ABC Family’s Lincoln Heights is the story of a police officer returning to his home neighborhood, and helping the community to overcome it’s difficulties.  Erica Hubbard plays Cassie Sutton and Robert Adamson plays Charles Antoni, the young interracial couple overcoming the many difficulties that face them as they explore their love.  Robert and Erica recently spoke to MediaBlvd about the show and where they think their characters will end up this season.

Question> The show actually increased quite a bit in the number of viewers last week and had the highest number of viewers ever.  I was wondering if that was a surprise and if you have any idea, what do you think it is that’s making the show kind of grow in viewership here in its third season?

Robert>  Man, I’ll tell you what, every year when the premiere rolls around, I get so nervous.  I’m just like, “Oh, I just don’t know what’s going to happen.”  But every year, we seem to increase the numbers, which is kind of unheard of for a television show.  It just keeps on getting more and more viewers.  I think it just is a testament to the writing and the story as it just gets better as we grow and sort of like find where we sit as far as with the story we want to tell and all that. 

 Some shows come out with a big bang and have a huge following and our show just had this progressive sort of cult following and I honestly prefer it that way.  It keeps the suspense opened.

Question> And  Erica, did you have any thoughts on that?

Erica>  I was just going to piggyback off of what Robert Adamson said.  I most definitely think it’s the content of the television show.  Most definitely the writing and as well as the directing and most definitely the talent, I just find it a joy for us to work together and I think that transfers off the screen.  And people can see that and then they grow attached to the Suttons and all the other characters that come on, because when you like what you do I think that just screams and people are intrigued by our chemistry.

Question> Where are your characters headed this season and down the road?  Where do you see Charles and Cassie ending up?

Robert>  Well, they are 17.  But, I’d say that this year is definitely going to be a sort of coming of age story for everybody.  I think everybody’s just trying to figure out who they are and what they want and maybe make some mistakes along the way.  But as far as Cassie and Charles goes I don’t know, you’ll never know, I guess you just got to watch to find out.

Erica>  Well, Cassie and Charles, known as Chassie.  It gets very interesting and it’s beyond the holding hands stage I’d have to say and it’s beyond the kissing stage.  So without really saying what’s next, it does go further.  It does go further tonight and you will see them do some things that, it won’t shock the audience, but I think the audience is waiting for them to take that next step in their relationship.

Question> What’s the best and worst part about playing a teenager in high school after you’ve already been through this experience?

Robert>  Good question.  My high school experience sucked.  So it’s especially a lot more fun to play it on TV.  I don’t know, it’s kind of hard, I think it’s a little difficult to step into the shoes of the mentality of a 16/17-year old being a little older and more mature.  But you do experience a lot of fun things.  I think I’ve been to the prom or like a homecoming dance like six times or something since I’ve been an actor.

Erica>  I think the best experience for playing Cassie and Charles, well I can only speak on behalf of Cassie Sutton, in high school is reliving those experiences.  Most of the things that Cassie goes through on Lincoln Heights I have gone through.  I dated an Italian guy.  I went to dances with him.  I was in love with him and it was a great relationship and that’s the most important thing I can say, because it’s like I’m reliving those experiences and they were great experiences.

Question> Cassie and Charles have both been involved in some very intense situations on Lincoln Heights that go far beyond their interracial dating aspect, such as the season premiere house break-in incident.  How do you feel about the level of intensity on this show and do you think it helps or hurts Lincoln Heights?

Robert>  I think that the suspense is a make or break for television.  I think that you’ve got to throw those kinds of curve balls at people; get people a little on edge, because it keeps them interested.  I mean, I think having intense episodes like that where you’re not really sure what’s going to happen.  Just take a break from I’d say the mundane, the average everyday sort of life drama.  It allows you to separate yourself from reality.  I think that kind of stuff absolutely helps Lincoln Heights and its viewers.

Question> What do you think keeps viewers coming back?  What do you think separates Lincoln Heights from other family dramas?

Erica>  Well, this year, I know people are going to keep coming back, because we have some great guest stars coming onboard and you’ll see NBA professionals, Darin Davis is going to be on the show.  You’re going to see Andy Stone.  We have lots of singers, Jay Holiday.  Solange Knowles is in a big episode.  So everybody knows that’s Beyonce’s sister and the list goes on and on.  So people are going to tune in this year, because I mean again we have some great guest stars.

