‘The Widow’s Payback’: Bianca Lawson on Tackling Post ‘Queen Sugar’ Role After Acting Break

Bianca Lawson is a woman on a mission in Lifetime’s The Widow’s Payback. The thriller  inspired by real events sees the Queen Sugar star play Amanda Bibbs. When her husband is murdered and investigators are dragging their feet, she goes undercover to find the killer. 

Amanda takes on a new identity and engages in a cat and mouse game of seduction with Percy “Slide” Daye (Kheon Clarke). The closer she gets to the criminal mastermind responsible for her husband’s death, the more dangerous it becomes. However, the dental hygienist will do whatever it takes to see justice is served.     

Lawson is no stranger to Lifetime with turns in the movie House of Secrets and Witches of East End more than a decade ago. The actress, daughter of veteran actors Richard Lawson and Denise Gordy, has been working since a young age with her first regular role being on Saved By the Bell: The New Class. She spent time on some of the biggest shows of the 1990s from Sister, Sister to Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Lawson earned a Teen Choice Award in 2001 with Julia Stiles for Choice Movie: Fight Scene for Save the Last Dance. Most recently, her dramatic turn as recovering drug addict Darla was recognized with two NAACP Image Award nominations. 

Here Lawson opens up her latest role and career evolution.

Your first Lifetime movie was House of Secrets more than 10 years ago.

Bianca Lawson: It was so long ago! I loved that first film. I was very proud of it, especially being a producer on it. That was my first time being a producer. 

For The Widow’s Payback, you’re really playing two roles. How was it tacking this? 

If I’m being totally honest, I took some time off. I hadn’t worked in a couple of years, so I was nervous about it. Especially, because I was in every scene basically and having the dual role, and it all came together pretty quickly. I actually had some anxiety about it, but it was fun. For me, the relationship with her husband was very important because it launches everything else. That’s the incident that starts it all. I feel that the relationship is so strong and clear with their history. Everything she does after is this justification. There is a reason now inside of me to pull from those feelings. That was really activating for me. 

Also, talking to Stacy [Mandelberg], the producer and team, about the source material and the article they read and what spoke to them. Reading the script, I would imagine her and the relationships. She is not a real undercover FBI agent, so I didn’t have to make it super real because she was just a regular person who has this need and drive to seek justice for her husband. Also, what do you do with that grief? She is told to just wait. That it will pass. Nobody could understand how she was feeling, so it gave her something active to do with that grief. All of that was where my head was at. She is figuring it out as she is doing it. She had never done this before. She doesn’t know what she is doing or going into. I leaned into that. The longer she is being this new version of her, the more seamless it becomes. In the beginning, she is figuring it out. 

Bianca Lawson and JoJo Ahenkorah (Lifetime)

It’s almost like she has to pull a different side of herself she didn’t know was there? 

Yeah, or maybe a side of herself that she never got to explore. Sometimes we think, “this is my identity based on my life, based on the way I was raised.” There may be longings you have that you never really investigated because it’s not really how you think of yourself in the world. She was so Type A and responsible and good. I think she had all these skillsets and abilities. She was the best at her job as a dental hygienist. I think we don’t get to fulfill our potential or see what we are capable of until we are forced into scenarios where it becomes, “Oh, I do have this muscle. I do have this ability. I just had never been in an environment or situation where I could optimize it or spark it or investigate it.” 

One of the things the movie does touch on is the racial disparities within the system when it comes to men of color. 

I think it’s true. Here my husband in the movie is innocent and set up. But that’s besides the point. When that happens and you’re a person of color, you don’t get the same second chance others do. We’re seeing this now in the world. I think that was important to show. I think a theme that was tackled on my previous show Queen Sugar. People don’t think about that. The [detectives] weren’t doing anything here. They weren’t investigating. Clearly, there was murder. She keeps going to the cops saying, “listen, if he wasn’t a black man, would you actually be doing something?” I think it’s something that is very real and true and prevalent…I am quite proud they added that element. 

You mentioned taking a break from working after such a big role. What was it like getting back in the mix here? We talked about how your character was given this renewed confidence by what she goes through. Did you feel the same playing her? 

