‘Run the World’ Star Erika Alexander on How the Sitcom Bridges Generation Gaps (Interview)

Erika Alexander in Starz's 'Run The World'
Erika Alexander in Starz’s ‘Run the World’ (Image credit: Starz)

Starz will continue to follow the lives of three female friends from Harlem in the second season of its comedy series Run the World, debuting May 26.

The series’ eight-episode sophomore campaign stars Amber Stevens West, Bresha Webb and Corbin Reid as 30-something Black women trying to balance careers and relationships as they pursue their dreams of world domination, according to the network. The series also stars Stephen Bishop, Tosin Moronfunhola and Erika Alexander. 

Alexander, who starred in the 1990s Fox sitcom Living Single, said her character Barb — a successful editor and confidante to the younger women in the series — helps bridge the gap between generations on the show.

“I’m hanging out with [the girls] and having a generational conversation that I think is now evolving,” she said. “Barb has a lot to offer because she’s already arrived. [The show writers] are writing for people who want to have a longer conversation about not only relationships, but who you see yourself as.” 

In Run the World's second season, series executive producers Leigh Davenport, Yvette Lee Bowser and Rachelle Williams-BenAry continue to showcase the nuances of how women relate to one another on the road to success, according to Alexander. 

“They had a really wonderful intention to create a conversation between women about healthy relationships and what it means to have ambition and go for your career dreams — and also what it means when you don’t meet them,” she said. 

R. Thomas Umstead

R. Thomas Umstead serves as senior content producer, programming for Multichannel News, Broadcasting + Cable and Next TV. During his more than 30-year career as a print and online journalist, Umstead has written articles on a variety of subjects ranging from TV technology, marketing and sports production to content distribution and development. He has provided expert commentary on television issues and trends for such TV, print, radio and streaming outlets as Fox News, CNBC, the Today show, USA Today, The New York Times and National Public Radio. Umstead has also filmed, produced and edited more than 100 original video interviews, profiles and news reports featuring key cable television executives as well as entertainers and celebrity personalities.