Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
If you’re looking for a fun holiday weekend binge, you cannot go wrong with Netflix’s Styling Hollywood. The latest in Netflix’s–let’s be honest–legendary line of reality shows, Styling Hollywood is exactly what fans of Queer Eye and Selling Sunset need right now. The series is more than just Netflix’s latest highly addictive reality show, though; it’s an uplifting series that focuses on the love between two gay, black, male entrepreneurs and their life working with a lineup of empowering black women.
Jason Bolden and Adair Curtis are your new favorite reality power couple, and they’ve been waiting for just the right moment to take this medium by storm. The moment is now, and Bolden and Curtis (as well as their scene-stealing assistants) are finally on TV. While Bolden turns out looks for Taraji P. Henson and Ava DuVernay, Curtis helps Gabrielle Union and Dulé Hill take their homes to the next level. Fashion, furniture, fighting, and friendship–this show has it all.
Decider got the chance to talk to Jason Bolden and Adair Curtis via phone ahead of Styling Hollywood’s big debut. We got into the big moments of the season, learned more about their famous besties, and got an update on their baby situation.
Decider: Working in Hollywood, I’m sure that you’re both familiar with the ups and downs of reality TV. What made you decide to jump into the genre with your own show?
Adair Curtis: We’ve been asked to do shows about our life and our business and our love for each other for a really long time and I think this time, partnering with [executive producer] Carlos King and Netflix this time just felt right. The stars aligned basically and they made it really easy for us. They understood us, they got us, and we felt safe and that helped us create what we think is a beautiful show and representation for our business and life together.
The show is kinda half a makeover show and half home a reno show with lots of relationship moments. It’s everything you want in a reality show in one place. How did y’all develop the structure?
Jason Bolden: It’s just what our life is. We have a creative firm where it’s designing and styling. We had no choice but to form and shape it around what we do every day working with A-list clients on interior and styling. It’s just our life. That’s the best way to put it.
You work with big names like Ava DuVernay and Taraji P. Henson regularly. Were you excited to approach your A-list clients to be on your show?
Bolden: It was a bit interesting. The people that we work with are so awesome. They have supported us completely through, from start to finish and still today they support us. It was very interesting to be in a place to be like, “Hey, do you want to do this?” But then once we presented it to them, they were so excited, completely thrilled. [They were like], “What day are we doing this? Oh my god, I’m so excited!” It was really refreshing and they took a lot of the anxiety and the stress and the nervousness away from us. They engaged us and uplifted us in those moments. It was really awesome to have their support.
It’s also just great to see these big name people in a totally different way. You don’t often see Ava DuVernay on a show like this.
Bolden: It’s so perfect. This docu-series is about joy and happiness and that’s their baseline, Ava’s baseline, it’s joy and happiness. It’s what every human wants. It was so nice to have them come into the docu-series and give that [joy] to the planet that I see every day.
You also have some friends on the show that you’ve had for a long time. Like, you’ve known Gabrielle Union for a while.
Curtis: A really long time.
Bolden: Gab is one of our closest and best friends. Like her and [her husband] Dwyane [Wade], we’re like best friend couples. We do couple dinners and couple chats and they’re great. They’re also clients, so we’re really lucky to have best friends that are clients as well. It’s actually amazing. I’m thinking about it, and that’s kinda cool.
Was it different working with Gabrielle as a client on-camera as opposed to off?
Curtis: I’m the one who filmed with Gab,and she is hysterical. I tried my hardest to stay in the moment and not laugh, because a lot of our relationship is based around laughter and fun. But I needed to show that we’re shopping for furniture and have a real conversation with her. That part was difficult for me, but she made it really easy. She’s a professional and been doing it for such a long time. For her, I’m sure the cameras just faded away. I believe that’s in the first episode, so that was one of our earlier days filming and I got a little more comfortable after that. I think you see it towards the middle to end of the season where I start to get a little bit more fluid and comfortable with myself knowing that the cameras are there. Gab made it easy and doing it with a friend made it that much easier.
That’s your dynamic, too. Jason’s the outgoing one and Adair, you’re more reserved. Were you hesitant to get involved with a reality show?
