Olly Sholotan's moving portrayal of Carlton in Bel-Air has undeniably kept us on the edge of our seats for the past three seasons now. From struggles with substance abuse and rehab to poolside brawls over past lovers, it's safe to say that Olly's version of the iconic character isn't the happy-go-lucky teenager singing Tom Jones' "It's Not Unusual" that we grew to love in the 1990s—nowadays Carlton is dealing with some real-life 'ish.
xoNecole first spoke with the 26-year-old Nigerian-American actor turning heads on the Peacock hit show last year, ahead of season 2, and now we've reconnected to get the details on the latest season. Starting off fresh out of rehab while school's out—Carlton and Will (Jabari Banks) are hitting the streets this summer and if you're like us, something about that makes you nervous. "You know this summer; Jabari said it best. This summer is kind of a hot boy healing summer," describes Olly about season 3.
"Both Will and Carlton have spent the school year going through their own individual things and now this summer, they’re both working at the country club. Trying to make a little extra coin. They are starting a company, it’s a company called Blackccess, through Quentin’s [Vic Mensa's] Young, Gifted, & Black program. They’re getting up to some hijinks. They’re doing a little bit of street racing and most importantly, Carlton is falling in love. I can tell you it’s going to be a hot boy summer indeed."
"This summer is kind of a hot boy healing summer."
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If you've taken one look at the trailer, then the mere mention of Carlton's brewing romance should also not sit right with your nerves but according to Olly, it's the new love-to-hate couple that you won't be able to take your eyes off of. "Everyone deserves love first of all. Everyone deserves a celebration of love," Olly pleads. "The season begins about 30 days after the end of season 2. Carlton has been in rehab for a month. He is on the journey to recovery and the journey to recovery is not a linear one. Amira (Alycia Pascual-Peña) in a lot of ways complicates that. But she also completes him. So, can you blame him? He’s really just a young Black man trying to find love." When asked to describe Carlton and Amira’s relationship in one word, Olly quickly chooses "dangerous," which should speak volumes.
While there are many things that will leave you anxious when it comes to the latest season, there are also many powerful lessons being divulged simultaneously. One is the show's mission to show off the different facets of the Black experience and Aunt Viv (Cassandra Freeman) and Uncle Phil's (Adrian Holmes) quest to turn their young boys into hardworking Black men. "With this show, we really wanted to show the different facets of the Black experience. Will comes from Philly, he comes from a place of not having very much and he meets Carlton, who has had everything given to him. They’re both black kids and they both navigate the world in their own Blackness in different ways," explains Olly. "But Aunt Viv and Uncle Phil are just so insistent like 'we have to work for what we got so y’all are going to do that too.' I think working builds character. For me, up until very recently when acting took off, I’ve had a job. Then during the summer, I’d pick up another job. Stories like that matter because that’s the real. That’s just the real world and that’s what people are doing out here."
Olly is also excited about the upcoming guest cameos, one of which is a heavy hitter. In the past, we've seen Daphne Maxwell Reid and Tatyana Ali on the reboot. Joseph Marcell is now coming back, who played the Banks family’s butler Geoffrey on the '90s hit sitcom. "I got to talk to Joseph," the Bel-Air star recalls.
"He’s just one of those people that are so wise. He’s so wise and so warm, and willing to give his foresight and knowledge on things. There’s something almost overwhelming about having original cast members on our show when they do come, it’s like, 'Oh my God. You walked so I can run.' And they’ve all said it. Joseph said it, Tatyana Ali said it and Will [Smith] even said it the other day: Watching our version of the show is so incredible for them because our show really gets to dive in deep on all the things that they could only kind of touch cause it was the ‘90s, it was a 30-minute comedy, and it was on network TV.
"Watching our version of the show is so incredible for them because our show really gets to dive in deep on all the things that they could only kind of touch cause it was the ‘90s, it was a 30-minute comedy, and it was on network TV."
"Like we’re [here] today. We’re on streaming. We can really go there. We can get very serious, and it’s interesting because whenever the old cast comes to set, they’re sort of like this mirror of reverence for each other. It’s a really magical experience." Olly says he would love to also have Alfonso Ribiero, who originated the role of Carlton, on the show one day soon. "We met actually at the Bad Boys for Life premiere and we exchanged a few words to each other. I was like, 'Thank you, you are an icon for laying down the groundwork for this role.' I’d love to have him pull through. It would be dope."
Along with the cameos, the stars of the reboot will also be recreating some of the iconic scenes we love in season 3. "How are we going to pull off Jazz being thrown out of the house? I think that’s been one of the biggest conversations we all had." Continuing, "How do you take that thing that is just so inherently funny? How do you take that and put it in our long series version? We don’t know but I know that the writers have something planned and when that happens, oh my God! I’m really excited to see that. And also, the moment when Carlton tries to get into a fraternity, and they essentially turn him down like 'You’re not what we’re looking for.'
"Then Carlton basically tells them like, 'Nah, I am Black. I’m my version of Black. And you’re a version of Black. We can all exist in the same place without challenging each other.' I’m excited to see what that scene looks like with our take on it." And of course, xoNecole had to ask about the iconic scene with Uncle Phil where Will gets emotional while reflecting on the relationship with his father. You may recall Will sobbing while questioning his father's love for him, "How come he don’t want me?" According to Olly, fans just might be getting that too. "I won’t say nothing but you’re right. That should be in the show at some point," he says with a big smile.