Robert>  I think it’s kind of interesting, because what we’re seeing on Lincoln Heights is something that’s very unique in television.  It really is.  Usually shows come off with a lot of hype, and a network will go through incredible lengths to get audience viewers to tune in.  They go through the promotions and the advertising, and Lincoln Heights has really been a show that’s grown from word of mouth and it just keeps on progressively getting more and more viewers, which basically says that it’s not one of those shows that just came out of the woodworks and hit really hard.  It’s one of those things where people started watching it and so then they started telling their friends about it and they started telling their friends about it and as they started to watch it, they’ve I think connected with the show and the story and as opposed to losing audience, we’re just continually gaining an audience.  I think that’s incredible.  I really am so happy that that’s the situation.

Question> What attracted you to the roles of Charles and Cassie?

Erica>  You know what?  I think sometimes roles are attracted to you.  And by that meaning like sometimes you don’t know when you go into audition, like, “Okay, is this going to be good or is it not?”  But then when you find yourself portraying the character, it just is magic.  That’s the only word I can use for it is magic and then you find yourself portraying this character and loving this character, embracing this character and you know that, “Okay, this is the project for me.  This is the right project.”  Some projects, it just doesn’t happen like that.

Robert>  Yes, in the beginning I had no idea where Charles was going or where he fit into the whole picture, as far as the Heights and everything.  As the story progressed and almost just like a real life story, you learn and you grow and you figure out who you are and where you fit into the bigger picture.  It’s been like one of those experiences where it’s like, “Oh, okay, I understand now, I understand what my role is; what my part in this whole story-telling process is,” and it’s just been a learning and growing experience.  I wouldn’t say it was like I was attracted to it.  It’s more, I think, Erica, kind of hit the nail on the head, it’s like it was more like the role was attracted to you and now you’ve got to play with it.

Erica>  And you know what?  I have to say that, I have to give a shout out to Kathleen McGee-Anderson, who does an excellent job running the show.  She’s one of the executive producers, and then also, when you have a staff of great writing and the show run is great and it has lots of experience.  And then also, Russell Hornsby, who’s the dad on the show, and then Nicki Micheaux, I mean, you can’t ask her to work on a better project than Lincoln Heights.

Question> What impact you guys think the show is having on the fans out there, on the nation as a whole, is it sort of sparking conversation and that kind of thing?

Robert>  Good question. 

Erica>  Well, I think it is sparking conversation.  I got a phone call from my sister yesterday and she was listening to the radio and the radio personality was saying, “Okay, are there any African-American shows that are based on the family?  Where are they?  Call in, call in.”  And the phone started ringing and ringing, and she called me and she said, “Erica, the phones are ringing and everybody’s saying Lincoln Heights and everybody’s talking about it,” and so actually it’s a syndicated radio show, and I turned on the radio and people are really saying that they’re just drawn to watching Lincoln Heights.

And I want to kind of piggyback off what Robert said earlier, it’s a show that people may not know about it but when they start tuning in to watch it, they love it and they become instant fans.

Robert>  It does.

Erica>  So, it’s just, I’m happy.

Robert>  I’ll tell you what, it blows you away when I see the numbers come in.  I mean, you should have seen me when I heard about the ratings for the opener, I was like a giddy little school girl.  Because, we live in L.A. and it’s hard to really get a feel for what the audience is thinking and feeling and what they’re going through and to really understand how many people are watching this show and being affected by it.  For me, it’s like I wake up in the morning, I go to the grocery store, go to the bookstore, live my life, and then I don’t really hear about it. A lot of people I talk to they say, “I’ve heard of that, I don’t really watch a lot of TV though.”  So it’s unbelievable.  It’s really such a cool blessing to be able to know that there are people out there watching the show, watching our work, and enjoying it.

Erica>  And I think also, the chemistry that Cassie and Charles, Robert and I have on screen, people want to see more love stories.  You can go catch a good film and see it, but can you turn on your television set and see it?  And you don’t see it that often, but I think with Charles and Cassie, you see it and the relationship and people are in awe with the relationship.

Robert>  Yes.

Erica>  And I’m actually in awe with the relationship too.  And again, like another caller called in and said, “What is it?”  And I think the word magic, it’s just, I just want to stick with that word.  It’s magic when you see the show Lincoln Heights.

Robert>  I think Erica really, really likes me a lot.  That’s what it is.  Yes.

Question> Do the two of you see yourselves as role models playing these characters and with the interracial relationship breaking down stereotypes and prejudices?

Erica>  I do.  I see myself as a role model being in the interracial relationship with Charles and Cassie.  Because we don’t see that much of it, but you know it exists out there and I think people look up to us because we’re portraying the characters.  And people can relate to the characters that are in that situation.  And if you look on tons and tons of people blogging about our relationship and they’re actually in interracial relationships. 

Robert>  Yes, you know it’s funny, I never really thought about it that way.  It’s like I would like to think that if I do my job well and tell an honest story that people will respond to it in a positive way.  I hope that I’m not giving out a negative message.  I don’t know, I never really thought about myself as a role model.  I don’t really think of myself that way, but I definitely hope that we’re portraying characters that people do look up to, I hope so.

