The cast, creators, and fans of the crime drama BMF gathered at the TCL Chinese Theater on Thursday night (Jan. 5) in Hollywood for the season two premiere of its debut episode. As the talent, their friends, and families entered the venue, the collective theme of “elevation” was shared by way of the series creator, showrunner, and executive producer Randy Huggins.
Huggins, who was not in attendance, shared a special video message ahead of the screening followed by a thoughtful tribute from the cast and crew as he continues to recover from medical trauma. The Detroit native’s social media accounts, however, have echoed his excitement for the upcoming season.
The sentiments were shared by the series leading characters and new talent joining the cast with VIBE on the brisk black carpet at the premiere event. BMF is based on the true story of the infamous Flenory brothers who rose from the depths of poverty, navigating the war on drugs in Detroit to reach their version of the American dream. In its second installment, BMF provides room for a complicated story of family, loyalty, hustle, and grit to develop beyond the introductory tale revealed in the inaugural season.
As executive producer 50 Cent introduced the premiere episode, he teased the possibility of expanding the BMF universe with spin-offs, similar to the expanded world of Power he established at STARZ. With applause from the audience, the lights dimmed and the show began, officially kicking off a new era.
Read below for 50 Cent, Demetrius “Lil Meech” Flenory Jr., La La Anthony, and more cast and crew of BMF feel about season two.
Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson On What Fans Will Enjoy Most
“Well, I think that they’re going to get what the… The aspirational themes that run through BMF. You know? Because it kind of goes up. It gets bigger and bigger, as it goes. That’s like the… It feels like an extended, push-it-to-the-limit, montage.”
Demetrius Flenory Jr. On Why We Should Tune In
“You need to tune in to BMF season two because there’s nothing else to watch [laughs] I’m just playing. BMF season two is great. It’s amazing, extraordinary. I put so much blood and so much tears into this project, and season two is all about expanding. It’s all about Meech, having a good thing where it’s going now that his brother isn’t trying to do it anymore, so it’s all about Meech making the connections and making all of these deals by himself and having to expand and take over a nation with no help. So, it’s a lot of new faces, a lot of new action, a lot of new dialogue, a lot more everything in BMF season two, and I can’t wait for people to see it.”
Da’Vinchi (Terry Flenory) On Why We Should Tune In
“I think their story is really impressive, to see these two brothers that were just extremely poor to think this organized, and come up with a concept and an idea, and really just went to the moon. You know what I’m saying? That’s really impressive, and it’s exciting to actually watch how they executed that, how they went above. I think the characters are going to grow up a lot in Season 2, so it’s going to be very interesting. They’re going to see Terry develop into a man more. He has a little love triangle going on. He has a little business going on.”
Director Solvan "Slick" Naim On What Fans Will Appreciate
“I think fans are going to be captivated, they’re going to really be intrigued with the scope of this season. You know what I’m saying? We upped up everything. Everything is bigger. Elevate was the key word to it. And yeah, I think they’re going to be captivated by just the scope and how things have expanded throughout season one.”
Laila Pruitt (Nicole Flenory) On Her Favorite Elements Of Season Two
“The twists and turns that are going to happen, the suspenseful moments, I’m really excited to see audiences’ reactions to those. I think the different relationships, whether romantic or not romantic, that form this season are very interesting to watch. I feel awesome to working alongside Russell Hornsby, Michole White, Da’Vinchi, all of these amazing people that I get to learn from.”
Rayan Lawerence (K-9) On What He’s Excited For Fans To See
“I’m excited for you to see my character K9 develop and also with the amazing other guest stars that we have, Lala (expanded role), Mo’Nique, Leslie Jones. We coming with the heat this season. You know what I mean? Season 1 was great, but we going to be even greater. Elevate, elevate, elevate, that’s what our executive producer Randy always wanted us to do, is elevate.
I think it’s elevated on all levels. The character’s story… I got an expanded role so you’ll see what I was able to develop with the character, ’cause obviously this is based on a true story so I was able to… What I learned and what I studied before, I was able to find out really what K9 was about.”
Mike Merrill (Ty Washington) On Excitement For Season Two
“Season two is about to be fu**ing lit. That’s all I got to say. It’s about to be f**king lit. You got so many people that’s coming into this season to make it where it really is going to be now. ‘Cause season two is when BMF really unfolds. And for this to be a legendary, beautiful story and for me to be a part of it, and play my part and be a part of that. I thank nothing but God, Big Meech, and the Black Mafia Family, everyone that took a risk for this to succeed to what it is today.”
Sydney Mitchell (Lawanda) On Her Character Evolution
“My character is loyal. My character is determined. And my character is very laid back. But not this season. Not this season. I take that back. She’s a little feisty this season. I think they [fans] are going to be most excited to see how Lawanda this season is not really taking no mess. Last season she was kind of laying down, being the baby mama. This time she’s kind of stepping out like, ‘Okay, I’m not going for it anymore.’ She’s elevated.”
Steve Harris (Detective Von Bryant) On Excitement For Season Two
“I think it’s the growth of the establishment of BMF. I think Terry and Meech discovering either their power or how they really have to maneuver to change it into a bigger thing. They’re not just Detroit hustlers. Personally, I think we opened up the characters, right? I can speak to my character. They brought in Kelly Hu, a young Asian lady to be a part of the whole mix and to show the sort of side. We were able to touch on a couple of topics. Single fatherhood, people that have certain issues, how they choose to deal with anxiety and that sort of thing. So I think we opened up a lot of doors, but it still held true to the times. We weren’t thinking about this is the way we are now. So I think that is one way that we tapped into it that’s a little different.”
Kelly Hu (Detective Veronica Jin) On Excitement For Season 2
“Season two does not disappoint. What you thought you saw in season one with all the crazy, the drugs, the guns, the sex, it is elevated in season two. People will not be disappointed. So I was saying if you like how spicy season one was, season two is even more so. It’s amazing. I’m so scared of giving anything away and getting in trouble, but there’s a lot of twists and turns with every character. A lot of unexpected stuff, especially with my character in episode three. There are some amazing surprises that come out, that give so much more background to who she is and what she’s about. I think people are going to be shocked.”
Rama Montakhabi (Peaches) On Her Role And Excitement For Season 2
“I am playing Peaches on BMF, and I am most excited for the twists and turns that you guys are going to see. It’s not all what you think it’s going to be. So I’m excited for you guys to see the surprises.”
Christine Horn (Mabel) On Excitement For Season 2
“I think the fans are going to be so excited by the new levels of drama, the grit, the sexiness of the show. Really, this season feels very electric and it’s very tapped in and we just go so much deeper and the stakes get so much higher. I believe for us on set, our whole thing was about elevation, and so what I believe the writers of this season was find a way to explore more storylines so that the fans could feel a more well-rounded story overall. So there, I think people would just be excited by how much to get to learn more about other characters.”
