EXCLUSIVE: Modern Love S2's Gbenga Akinnagbe and Zoë Chao DECODE how the show 'helps make you feel less alone'

In a candid conversation with Pinkvilla, Modern Love Season 2 co-stars Gbenga Akinnagbe & Zoë Chao decipher what it is about the much-adored series that connected with so many.

By Karishma Shetty

Updated on Aug 12, 2021 | 11:39 PM IST | 1.2M

Modern Love Season 2 premieres on August 13

Modern Love Season 2 co-stars Gbenga Akinnagbe & Zoë Chao also decipher the meaning of love and breaking rules in it.

Modern Love, the much-cherished romantic comedy anthology series based on The New York Times' cherished weekly column of the same name, is back to hug us, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, like a warm blanket with the highly-awaited Season 2. Starring yet another set of diverse, talented AF ensemble, Pinkvilla had the humble opportunity to interact with Modern Love S2 co-stars Gbenga Akinnagbe and Zoë Chao, who star in the episode titled: The Night Girl Finds a Day Boy.

The absolute joyous delight one feels when Modern Love is mentioned is infectious and when we asked the pair why they thought the series was able to resonate with people as deeply as it does, Zoë deciphered, "Well, I think, it's all these portraits of different kinds of love and every person is different and it does a really good job at capturing the messiness of life and also the joy and curiousity and surprise of being a human being and opening yourself up to the possibility of love. It's a very hopeful show, especially coming out of this year."

"It's really nice to... They're all little snapshots or like odes to human connection and touch. We need that balm right now and all the time. I mean, being a human, no matter who you are, is hard and the show kind of helps make you feel less alone," the 35-year-old actress added.

Chiming in on Chao's explanation, Gbenga further decoded, "I think that's it exactly. I mean, it's very interesting because I never watched Modern Love before. And then, I saw the advertisements for a while before getting ready to do this show. I watched the first season in the preparation to do it and I was like, 'Oh! This show is very different than what I thought it was, an anthology and all these different things,' and I ripped right through it. And now, subsequently, whenever I brought it up or people mentioned it to me, they do smile."

"The effect that the show has on people, it doesn't feel like a mainstream show but it feels like so many people know it and connect with it in a personal way. The stories are real, based off of real folks. It's executed in that kind of like beautiful, honest way that also happens to be hopeful. It's really interesting... and such a range. I'm constantly surprised by the range of folks who watch this show, yeah, especially since I knew nothing about it for so long and then I start to... all these people in my world start to pop up having been fans of the show," the 42-year-old actor added.

"So it's... And then you start to read the articles and columns. So it makes you feel connected. Yeah, it makes you feel connected. You're not alone," Akinnagbe concluded.