Erica>  I mean, it’s great.  We see interracial relationships in films, Lakeview Terrace with Kerry Washington.  She’s playing in an interracial relationship, and Halle Berry has done it before, Paula Patton.  But it’s even better when you get to see it on the television screen.  So I’m just excited to be in a relationship on Lincoln Heights that is an interracial relationship.  Because you see it, again, you see it on the big screen, but we don’t see it as much on television.  And then, when you tune into Lincoln Heights, you see it.

Robert>  Yes, and the way I see it is we’re all human and even our characters have our positives and our negatives and our flaws and the things that make us human and I think people can just realize that hopefully we’ll be able to help them accept who they are and the choices in their lives.  We’re all human.

Question> How are you like your characters and how are you different?  Are there any similarities or are you totaling different people in real life than the characters you play?

Erica>  Okay, okay, I want to say, I’m 50% of Cassie, meaning that I grew up in the inter-city and then I moved to the suburbs.  Where Cassie grew up in the suburbs and moved to the inter-city.  So we still have the similar stories, but it’s just our past may have been a little different but similar stories on our environments and our upbringings.  And then plus, again, I dated someone who was Italian in school, loved him, in love with him.  We remained great friends and that’s where I pulled Cassie from I channeled her experiences through my relationship in high school through the guy I dated in high school that was an Italian, so 50/50.  But the parts that I’m not like Cassie, Cassie she reacts to things a little differently than how I would react to things.  But now with the third season, I think the characters are growing, so the writing staff, they’re asking us, “Okay, how would you do this?  How would you not do that?”  So they’re letting us kind of play with the character.  So more and more Cassie does become like Erica and Erica becomes like Cassie.

Robert>  Yes, it’s interesting playing a character like this.  I think the experiences in Charles life that I can absolutely relate with and a lot that I can’t, in high school, I wasn’t in a relationship.  But I think that there are a lot of experiences that just definitely resonate with me.  I think the way that I know that I’m not really a lot like Charles is that I’ve been me for 23 years and I’m still trying to figure me out I guess.  But I think I’ve got a pretty solid foundation as far as Charles goes, I don’t know what he’s going to do and that’s an interesting experience in just working with the writers and then they throw a curve ball at me, and I’m like, “No, would Charles do that?”  And I think to myself, I have no idea what Charles would do.  I think as he grows, I grow with him and I get to learn like his experiences and I’m kind of just riding on that wave.  I learned to just let it go, like Charles is going to do what ever he’s, I don’t even know anymore, I think he does some things this year that I was like, “Really.”  And then I said, “I can think about it, you know the kids 17.”  You have no idea what he’s going to do.

Question> With some of the intense situations going on the show, what have you found the most difficult scene to deal with emotionally or to act?

Erica>  The hardest scene for me to deal with second season was when Lizzie got kidnapped.  That right there was traumatic for me and really what we went through on that set is what a real family would go through if someone in their family got kidnapped.  It was very emotional.  And I remember one scene where Russell Hornsby played it so well and he was so intense, they had to give him some oxygen.  And when you invest that much emotion in a scene, everybody’s right there with you.  We were crying.  We were upset, and then in this year, third season, most definitely the first scene when the house was broken into and then the guns were pointed at Robert and I or I should say Charles and Cassie.  It was very intense.  Anytime you have guns on set and they’re pointed at you, it becomes real, because it looks real.

Robert>  I don’t want to give away too much of the story for the third season, because there’s definitely some intense moments this season that I’d say there’s a really, really intense moment this year that was definitely a trying moment in our relationship and it’s an interesting thing that happened on camera.  I’d say last year talking about my father, my stepfather being sexually abusive, that was definitely a very intense subject to take on.  Here’s the thing about subject matter like that, I don’t think that you can take on subject matter like that without being honest with it and without trying to portray something real, because if you do, your kind of doing it a disservice.  It’s such a real situation that kids go through that I prefer that showing something like that on TV that people can really relate with, I’d say that was definitely the hardest experience that I’ve had to date on the show.

Erica>  Yes that was a hard scene that was.  And then also, are you going to tell her about the scene where you were like sweating and we were in bed and you were sweating and stuff.

Robert>  Oh, man.  I was so nervous.  I was so nervous.

Erica>  There’s one scene that you guys are going to see this third season and it’s very interesting, let me just put it that way.  Robert was sweating. 

Robert>  Oh, man.

Erica>  My heart was racing too in that scene.

Robert>  My face had turned bright red.

Erica>  I know it was.  So, yes, there are some very intense moments that are coming up.  And it was amazing that we got through them.

Robert>  Yes, yes.