Oscar Winner & Series Creator Matthew A. Cherry talks Max animated series Young Love
Currently airing on Max is Season one of the animated series Young Love, based on the Oscar-winning short HAIR LOVE by series creator/EP Matthew A. Cherry. The finale airs on Oct. 5, 2023.
Expanding on the groundbreaking Academy Award®-winning short “Hair Love,” the YOUNG LOVE animated series gives an honest, heartfelt, and comedic glimpse into the lives of African American millennial parents Stephen Love (Scott “Kid Cudi” Mescudi) and Angela Young (Issa Rae) as they experience the relatable ups and downs of modern life. In remission following a battle with cancer, Angela struggles to balance her work as a stylist with the demands of parenthood, while Stephen attempts to carve out a career as a musician in an ultra-competitive industry. Along with their fearless daughter Zuri (Brooke Monroe Conaway), this tight-knit Chicago family juggles careers, marriage, parenthood, social issues, and multi-generational dynamics while striving to make a better life for themselves.
The voice cast include Scott 'Kid Cudi' Mescudi, Issa Rae, Brooke Monroe Conaway, Loretta Devine, Harry Lennix, Tamar Braxton, Cassandra Freeman and Sheryl Lee Ralph.
A Chicago native, Matthew A. Cherry is a former NFL wide receiver turned filmmaker who played for the Jacksonville Jaguars, Cincinnati Bengals, Carolina Panthers and the Baltimore Ravens.
His 2020 short film, HAIR LOVE, which the new series YOUNG LOVE is based upon, earned him an Academy Award for Best Animated Short. Notably, he raised over $280K on Kickstarter to make the award-winning short film making it the most funded short film in Kickstarter history. HAIR LOVE was also adapted into a picture book by Kokila/Penguin/Random House and it became a New York Times Bestseller and earned nominations for a Goodreads Choice Award and an NAACP Image Award. To date it has sold over 1.5 million copies worldwide.
Blackfilmandtv.com’s Wilson Morales spoke with Cherry regarding Young Love and his continued work in the animation world.
