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The Come Up, Freeform's upcoming reality show, will take the audience on a journey as six New Yorkers find their way and their people in downtown New York. The series will showcase budding individuals from different careers as they try to make their way to the top and find themselves professionally and personally.
The documentary series will be a coming-of-age story like none other, as these individuals learn more about themselves and “claim their stakes.”
The synopsis of the show reads:
"The series follows six young disruptors as they emerge from downtown New York to follow their dreams and pursue love and art on their own terms."
It continues:
"The show follows the creative NYC underground, giving viewers an exclusive look into how the next generation of icons define themselves and how culture is created."
The Come Up is set to air on Disney’s Freedom on September 13, at 9 pm ET, and episodes will be available to stream on Hulu the day after the premiere.
All about The Come Up
The show, previously known as Day and Night, is set to premiere this September and will take viewers to downtown New York.
Each week, The Come Up will air two episodes, after airing the first four along with the premiere that will help the audience get deeper insights into the “goal-oriented Gen Z” group. The cast will redefine themselves and come out of their shells and live the lives they were always meant to.
Tara Duncan, president of Freedom and Onyx Collective, said about The Come Up:
"These six creatives emerge from downtown with a vitality and magnetism that’s infectious. They are pursuing love and art on their own terms, redefining what success means, and I am so excited for our audience to have a front row seat to it all."
The trailer of the show showcased the cast in their element, and the cast individually described how they saw downtown. The trailer said that “downtown is the central force of energy.” The clip featured Fernando The Supermodel, Claude the Starlet, Sophia The Prodigy, Ebon The Life of the Party, Ben The New Kid, and Taofeek Fashion’s Future. In the trailer, Fernando said:
"I wanna be like an international DJ superstar."
They continued:
"You know? It’s like, I want the slashes."
Sophia, who has been shooting since she was 13 questioned her ability, asking if she was only good the entire time because she was a kid. Taofeek was seen getting outfits ready for the Met Gala but ran into some trouble before the event.
Ebon said in The Come Up trailer:
"A lot of Black, trans women are at the forefront of the rave scene."
She continued:
"It makes me feel welcomed and deserving."
Ben Hard spoke about his experience as a newcomer to New York and said that there’s a lot more of “this s*xually awakened culture” in the city. He further said:
"It’s like a new, experimental part of my life."
Meet the six Gen-Z disrupters ahead of The Come Up premiere
The trailer for the latest unscripted Freedom show gave viewers a glimpse of what to expect. It introduced the six center figures and how they see the city.
Taofeek Abijako
The 24-year-old designer from Nigeria is the youngest designer to have his own line presented at New York Fashion Week. He is currently expanding his horizons and working on costume designs for feature films and was invited to dress two celebrities for the Met Gala 2022. For Taofeek, the fashion industry is a way of supporting his community, and has launched multiple initiatives to build schools in Nigeria.
Fernando Casablancas
The 23-year-old supermodel from Brazil walked the ramp for Balmain and Bottega Veneta during fashion week in 2021. The non-binary individual continuously breaks gender norms in the industry by modeling in both menswear and womenswear. They have been working as a DJ and on multimedia art projects.
Ebon Trower
The active organizer of queer nightlife and a budding entertainer, she’s a well-known party host and at the forefront of the New York rave scene. Ebon threw a party for Pride 2022 and is also a member of the Nosferatu collective.
Claude Shwartz
Schwartz is a rising actress who graduated from Tufts in 2020 and appeared on an off-broadway production of Tank in 2022. She walked for Batsheva during New York Fashion Week Spring and Summer earlier this year.
Ben Hard
The actor, comedian, and dancer is originally from Texas and appeared in Eastine Theater’s production of Cyrano de Bergerac. His first stand-up set was at The Broadway Comedy Club. Apart from being on stage, The Come Up star is often found behind a camera, shooting the streets of the city and everything downtown stands for.
Sophia Wilson
The photographer first picked up the camera at the age of 13 and has shot campaigns for Google, Nike, Peloton, Converse, Instagram, and more. She’s an analog photographer who develops her pictures by hand.
Sophia aims to change the way mainstream photography works by being front and center, as it has been a field that young black women have traditionally been kept from.
The Come Up is produced by Cousins. Megan Sanchez-Warner (producer of Love and Hip Hop Hollywood) is the showrunner with Jessica Chermayeff, Ana Veselic and Anne Alexander as the executive producers of the show.