Curtis: I’ve always been in the background, working for Russell Simmons in the past, for a decade working for people like Naomi Campbell and Sean “P. Diddy” Combs. I’ve always played the background. It’s where I’m the most comfortable. Because Jason does so well in front of the camera, my role has always been to support him and make sure that our business is running. In the beginning, we definitely had some hesitation around if I should be on camera or not. I think this scenario with Netflix and Carlos King presented itself in a way that we felt we can trust the situation and trust all the parties and no one was going to take advantage of us. It made it a lot easier.
I also love that you do interviews together on the show, because it really shows off your chemistry. I’d ask how you developed that chemistry but it seems obvious that it comes from being a couple for so long.
Curtis: There is no perfecting anything. This is exactly who Jason is. This is exactly who I am. I think the thing that comes across on camera is this contrast. You get to see that Jason is so different from me and vice versa, but there’s still this commonality and love. We want the same things. Although we’re really different and there’s a big contrast, you can root for us because we love each other.
The show also gets into some serious territory, like when Jason responds to the controversy surrounding that Gucci sweater that resembled blackface. What was filming that like?
Bolden: Everything was kind of in realtime, so it just happened. This docu-series–a lot of people that know us can watch and be like, “Yep, that really happened.” I was dealing with that, it happened, and now it’s [Laughs]… now it’s on Netflix. Also, it’s real life. That thing happened and we’ve adjusted, brands have adjusted themselves. Everybody’s working towards the greater good now. It is what it is, at this point. I have clients wearing Gucci and Prada and other brands because they’ve adjusted.
On the other end of the spectrum, I have to ask about your stylist assistant John and his claim that he’s a former child star. That’s just brought up and then the topic gets changed! I have to know, did you ask follow-ups about that? Was he a child star? What are his credits?
Bolden: Well, I don’t know. I literally had to stop asking because I couldn’t take it. This is crazy. I guess [he was]? He still sings in the car. It’s really weird.
Curtis: We have such a familial relationship with the team. You get to know them, but we also want to be really professional. We don’t cross certain lines, we don’t ask about people’s pasts unless they offer them. We wouldn’t have known that if John didn’t say it to us and now, we’re still learning about each other. John was brand new when we started filming. We’re still learning about him and he’s still learning about us in a lot of ways, and that’s also really exciting.
Speaking of your team, how are things with Kafia? It seems like, going off of the show, that uncertainty is kinda the foundation of your relationship.
Curtis: Yeah, it works and then it doesn’t. I accept Kafia for who she is and hopefully she accepts me for who I am. We have a really, really strong friendship and I don’t think that’ll ever change. If anything, this experience and going through what we went through, working with each other, has strengthened our friendship. We respect each others’ perspectives.
It certainly makes for an interesting show. There’s a personality clash, sure, but the underlying love comes across.
Curtis: I’m glad that came through.
Looking ahead, you already work with A-list clients. Now that you have a Netflix show and an even more heightened profile, are there any A++ listers that you hope to work with?
Bolden: I love who we work with. I’m really happy with who we work with, and if anything comes from [Styling Hollywood], it’s amazing. But we have a style and a mood and we just like smart and strong people. You don’t have to be huge and in front of a camera. We like smart, progressive people who are trying to change the planet. If one of those people pops up, we’re all for it.
I loved seeing your excitement over working with Serena Williams.
Bolden: Love her. Love love love love love Serena.
So hypothetically, if this show goes all the way to the Emmys–
Bolden: Oh my god! You just made me nervous!
IIf y’all end up going to awards shows and walking red carpets, who styles both of you? Who is the stylist to the stylists?
Bolden: Well, John likes to think he’s my stylist, but it’s not happening. [Laughs]
Curtis: I leave all the styling to Jason. He used to style me, actually, when we first got together because my style, according to him, was horrible. I’ve since learned a lot being so close to him and watching him work, that I can put myself together but I still look to him for approval.
Bolden: That’s a lie. He does not look to me for approval.
Curtis: Okay, sometimes.
Lastly, this feels super personal to ask but it’s such a big part of Season 1 that I can’t avoid it: is there an update on the baby situation?
Curtis: There is an update! There is an update, and that is it.
The update is that there is an update
Bolden: There is an update for the update.
Will we have to wait for Season 2 to find out more? Is a Season 2 in the future?
Curtis: Our fingers are crossed and we’ll see how things go. We’re diligently working on [the baby] and there is an update and we’re almost there.
You can stream all of Styling Hollywood Season 1 on Netflix right now.
