‘Good Trouble’: Cierra Ramirez on Watching Mariana Grow Up & What’s Next for the Foster Sisters
Q&A
Freeform’s The Fosters spinoff, Good Trouble, is just the type of trouble we’ve been looking for.
The drama series focuses on a grown-up Mariana Adams Foster (Cierra Ramirez) and Callie Adams Foster (Maia Mitchell) as they survive post-grad life while renting in a communal living space in Los Angeles. Viewers will also see them dealing with cutthroat work environments as a software engineer and law clerk, respectively.
We caught up with Ramirez (also an executive producer on the series) to chat about what’s in store for these dynamic ladies as they kick off a new — but not necessarily sunny — life in L.A..
Mariana and Callie both have pretty serious career paths that they’re pursuing — paths you don’t usually see on TV for young women. What can you tell us about what Mariana’s work life looks like going into Good Trouble?
Cierra Ramirez: She is a software engineer, which as you know, and have seen throughout The Fosters, is a passion of hers. But she comes to find out really quickly that it’s not exactly how she expected it to be. She’s not this amazing software engineer instantly and she’s not as special as she thinks she is. Everyone else has also gone to MIT, or Stanford, and done all of these things that she hasn’t done. And it’s a big Boy’s Club, also something that she’s not very used to.
MAIA MITCHELL, CIERRA RAMIREZ (Freeform/Beth Dubber)
So, she’s going to have to learn how to navigate through the workplace and make her name known. I think she feels that the men want her to dumb herself down and that’s something that she does not stand for at all. She’s going to want to change the culture at her work, while also keeping her position and not get fired. It’s going to be kind of fun to fight the patriarchy. Plus, it can help inspire other women, I think. If I can inspire more women to get into tech, that would be amazing.
What about Mariana and Callie’s home life in Los Angeles?
Well, Mariana leaves out the fact that their space is a communal living space when she talks to Callie. [Callie’s] so excited about having her big girl apartment and living in the city and that’s just instantly shattered. She has to go back to dorm life/foster life and sharing a bathroom and all of that stuff. [This communal living space is] what kind of makes it have the same heart as The Fosters, though. And there are all walks of life that come through those doors, but they all share similar wants and needs for their life and that all really resonates with each of them. They become family.
Tommy Martinez as Gael, Zuri Adele as Malika, Cierra Ramirez as Mariana Adams Foster, Maia Mitchell as Callie Adams Foster, Emma Hunton as Davia, Roger Bart as Judge Wilson, Sherry Cola as Alice, and Josh Pence as Dennis. (Freeform/Gus&Lo)
Who did you get to shoot with the most besides Maia?
Mariana really becomes close to Davia (Emma Hunton) and Alice (Sherry Cola), who live at the Coterie. But that is something that Mariana’s going to struggle with because Callie’s job is so demanding, and Mariana is someone who doesn’t really like being alone. So, she has to find her own way and make her own friends.
What are the biggest struggles we’re going to see these two sisters face?
Growing up in your twenties and all the trials and tribulations that come along with that. The responsibilities that they now have, but also the freedom — that’s going to catch up with them, as well. Although you are in your twenties and you’re technically an adult, you really need your family now more than ever [Hello, Noah Centineo], and there are times that they won’t be able to talk it out. They’ll need someone else to get them through it.
NOAH CENTINEO (Freeform/Richard Cartwright)
Do you have a favorite scene you shot this season?
As much as I love Downtown L.A., I’m not very familiar with it. So, I learned a lot about downtown and the nightlife within that. There’s a lot of really fun nightlife scenes that Mariana has, like her adventures with Davia. There’s a lot of empowering scenes as well that I’m really just going to be waiting the whole season for.
Did you get to shoot at the beach at all?
You know, we didn’t actually. Which is kind of funny because I feel like, as someone who lives in L.A., as much as I would love to, I don’t make it out to the beach as much as I should. And that traffic — I cannot deal.
Do you feel that you relate to Mariana more now that your character is closer to your own age?
Yeah, definitely. There are a lot of similarities and you know, I feel like, although I’m 23, I need my mom and dad more than ever. I’ll call them and be like, ‘What do I do?’ You think you have it all figured out, but you kind of don’t. And that’s the beauty of life, you have to experience it. So I definitely relate to her, and I’m also just very proud of the woman that she’s becoming. I really grew up with her and watching her grow up through high school and becoming a woman is just really, really fun.
We’ve already seen both of these women go through so much heartbreak and loss and twists and turns, especially in their relationship with each other. How would you say we see their relationship continue to evolve in Season 1?
There is going to be some tension, for sure, like any siblings have. Callie’s work schedule is more demanding and Mariana’s been asked to deal with not seeing Callie all of the time. Their priorities are going to be very different. Mariana’s not really feeling fulfilled at work, so she’s going to find other ways to cope with that. Their lifestyles will be different and they’re going to feel like they don’t really understand each other at times.
MAIA MITCHELL, CIERRA RAMIREZ (Freeform/Beth Dubber)
At the end of the day though, they’ll just hug it out. It’s nice for them to have that sense of home and that person you can take it out on, even while living in a new city, someone who won’t take it personally because no matter what, they love each other.
Good Trouble, Series Premiere, Tuesday, January 8, 8/7c, Freeform
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