matter movement.
The Koalition spoke to amazingly talented comedian Preacher Lawson about Connecting, what was it like filming a show entirely during lockdown, the complications of navigating a new normal and more.
Check out our interview below.
