Name a better brother sister duo on TV… We’ll wait.
Source: Elizabeth Morris / NBC
Y’all already know how we feel about all the fire options on television Tuesday nights, and you also know that “Grand Crew” is without a doubt, one of our favorite new comedies on TV. Nicole Byer and Echo Kellum are two of the main reasons why “Grand Crew” is so funny. The pair play siblings Noah and Nikki who are always into some insane antics. The frequent scene partners have also been friends for years prior to joining the “Grand Crew” cast and managed to effortly effuse compliments about each other in their interview with BOSSIP Sr. Content Director Janeé Bolden.
Source: Elizabeth Morris / NBC
“Working with Nicole is the best,” Echo Kellum told BOSSIP. “She’s so professional and ready to play and effortlessly funny, extremely talented, a great actor, so it’s easy to work with her. What makes it even easier is we’ve been playing together for years, we were on a sketch team together maybe five years ago, I’m such a big fan of her work and it’s very easy to play with someone who is such a giving partner and she embodies the aspect what it is to be a giving acting partner. She gives you so much to play off of and any spontaneous moments she’s right there, she brings so much good energy and a depth of professionalism she really challenges you to rise to the occasion.”
Really sweet stuff. But Nicole Byer easily matched Echo Kellum’s energy when asked about her onscreen brother.
“Working with Echo is incredible,” Byer told BOSSIP.” He’s so professional. He’s always down to work on a scene, to rehearse a scene. He’s also so infinitely funny so that makes it funny. There was one scene where we were supposed to pretend to be drunk and I think a placebo effect was happened because I was like ‘I feel hammered, I feel drunk’. I was like in a loop and Echo just stopped and was like ‘Are you okay?’ So it’s also like professionalism and funny but also caring and concerned if I seem imperiled. So I feel safe to play and safe to be in trouble.”
Source: Kwaku Alston / NBC
We had to ask about the origin of the cast’s group tattoo, a small bear that Kellum, Byer and co-stars Grasie Mercedes and Carl Tart share in common.
“Who told you about that?” Echo asked, before responding to the question. “I think it was a conversation we were having, right Nicole?
“Yeah, I think we were like we should get a cast tattoo to commemorate the show,” Nicole recalled to BOSSIP. ” It became a cacophony where it was like, ‘We will do it, let’s have a tattoo weekend,’ and then someone said, ‘No we need to have them healed before we put makeup on them,’ so then we were like, ‘Let’s do it the weekend we wrap’. So then we figured it out and we all went and got them done. Mine is on my back.”
“Mine’s on my arm,” Echo chimed in, holding out his arm, “Right there, little bear. The cool thing is the tattoo symbolizes what a special unique time in all our lives, and how much fun we had shooting the show, regardless of the outcome is, it was such a special, once in a lifetime feeling of getting to work with people you actually care about it, on a story based on your real lives, with your friends who are all at the top of their game and bringing it. The feeling of getting to do it was so surreal and beautiful and we all just connected and bonded in such a way. And plus I always love the movie ‘Starship Troopers’ where they all got the tattoos together that said ‘Death From Above,’ so I was like I always wanted a situation where I could do that with a group of people and this just happened to be the perfect, perfect instance. It’s definitely something I’ve never done before and I’m so grateful to get to do it with this group.”
That’s just beautiful right?!
Check out the full interview below and don’t forget to tune in to “Grand Crew” on NBC Tuesday nights at 8:30 pm EST!