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All in all, Olly may be one of the costars of the biggest dramas on Peacock right now but that hasn't stopped him from pursuing his music dreams at the same time. The Bel-Air star explains that even though acting has taken center stage, music has always been his first love.
"I think I fell in love with music first. As a kid, every Sunday after church, I would come home and put every single Michael Jackson DVD on and I’d watch them all," he remembers. "Name a Michael Jackson music video, I’ve seen it. So, I think I fell in love with music first but what I think was so incredible and groundbreaking about Michael’s music videos is that the core of it is storytelling. So, even though I was still falling in love with his music, I was falling in love with the acting and the production elements of it all. It’s weird because I kind of developed my love for both together. But, I’d say music is my first love."
The multi-hyphenate just released a new single "Bodye"— an Afrobeats-inspired track sure to get you on your feet. "I’m a kid of immigrants. I grew up on old-school Afrobeats. I grew up on Texas trap music. I grew up on East Coast hip-hop. I grew up on R&B. So, with my music, I’m pulling from so many of these inspirations. But specifically, with Afrobeats, Afrobeats be making you dance! Sometimes, you don’t even know what they’re saying but you’re like 'I just want to move.' So, for a record where I feel like my goal is to make people dance, having that influence felt really important in the song."
While there's no project release yet, the music video for "Bodye" is on the way, and more to come. "Right now, I’m building out my artist journey with singles." Continuing, "Rema is a beast. Rema’s latest album, "Heis,” is just incredible. It’s one of the first Afrobeats albums that I’ve heard in a while where I feel like it’s pushing the genre forward. It’s clearly inspired by the old-school Afrobeats that we grew up on, D’Banj, P-Square. But it still feels forward-facing. The sound design is incredible. I would love to work with Asake and Rema. They’re both just incredible artists."
With so much going on, Olly Sholotan has no plans of slowing down. His dreams are becoming a reality right before our eyes and it's a beautiful sight to see. "This is the only dream I had since I was a kid. I’ve always wanted to tell stories and be an entertainer for a living. It means the world to me. Every night when I go to bed I’m like, 'What’s happening?!'”
Stream season 3 of Bel-Air on Peacock now.
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While an evolution is a natural progression that happens as businesses grow, a rebrand is a total change. Lola tells xoNecole, "A total rebrand is necessary when a business’s current reputation/what it’s known for is at odds with the business’s vision or direction.
"For example, if you’ve fundamentally changed what your product is and does, it’s likely that your brand is out of alignment with the business. Or, if you find your company is developing a reputation that doesn’t serve it, it might be time to pump the brakes and figure out what needs to change.
She continues, "Sometimes you’ll see companies (especially startups) announce a name change that comes with updated messaging, visuals, etc. That usually means their vision has changed or expanded, and their previous branding was too narrow/couldn’t encompass everything they planned to do."
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The Brand Doula was born in 2019, and its focus is on putting "the experiences, goals, and needs of women of color founders first," as well as brands with "culture-shifting missions."
According to Lola, culture-shifting is "the act of influencing dominant behavior, beliefs, or experiences in a community or group (ideally, for the better)."
"At The Brand Doula, we work with companies and leaders that set out to challenge the status quo in their industries and communities. They’re here to make an impact that sends ripples across the market," she says.
"We help the problem solvers of the world — the ones who aren't satisfied with 'this is how it's always been' and instead ask 'how could this be better?' Our clients build for impact, reimagining tools, systems, and ways of living to move cultures forward."
The Brand Doula has worked with many brands, including Too Collective, to assist with their collaboration with Selena Gomez's Rare Beauty and Balanced Black Girl for a "refresh," aka rebrand. For businesses looking to rebrand, Lola shares four essential steps.
1. Do an audit of your current brand experience — what’s still relevant and what needs to change? Reflect on why you’re doing the rebrand in the first place and what success would look like after relaunching.
2. Tackle the overall strategy first — before you start redesigning logos and websites, align on a new vision for your brand. How do you want your company to be positioned moving forward? Has your audience changed at all? Will your company have a fresh personality and voice?
3. Bring your audience along the journey — there’s no need to move in secret. Inviting your current audience into the journey can actually help them feel more connected to and invested in your story, enough to stick around as changes are being made.
4. Keep business moving — one of my biggest pet peeves is when companies take down their websites as soon as they have the idea to rebrand, then have a Coming Soon page up for months! You lose a lot of momentum and interest by doing that. If you’re still in business and generating income, continue to operate while you work on your rebrand behind the scenes. You don’t want to cut existing customers off out of the blue, and you also don’t want so much downtime that folks forget your business exists or start looking for other solutions.
While determining whether the rebrand was successful may take a few months, Lola says a clear sign that it is unsuccessful is negative feedback from your target audience. "Customers are typically more vocal about what they don’t like more than what they do like," she says.
But some good signs to look out for are improvements in engagement with your marketing, positive reviews, press and increase in retention, and overall feeling aligned with the new branding.
For more information about Lola and The Brand Doula, visit her website, thebranddoula.com.
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