After a two-year wait, P-Valley is back and fans are eager to see what's next for the ladies of The Pynk and the men who frequent their place of business.
One of the biggest lingering questions for fans after episode one smashed viewership records last week is: where do Hailey/Autumn Night and Andre stand? The end of last season found them at an impasse as Hailey bought The Pynk, pulling the rug from beneath The Mayor and Andre's investors. To top it all off, Andre's wife came to town, throwing a pretty big wrench in the budding relationship between the two.
We spoke with Elarica Johnson, who takes on Hailey/Autumn Night, and Parker Sawyers, who portrays Andre Watkins, to get their take on what season two has in store for their characters – both individually and together.
For Hailey, stepping into her power as the new owner, operator, and bookkeeper is a return to a version of the character fans haven't had a full opportunity to see yet.
“Hailey’s in a comfortable space now because this is where she’s from,” Johnson said. “This is her space. She had this in her past, and the audience didn’t get to see that.”
"I think we all have a boss in us. There’s something there that comes out once in a while if we’re not like that all the time. With the work that I do, there are moments where you have to be super in control and it’s nice to have a role where you can just tell everyone what to do,” she laughed. “So I have just enjoyed it completely.”
“I don’t know how great her relationships are moving forward now with the rest of the characters, unfortunately, but she definitely feels way more comfortable being in this kind of bossy space.”
As for Andre, the aspiring political player with legal and financial interest in The Pynk and the possible new casino coming to town to take its place, season 1 found him in an internal tug-of-war. A married man supposedly in Chucalissa solely to further his professional interests, he quickly found himself fascinated by and entangled with Autumn Night, forming a deep personal bond with her that threatened his professional relationships and still poses a big threat to his marriage.
"I still think he’s a good man…he’s trying to figure out himself, and figure out his goals," Sawyers said of Andre. "He knows he has something to offer his community, offer the world, and how to be productive within his society. He’s really trying to figure that out and have the courage and confidence to do that.”
It remains to be seen if Hailey and Andre will re-spark their romance, but it is clear that their connection is undeniable.
“You see them leaning on one another, After COVID, after some other things that happen in their lives, they recognize they need each other a little bit," Sawyers continued. "They might tease a bit – the push and pull, the will they or won’t they – but the current running underneath is that they need each other.”
P-Valley airs Sundays on STARZ.