Female protagonist of the CBS Series Bob Hearts Abishola, Fọláké Olówófôyekù, has said the impact of the show will be felt years after its production.
Olówófôyekù plays Abishola, a Nigerian nurse working in Detroit who marries her entrepreneur patient, Bob (Billy Gardell).
The Nigerian-born actress who spoke at a Television Critics Association panel is Los Angeles, US, said the team of casts and producers are yet to comprehend the work they have done with the series.
In a chat with the media, Olówófôyekù said, the series in its fifth and final run “is a testament that people do want to see these kinds of stories. This imagery is important and there’s a market for it in the millions globally.”
Olówófôyekù who waxed emotional during the finale season’s first premiere in front of a studio audience said it finally dawned on her how the show should have been if not for COVID.
Bob Hearts Abishola premiered in September 2019, without a live audience for its first season. After the COVID 19 pandemic began in March 2020, they completed four seasons without one.
Hence, she was especially happy “to interact with folks (live audience) who’ve been watching the show for the last four years because it feels like we’ve just been in here with masks on. It’s not just numbers. It’s real.”
With the series in its last season, Olówófôyekù whose role in the series provided her a job for the last four years said she is not worried about the future rather living in the present.
“My focus is living in the moment. What I have in my control is being present and that’s what I’ve been focused on in all areas of my life. My longest job before this was about a month. Now, I have been at a job for five years.”
While the five years working with Producer Chuck Lorre, co-cast Billy Gardell, and other cast members as Travis Wolfe Jr, Shola Adewusi and Barry Shabaka Henley felt like a month, she said she has taken the opportunity to learn about production behind-the-scenes from her co-creator, Lorre, in addition to enhancing her knowledge in representation and connecting with the audience.
Olówófôyekù who has just finished a project for Disney, which she couldn’t discuss, is developing new projects for herself centering on Afrofuturism, and has bought properties she hopes to produce and star in around the genre which combines African history with science fiction/technology.
“I’m looking forward to exploring that genre, fantasy, especially Afrofuturism. If you are looking for Afrofuturism, I have it.”
The final season of Bob Hearts Abishola airs from February 11, to May 13, 2024, at 8.30pm Mondays on CBS.
