The Young Cast Of Netflix’s ‘On The Block’ Is Ready To Change The Game

In many ways, Netflix’s latest teen offering, On My Block, is your typical coming-of-age dramedy. We’re following a group of misfit friends trying to navigate the drama of adolescence with heaping doses of humor. They’re challenged by crushes, cliques, and their own insecurities. Friendships will be tested and heartache will be felt.
But what sets On My Block apart is its setting. Rather than base its action in a sleepy middle class suburb, On My Block focuses on black and Latinx teens growing up in contemporary South Central, Los Angeles. The show opens on a party broken up not by the cops, but by shots being fired. Our four leads laugh as they argue over which caliber round was shot, like it’s nothing.
On My Block was co-created by Lauren Iungerich, Eddie Gonzalez, and Jeremy Haft. It draws inspiration from The Goonies and classic John Hughes, and features some fresh young faces: Sierra Capri (Monse), Jason Genao (Ruby), Brett Gray (Jamal), and Diego Tinoco (Cesar). All four young stars understand the stakes are high for On My Block. Not only is it one of the first shows to focus with such love and care on the nerdier teens in an inner city neighborhood, but On My Block also comes with the heft of the “Netflix” brand and all the cultural cache that comes with it. When Decider met the actors at a press event, they were all reeling from the excitement of the show’s first trailer hitting the internet.

“I feel so privileged. It’s such an honor, honestly. I’m so happy that Netflix and Lauren Iungerich and Jeremy Haft and Eddie Gonzalez created this opportunity for us,” Diego Tinoco said. “And it’s not just for diversity onscreen, but behind screens, too. The whole crew was diverse. We had Asian directors, Latino producers, Latino writers, African-American writers…It was insane.”

Jason Genao added, “I think it’s funny because I never pictured myself to be on to really push so hard in the movement and you just get thrown in and become this person with no option but to do it. And I want to do it.”

As soon as Genao finished, the cast’s resident joker, Brett Gray chimed in with comical mix of sincerity and sarcasm: “I am. I’m about the movement, here for it, and I think it’s like a dream come true. I would not have any other introduction than this. And I think that I’m ready and I’m loving every second of it.”

“I think we knew when we were filming this that it would create a shift, but I don’t think we knew how much of a conversation — ” said Sierra Capri.

“Already!” Gray said. “The trailer released at 8 AM and it’s already like… so much going on!”

Even though it’s kind of a Hollywood cliché, the actors insisted that they bonded “right off the bat” at the first table read. In fact, East Coast transplants Capri, Genao, and Grey found themselves living together while they shot On My Block in Los Angeles.
“So we were on set together 12 hours a day and then home together,” said Grey.
Genao added, “And on weekends, we’d be, ‘Y’all wanna go out?'”
“And then we went out on weekends!” Grey said.
Capri said, “I think the more we learned about each other, the more we learned about each others’ characters because we learned just how alike we were.”

On My Block deals with a number of heavy issues with grace and wit, and that includes sex. Specifically, Capri and Tinoco’s characters find themselves in a complicated and heady romance. “It gets hot!” Tinoco joked, which made the cast laugh. However, Capri had a thoughtful perspective on how explicit the show gets considering the young ages — they are all freshmen in high school – of the characters.
“To me, the honest truth is even though a lot of parents will have reservations about letting their children watch this, especially at 14, it’s being brought up. If not at home, then at school,” Capri said. “So I think this show’s parents they don’t have to hide it from their children. If anything, expose them to it and let them make their own decisions, and hopefully you’ve raised them well enough to make the right decision.”
Overall, it seemed that the message the cast of On My Block hoped the show would convey is that the kids are okay. No matter what background you come from and no matter what challenges are thrown your way, you can figure out the right thing to do on your own.
As Gray put it: “Kids are so smart. Kids know what’s going on and what to do and what not to do. It’s so cool to be on a show where we are just as smart as the things going on around us.”
On My Block premieres on Netflix tomorrow, Friday, March 16th.

Stream On My Block on Netflix