Aja Naomi King's New Murder Mystery Role Isn't Michaela Pratt: "She's a Grown Woman"
The actress explains how her character on NBC's sexy new series, Grosse Pointe Garden Society, is different than the role that made her a household name.
Walnut, California native Aja Naomi King is adding Catherine in Grosse Pointe Garden Society to her long list of buzzy ensemble projects. Created by Jenna Bans and Bill Krebs, the series also stars Melissa Fumero, Ben Rappaport, and AnnaSophia Robb.
“I was sent this script and I read it and I was like, ‘this is phenomenal,’” King recalled to NBC Insider with a laugh. “The script on the page…and every script since, reading it is so fun. It's like reading a book, it's truly enjoyable. It’s a page turner.” And a page-turner with three-dimensional characters. “I think [the characters are] another aspect of the show that I really liked, that I was really drawn to. No shade on procedurals because those shows are really fun and dive deeply into very human stories and real circumstances that people relate to, but I loved that this wasn't a procedural. I loved that it existed in all of these interpersonal relationships.”
In NBC's juicy new drama, King's Catherine is a lonely and unhappily married mother of two who has a very juicy secret. She stars alongside Melissa Fumero, Ben Rappaport and AnnaSophia Robb. Get to know more about King, her career, and how excited she is to play a "fabulous" suburban realtor — with a bit of an edge.
Aja Naomi King breaks down her character, Catherine, on Grosse Pointe Garden Society
The 40-year-old candidly revealed how much playing a well-to-do woman appealed to her.
“I'm immediately reading it thinking, ‘oh my God, this character's gonna look fabulous. She's gonna be dressed so, so well!’ I was just really excited to be super dressed up and looking really cute every day," she said of the script, adding, “I really loved that I was playing a wealthy person in this town because I believe it is really important that we have that image out there. Yes, Black people are rich, too, you know?”
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And as for that incredible wardrobe she was looking forward to? The dream came true. “I’m taking home this entire closet when we wrap. I love everything. [Catherine] has some gorgeous suits, and all the tops, just easy, elegant tops that match with everything. I love that. I don't wanna have to think when I'm putting on clothes.”
Of course, Catherine isn't stylish for style's sake. It's an intentional choice that reflects her desire for external validation. “She's trying to present this image of perfection, and that's where the fun really begins with Catherine. She's trying so hard to project this image and yet underneath, she has all this dissatisfaction and yearning that's not being met. So then her life starts growing wildly out of control as she makes choices that will basically kind of destroy everything she's built up," King said.
She also admitted that this area of Catherine's personality overlapped with her own, and helped her performance, explaining, “I myself love control, so it was easy to tap into that. And her being a mom as well. Since becoming a mom, that has expanded my world in a huge way. I had no idea."
King compares Catherine to How to Get Away With Murder's Michaela
After a first glimpse of the actress as Catherine in Grosse Pointe Garden Society's trailer, fans couldn't help but compare her to Michaela — the role that made King a household name. After all, both are sharp, perfectly dressed, and connected to a mysterious murder potentially committed by an ensemble of extremely attractive millennials.
I myself love control, so it was easy to tap into that.”
While King does acknowledge there are similarities between the two, she explains that Catherine "takes on a different kind of air and energy." While Michaela was young, eager to please, and had a difficult childhood, Catherine is sure of herself and the result of generational Black excellence.
"She's a grown woman, she's got a family," King said. "She has responsibilities. She lives in a community where she is trying to represent her family name well because she comes from legacy wealth which a very important Catherine detail... she doesn't have to work at being like a part of a higher tax bracket, so to speak."
The star continues, "Things like a family name becomes so important. Legacy becomes so important. And these are very different kinds of value systems when you inherit it in that way. 'Cause you're not striving to build it, you're striving to maintain it."
Aja Naomi King pursued acting at Yale School of Drama
Like many a thespian before her, King graduated from the prestigious MFA acting program at Yale in 2010 after considering a career in the arts for years. "When I was younger, my mother tried to get me an agent because I was always singing and dancing…by junior year, I was president of choir, I was the lead in the school play, and I just loved being onstage performing,” she told the New York Times.
King had guest appearances on a handful of shows before booking a series regular role on Emily Owens, MD, though the show ended after 13 episodes in 2013. Luckily, she had her next gig lined up. In September 2014, the world met King as Michaela Pratt, an ambitious law student on How To Get Away With Murder.
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The crime show was a hit, lasting 90 episodes and catapulting King to the top of the network TV game, and she made strides into film with roles like Mona in 2020's Sylvie's Love.
She earned an Emmy nomination for Lessons in Chemistry
In the Apple TV+ original, King plays Harriet, who in the novel the series is based on is a middle aged white woman. However, King was able to make the role her own and earned an Emmy nomination in the supporting actress in a limited series category.
“I was brought into play someone else, a character that never existed in the book. As they started building the world of the show, they realized they didn’t need this character and that they were doing a disservice to the people that love this book by not having the character of Harriet in there,” King explained to the Times. After a re-write, she emerged as a fully fleshed out person with a family and a passion for civil rights.
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Other projects for King include The KnifeI, Boxing Day, and The Birth of a Nation.
You can watch Grosse Pointe Garden Society on Sundays at 10/9c on NBC, starting when it premieres on Sunday, February 23 following the premiere of Suits L.A. New episodes will be available to stream the following day on Peacock.
Reporting by McKenzie Jean-Philippe