I think so. On Queen Sugar, I played that character for seven years. That’s the longest I’ve ever lived as a character. When you are playing someone that long, I was fortunate she got to go through so many things. You think, “can I do anything else?” I think I needed that time to release her and let her go and come back to Bianca. To go from that and then to jump into this, it was sort of a little bit daunting but also exciting. She also got to do so many things. It was good for me because it was a good breakaway because she was so different from Darla. 

As the days went on, I started thinking, “I can still do this. It is still fun for me.” I think one thing I underestimated because I was so fortunate to get to work pretty consistently, which isn’t the case for most actors, when I had that long break. I underestimated acting. All the things you go through in your life, bad things, the grief, depression, whatever. Acting really is an outlet for me. A place to put all that and channel all of that. It was nice to have that experience again through this role. 

You really started your career in comedy starting with Saved By the Bell: The New Class. Your first big regular role. What do you remember about those formidable years? 

I started when I was 9 and was excited to do it. At first you are just so excited to be an actor and have a job and be on set. I think a Barbie commercial was the first thing at 9, and I was just floating. By 13 or 14 and getting on Saved by the Bell. I was a fan of the original one, so it was such a big deal, and I was so young. It was great fun for me. All those multi-cam shows I loved, being with peers and other kids my age. My memory of it is I really loved it. I was just really excited about it. I think Cate Blanchett said when she is acting, she almost feels more alive than in real life. I definitely agree with that. So, even some of the things that are a sitcom where you rehearse it all week and you do a taping in front of the audience, there is an adrenaline that hits you that is like no other. I was just very excited and had really positive experiences as a child actor. 

Spankee Rodgers, Sarah Lancaster, Christian Oliver, Jonathan Angel, Natalia Cigliuti, Bianca Lawson, and Dustin Diamond of ‘Saved by the Bell: The New Class’ (Gary Null/NBC/Courtesy: Everett Collection)

Is there one role you’re recognized for most besides Queen Sugar? 

People will recognize me from Save the Last Dance, Buffy, Pretty Little Liars. All of it. I think it depends on where I’m at and the demographic of people in that space. There isn’t just one really. The Feast of All Saints actually comes up a lot. That was one of my absolute favorite things to do. I wish more people got to see it because I was so proud. At the time, I felt like I was elevating to another level because it was a period piece, very filmic. I was a huge Anne Rice fan, and she was a producer on it. It was just wonderful. Now I’m going from maybe a child actor, teen actor to something more layered and nuanced and complex and really gives me something to dive into. I love that I had Anne’s book to reference because the whole world is right there. 

What piece of advice did your dad give you that you’ve always taken with you? 

He said to me that no matter what is going on or what you’re dealing with on set or off set, people are only going to know what ends up onscreen. It doesn’t matter. They are not going to know all the things that went on before or what didn’t happen, just lock in regardless of how you feel. Just lock in and do the best work you can because that’s what is going to last. That’s what is going to be your legacy and going to matter. 

Bianca Lawson as Darla in Queen Sugar (OWN)

It must also be inspiring to see him continue to work as well at this stage of the game. How often have you shared the screen together? 

A few times. We worked together on Saved by the Bell. I think we worked together a few times like on Strong Medicine where I was a pregnant teen. 

Is there another project you want to work with him on? 

He laughs when I say this, but I’m serious. I’ve always had this desire. My mom is an actress too and a dancer, so I always had this desire to direct them in a remake of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf. 

Are they up for it? 

Well, my dad laughed and my mom said she’d do it. I would like to direct them in something though. 

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What do you want to say to viewers before they watch The Widow’s Payback? 

I hope they enjoy it. I hope they get lost in the world of it and come out of it thinking about things differently. Maybe they will feel a bit braver in their lives because my character drops herself in this whole world. I think it takes bravery and courage to do that without knowing what will happen three steps ahead. You just have an inclination and follow it, despite people telling you you’re wrong or that you’re crazy. Basically, I hope it inspires people to be brave and courageous in their lives 

The Widow’s Payback premiere, October 18, 8/7c, Lifetime