‘Good Trouble’ Star Sherry Cola Says ‘You’ll Be Proud of Alice by the End of This Season’
Q&A
Things got messy on last night’s episode of Good Trouble, “Willful Blindness.”
Multiple fights broke out among the characters on the Freeform drama—one of which was the yelling match between Coterie proprietor Alice (Sherry Cola) and Meera (Briana Venskus), Alice’s ex-girlfriend/BFF’s fiancée. You see, Alice went on a radio show (run by prospective love interest Joey) and made a few not-so-pleasant jokes about her bestie and the new beau. And the beau wasn’t happy.
That was just one of the pivotal moments we got to witness for Alice in an episode that also shed some light on her family and how she has yet to come out to them. And with so much to unpack, TV Insider had a chat with Cola to see what’s next for this fascinating character.
Last we saw, Alice was still waiting to see if she could get that second date out of Joey (Daisy Eagan). They were texting back and forth, and there were those dreaded text bubbles. Where do we pick up with Alice and her struggles — is she going to get that second date?
Sherry Cola: This definitely isn’t the last you’ll see of Joey, but she’ll challenge Alice. This is someone new that Alice is interested in. She’s been stuck on Sumi [Kara Wang] for so long and finally someone else has stepped in that thinks she’s funny, and makes her feel good about herself, which is something she hasn’t felt in years. But now there is this dilemma and she doesn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings. So Joey’s over here giving her this opportunity to be funny and run with it, but Alice is like, what is she going to do, go on stage and say all these things that she thought was “funny” about her best friend/ex-girlfriend? You know what I mean?
Totally. Are we going to see Alice take steps towards coming out to her parents? Or is that still a million miles away in her journey?
It feels like a million miles away because she’s still discovering who she is and being comfortable in her own skin. She and Sumi weren’t exactly an out couple, you know? And here comes Joey who is very comfortable in who she is and is a queer woman. There’s no hiding for her. That whole balance/unbalance of sorts comes into play and you’ll definitely see an evolution with Alice. There’s going to be growth in her journey — even just learning to stand up for herself. I think you’ll be proud of Alice by the end of this season.
Will we see more tension between Alice and Meera coming up since they’re still planning that bachelorette party together?
There will be more tension. [Long Pause] [Laughs] It’s always going to be tense because of the situation and once Meera starts to, for lack of a better term, catch on [to Alice’s feelings for Sumi], there will definitely be more scenes with Alice and Meera.
(Freeform/Richard Cartwright)
Will we get to see more elements of the wedding-to-come in this season?
Yes. More elements of the wedding will come. I’m telling you, it is so good. I was watching the show last night and was literally taken aback. Like, this is good TV. I am so proud to be on this show. I’m stoked for everyone to see what else is coming. We still have this really fun episode where basically all of us, and then some, are out on the town together. It is so fun. The stuff they come up with and the stories that just weave in and out is just brilliant.
You perform stand-up comedy in real life. Are we going to see a similar career path blossom for Alice?
I think that’s something that Alice has always wanted to do. She doesn’t know how to express herself, really. She bottles emotions, and humor has always been this outlet, naturally, as it is for all of us. Let’s just say, I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s the route.
Any more about life at the Coterie coming up that you can tease?
There will always be drama within the Coterie, whether it be romance or friendship, and I feel like it gets even juicer. It makes my heart so full, just the fact that people are referencing the Coterie, wanting to be part of the Coterie, you know, seeing this communal living and really thinking how much fun it is and what a family we’ve become.
It’s not so much of a tease, but I just want to say that we’ve really become a family in real life. We literally have a group chat called “The Coterie.” You know, aside from Maia [Mitchell] and Cierra [Ramirez], none of us knew each other before the show, and they have been open arms since Day One. We’re continually learning from these two queens leading us in the show and it’s just a beautiful part of the Coterie. But yeah, the drama will continue — the juiciness and the funny situations, too.
(Freeform/Richard Cartwright)
How about the diversity within the stories? How much do you connect with Alice’s story and will we get more of that element in particular?
[The show’s] going to keep delivering on the stories that are being told. The fact that we have this lunch scene where they are speaking Mandarin is such a real lens, you know? I can’t speak for every single Asian family, but many households are very traditional because a lot of us are immigrants. Asian people, specifically Chinese, came later into this country. I’m an immigrant. I was born in Shanghai.
So that lunch scenario, it’s very interesting. You hear a lot about Asian families not showing much affection, for example. Rarely saying ‘I love you,’ things like that. That moment where [Alice] is asking her dad how his noodles are, and he just doesn’t acknowledge it. I haven’t seen that very much on TV. I’m just so excited that these writers and creators are giving us a chance to tell the story of Alice. Even when I read the original audition, I was so surprised — but why was I so surprised, you know what I mean?
Anyway, what I’m really excited about, is that it really is all something that somebody in their 20s goes through: identity, family, relationships. Whether you are Asian or not, queer or not, female or not, these are things that can touch anyone.
What advice would you give to Alice?
The advice that I would give to Alice is, “Take care of yourself.” This is advice for everyone really. Self-care is so essential. We are so wrapped up in everything. Whether for her that means, not answering Sumi’s phone calls, or not letting what her mom said get to her. Whatever that may be, take care of yourself. That goes for everyone in this world.
Good Trouble, Tuesdays, 8/7c, Freeform
