Sierra Capri Looks Back at ‘On My Block’ Ahead of Farewell Season

Teen dramedy series On My Block kicks off its fourth and final season on Monday, October 4, on Netflix. And that means we’ll soon be saying farewell to the five inner-city kids who fans have grown to love: Monse (Sierra Capri), Cesar (Diego Tinoco), Ruby (Jason Genao), Jamal (Brett Gray), and Jasmine (Jessica Marie Garcia).

Since Season 1, Monse Finnie has captivated viewers with her brazen honesty and infectious spirit, as well as keeping us on our toes with her on-and-off romance with Cesar. It’s pretty clear that she’s someone you should definitely avoid messing with!

We got a chance to sit down with Capri to discuss her time on the show.

Congrats on four seasons of On My Block. How have you and the cast been processing it coming at an end?

Sierra Capri: Honestly, it’s been bittersweet. We are also sad, but, you know, we are such a family, on-screen and off-screen, so we know we’re going to see each other again, but we don’t know when we’re ever going to have the chance to work on a project– all of us together–again. We know that that’s probably going to be a rare thing, but they’re my family. So I’m definitely going to, like, you know, we’ve been at each other’s weddings and at births of babies. So we’re going to see each other. But, yeah, it was just, you know, I’m glad that we got to be part of such a great show, and I couldn’t imagine doing it with any other cast members.

Courtesy of Netflix

That’s so good to hear! Each season has progressively raised the stakes for the characters. Does this season kind of follow that same pattern?

One-hundred percent. To me, this is my favorite season behind season one, just because I feel like we really went out with a bang in season one–at the end of it, with the shooting of Ruby. So to me, this follows really close behind season one. I think the fans are going to be shocked, and it’s an emotional roller coaster. And I’m so excited for it to come out.

I am so excited too! Season 3 left off with a scene that sparked some theories and raised a lot of questions. What do you believe happened to Monse and the rest of the crew in that two-year leap we see at the end of Season 3?

I honestly don’t know. I mean, you know I feel I’m happy for her that she knew what she needed to do, which was to go away for a little bit and figure some things out on her own. I hope she comes back to Free Ridge because, you know, she can’t let the gang stay apart because we saw at the end of season three, like, they’re no longer friends, and they’re not as close as they used to be. So, I hope that she comes back and they can all be friends again. It has to be the core more.

Giles Mingasson/Netflix

Monse is so complex — she’s unabashedly herself but she also adapts to different environments outside of Freeridge (like living in the suburbs with her mom or with her friends at boarding school). Why do you think Monse’s journey with her identity is important for young girls to see, especially young women of color?

Definitely. I think it’s an accurate representation of what young women of color and young girls, in general, go through. Especially, you know, in your teenage years, you’re still finding yourself and you experience so many things that we do in topics that we touch on in our show. And I think that’s why it’s so relatable. So I really do think that a lot of young girls see themselves in Monse because you do go through this awkward period of, you know, hormones racing, and then you have your mood swings and it’s very realistic.

Definitely. Just to follow that, do you see any parts of yourself in Monse, or are there lots of differences between you two?

No. There are a lot of differences between the two of us. I honestly think the general public might sometimes think that we’re the same person, but [laughs] no, it’s definitely a character. I will say I can relate to her in the sense of being headstrong, but for the majority, I think it’s about 10% Sierra Capri and 90% playing a character

Honestly, I could have made that conclusion just from seeing your TikToks alone.

[Laughs] Yes!

John O Flexor/Netflix

How would you describe Monse’s growth from Season 1 to now? Have you too grown personally from filming the show?

One-hundred percent. I feel like I’ve definitely grown on a personal level as well as professional. I think from season one to season three, I wasn’t really allowed to do what I wanted with the character. I think it was more, you know, they had a certain way that they wanted us to be in a certain role that they wanted us to play. And luckily, in season four, because it was our last season, we were able to get more freedom, and I was able to really do what I wanted to do with the character, especially since we’ve been playing them for so

So I appreciate the creator and producers for letting us do that because I think again that this is one of–this is the best season next to season one. And yeah, it was literally a crash course in Hollywood for me because I was just thrown into it at such a young age. So. So I definitely…I appreciate and I’m so grateful and so blessed that I’ve had this experience because it taught me so much. And I’m so excited for what the future holds.

Monse has definitely evolved. I know before she went off to boarding school, she was very focused on, you know, other people and Cesar, and she always wanted to make sure everyone else around her was doing okay and they were safe, and I think sometimes would get lost and engulfed in other people’s situations. So I think her going away to boarding school and coming back. She is definitely different. She has a better understanding of who she is and what she wants–going into college or wherever she decides to go. I definitely think that there’s going to be a huge shift.

Kevin Estrada/Netflix

What’s one memory from filming On My Block that will stay with you forever?

Oh, my God. Just one? Ahh! Oh, boy. Sheesh, we have so many memories. I lived with Jason and Brett in season one and season two when we were filming because we were all from the East Coast. Brett is from Philly. Jason’s from Jersey. I’m from Maryland. So, yeah, you already know, all the East Coast people had to live together when they came here because we were also new and we didn’t know anything about LA, so we were like, ‘let’s just all live together.’ We loved it in season one, so we did it again for season two. And those two years were so monumental. We made so many memories. So many funny memories. So, Yeah. That’s probably what I’ll remember. One of my best memories of filming the show.

Do you have any memories of being on set?

I cannot even think of just one. Oh my god. Honestly,  I will say any scene where, like, we break character, which we often. Like Brett and Jason and Jessica and me, like, we actually have scenes if you go back and watch, and like, really pay attention, you’ll see us starting to laugh or crack in the middle of the scene. And it’s also like that in season 4. I watched in season 4 and I literally saw all moments where Brett was almost about to laugh and I’m like ‘oh my god, I wonder if the fans are going to be able to see this.’ [Laughs].

Well, now I’m going to be hyper-aware of this and look after these moments!

[Laughs] Please do!

Kevin Estrada/Netflix

Though the show is coming to an end for now, do you think it could ever return in the future? If so, in what form – movie? Time jump series? Prequel?

Oooh! All those sound great. I honestly don’t know. But yeah, that’s up to the creator– to Netflix and the creators and producers, but I mean, I think that hopefully, you know, the fans are going to love this season. And you never know what happens in the future. So, we’ll see!

Where can fans see you next? Any projects in the works?

I have a huge project coming up that I can not talk about, but I’m very excited about it. So, hopefully, I can speak on it soon, but yeah I’m excited!

On My Block, Season 4 Premiere, Monday, October 4, Netflix