The first season of First Wives Club is now streaming on BET+. HL sat down with star Ryan Michelle Bathe about taking on the role of Ari, why the show is more than just a reboot of the 1996 comedy, and more.
First Wives Club is back with a fresh spin. The all-new series from Tracy Oliver, inspired by the 1996 hit comedy, stars Ryan Michelle Bathe, Jill Scott, and Michelle Buteau. The fierce and talented trio play best friends who reunite to help each other through rough times in their lives. Through the drama and the hardships, their friendship between them prevails. When they have each other, theres nothing these ladies cant do and achieve. The first season includes guest stars Method Man, Giuliana Rancic, and Nene Leakes.
HollywoodLife spoke EXCLUSIVELY with Ryan about the show and working alongside Jill and Michelle. She revealed that Tracys passion for the project was one of the top reasons why she signed on to the show. Ryan raved that the “best part of the whole experience” was forming such close bonds with Jill and Michelle. She also teased what fans can expect and why the show will prove why stories about women are more relevant than ever.
What was the casting process like for the role of Ari?
Ryan Michelle Bathe: Fortunately, I knew someone who was one of the writers and she actually approached me first, and I was actually on another show. So there was a lot of back and forth and they were like, Just know were doing this show. Its happening and wed love for you to consider it. A couple months went by and it kind of came back again. This time, Tracy sat down and we had a really long conversation. She said the same things about the show and how excited they were about writing and how excited they were about seeing it on air. She talked to me about Ari and the need to have someone who was really, really steeped in the experience of sisterhood and the experience of having girlfriends and the African American experience and the specificity with which she spoke made me really excited about jumping in and being a part of it.
What was it about the character Ari that really definitely stood out to you and made you want to be a part of the show?
Ryan Michelle Bathe: I think it was more the way Tracy explained Ari, you know what I mean? It was hearing the character through the actual creators eyes, which is what really made me excited about it. She lit up and she was so excited. I was like, Oh, she really believes in this. Not only this project, but each character is like someone that she is intimately familiar with and loves and that was a major selling point. When you know that the person whos behind the scenes has a very clear idea, clear vision, it really just allows you to step in and begin to build and create.
At the center of this is the sisterhood between these three friends. What was that like for you all to explore that and form these really great bonds and friendships?
Ryan Michelle Bathe: It was the best part of the whole experience. It was amazing. It was stupendous. Michelle and Jill are just two of the most awesome women on the planet, and theyre so immensely talented and people are going to be surprised at how funny Jill is in this and the vulnerability that Michelle has. We knew we had each others backs, and we knew that we could trust our relationship on and off-screen so that we could always trust that when everything else around us was crazy, we would take care of each other.
We live in this world where reboots and revivals are very popular and there are so many projects to put a fresh spin on. Why do you think it was time for First Wives Club to get that treatment?
Ryan Michelle Bathe: Well, I think First Wives Club is special in terms of a reboot because I dont think the first one got mined for all it was supposed to get, do you know what I mean? I think that there was still so much of that story left to tell. I think there was still so much of those women left to see and because of sexism and who ran Hollywood at the time, and who still runs Hollywood. I just read an article, not to take up too much time, by Diablo Cody who was talking about Jennifers Body. She wrote about how she had to contend with men who were like, But why would you write this? Why would you write something for women? Its got to be teenage boys. She said she had to read these notes from tests audiences and one was like, Needs more boobs, but the more was spelled M-O-A-R. I think at the time in 1996 you had these three beautiful, amazing women. Had it been three men who were less amazing and less handsome and even 20 years older, there would have been 17 sequels. For me, this wasnt so much a reboot, I think it was a passing of the baton, which is why I was so excited about. This was a seminal moment where people were trying to tell stories about women for women and it was universal and it became an amazingly big hit. And they didnt know what to do with it. They didnt know how to respond to it. So now were going to show you that its still relevant and were going to remind you what they left behind and continue the story.
What can we expect from this first season? What can you tease about what were going to explore with all of the characters?
Ryan Michelle Bathe: They go through a lot. Theyre all dealing with really, really, really complicated issues in their relationships. Im not going to say who ends up where, what, when, why, but theyre all at some version of how did we get here? Do you know what I mean? And in different ways in their relationships. My husband is definitely way more checked out and I think with another couple its a little bit more opposite and in the other couple theres just so much nastiness, you know what I mean? Its just different phases of that same, where do we go from here as a couple? So were all dealing with that. There are very different ages in terms of children and different versions of motherhood that were dealing with in terms of giving birth, in terms of step-parents. So thats something that we deal with. I will say the Tracy has a way of making each episode feel like a movie in and of itself. Theres so much that were
