Image via Allblck
Jean Elie and Mike Gauyo created a love letter for first-generation Haitians with Send Help.
Few people relate to the struggle that comes with being first-gen but the half-hour dramedy, which premiered last week on Allblk, is a window into the internal battles that they deal with when forging a path for themselves while also being intrinsically tied to their family and their culture. Elie stars on the seven-episode comedy as Fritz, and the character’s story is also loosely inspired by his life.
Like Elie, Fritz is an actor in Los Angeles who is also coping with the tragedy of losing his big brother, and the void that caused in him and the rest of his family. After his show This Can’t Be Us gets canceled, Fritz is back at square one fighting to keep his career afloat, being the rock for his mother and his friends, and maneuvering a chaotic dating life.
Elie previously opened up to Complex about his desire to make a show that represents his community while also showcasing the emotional turmoil that Black men often deal with in silence. Send Help, directed by Stewart Yost, is all of that and then some. Gauyo and Elie, who also wrote on Insecure, set out to make a show that is truthful, funny, relatable, and also a joy to watch for people who will see themselves in the different characters on the show.
The show is also rich in cultural references about Haiti and its people—which the creators say was a fundamental aspect of them making the series. “We want people to be entertained. Have fun, watch, laugh, but also, get some insight into what it means to be a Haitian American or what the culture looks like,” Gauyo tells Complex. “But also, having some sense of joy because you recognize that culture either as your own or of a friend of yours that you haven’t seen amplified or expressed like this on TV.”
Complex caught up with Jean Elie and Mike Gauyo to chat all about their show’s first season, portraying personal stories on TV, and what they hope will happen for Fritz in Season 2.
Can you guys talk about why you decided to work together on this project?
Jean Elie: Well, one, he’s my birthday twin, so it makes perfect sense there. On top of that, we’re both first-generation Haitian-Americans. Having that type of energy in the writer’s room to create a show like this, experiencing what we’re experiencing and then writing something that’s truthful for us, that’s honest, allowed us to be able to connect in a way to tell the story.
Mike Gauyo: This story is loosely based on Jean’s life, and he already had an idea to do something based around him. Then we came together and started developing the show, and that became Send Help. So it’s been great being able to work with my friend, my brother. We’re both Haitian-American and that’s something that you often don’t see on the screen, especially in the position of being the lead and having your Haitian family at the forefront of the show. To my knowledge, has never been done before. We’re really excited to see what people think and hope they dive into this world with us.
Do you feel like viewers will be able to learn about Haitian culture through your show? And is that exciting for you, as people who grew up with this culture?
JE: Yes. That’s very exciting for us. The fact that you were going to be able to see this and say, “Oh. My mom’s like that. She’s not Haitian, but she’s like that.” Or to be able to just have those touch points where they’re going to learn some things about the Haitian culture that they didn’t know before or have a point of reference for things that they’ve learned growing up with Haitians in their household, Haitian friends or having those people in their community. You’re learning how some of the things that we deal with are not so different from what other people are dealing with as well.
Why was dating, especially dating in 2022, something you wanted to include in your show?
JE: Absolutely. A lot of shows talk about dating. They talk about love triangles that might happen. They talk about different scenarios when it comes to dating, but we wanted to see what it’s like through the lens of someone who’s clearly dealing with some sort of trauma, and how that trauma affects his relationships and how he deals with things. That’s really what’s at the core of this.
It shows the trauma that Fritz has experienced to help him navigate his life or deter him from navigating his life in a positive way, in a way that isn’t so toxic. So it’s a deeper examination into that, but also in a way that’s still fun and relatable and you can see a bit of yourself in the characters and if not, you know someone that’s like that. You have maybe a better understanding of why they might be like that. Maybe there’s something deeper behind it. Or if not, or if they’re just a fuck boy, you never know. But sometimes there’s the deeper level to the fuck boy.
Was that important for you, especially as a Black man, to show that there are so many things that people deal with internally, that they might not be able to show?
JE: One of the reasons why we created a show is actually to highlight that. A lot of men, Black men, specifically, literally suffer in silence and they don’t really talk about what’s really going on. They are being pulled in several directions and expected to show up all the time. And they do sometimes. Sometimes they can’t and then they get backlash for it.
Black men don’t usually talk about those things because they never feel like there’s a safe space to have that conversation or to be able to really say what’s on their mind or what’s really happening on the inside, so they bury it. When you watch the show, you see how this thing just materializes in surreal moments, things coming up. When you’re not talking about it, it causes more problems than good for you and everybody else around you.
What makes the show really strong in this first season is how well acted and how perfectly cast these roles are. Can you guys tell me about putting this cast together?
JE: It’s so good to hear that. It’s been so great to be able to work with our friends. A lot of the actors that you see are friends that we came up with, that we hit up with like, “Hey, I would love to have you on board.” Then there are those gems that we found through casting like Ana Bowen, who plays Mac. She is brilliant. She’s going to go off to be an amazing actress.
MG: Jean was already good friends with Kimiko Singer who plays Erica, but I became more familiar with Kimiko through her audition. She adds a new texture to it that we hadn’t thought of before. So once everyone was assembled, Jean actually put this collage together of everyone, and everyone just looked so good and fit so well together. So when we started production and they were acting together and vibing off each other, and the friendship grew between Fritz, Patrick, and Nicole is just so genuine and natural. We couldn’t ask for a better cast.
Their performances are also a credit to the writing on the show. I know you’re both involved with the writing process as well. What was that like and how intentional were you about making sure that it sounded current, not forced, and really authentic?
JE: We were very intentional with the writing process on how we’re going to write it. Shout out to our amazing writing staff that helped us, even with our consultants as well. And even three mentees from Mike’s program, Black Boy Writes, came on and assisted us with that and co-wrote some episodes. They really poured themselves into it. That’s very important for us to make sure that it sounds like these people are actually hanging out with one another. This is exactly how these friends would speak to one another. We just hone in on that so everything could flow and feels like a natural conversation and nothing is forced.
MG: We’re definitely telling a slice of life story about this main character Fritz, and we wanted the audience to feel like a fly on the wall to his experience. Those moments where he’s with his friends, those moments when he’s by himself. We wanted it to feel real and natural and allow audiences to make up their minds based on who the character is and not based on whether or not the writing is there.
Social media, texting, and phone use are such a huge part of the show. Why did you decide to go in that direction? And do you think that is now the norm of what we’re going to be seeing on TV?
JE: That’s a good question. We’re literally tethered to our phones. We’re constantly looking at our phones or looking at our Instagram. Either we’re bored and we go on our phones or we just want to look at our phones trying to find something new that interests us or speak to our parents and that’s the only way that they can connect with us or talk to us.
Especially with this character, Fritz lives 3,000 miles away from his family. So he has to be able to reach them at any time, and they have to be able to reach him. That’s where we are in life. And the fact that the phone is literally an extension of us. It’s literally phone, wallet, keys, you know what I’m saying? So it’s that type of cadence of living our everyday lives that makes us constantly use our phones.
There was one specific episode where it focuses on Fritz’s mom a lot. We see more internally what she’s dealing with and how she’s processing everything by herself. Why did you include that in this season?
MG: The thing is, the series is very much about Fritz and about what he’s going through and about his relationships, but his relationships are mostly having to do with his family and the trauma that they are all facing together. So as we’re experiencing Fritz and how he’s getting through it and how he’s coping, we need to see the other side and how everyone else is coping too. Being able to enter mommy’s world or Mac’s world just serves as a lens to what they’re going through and how they are coping with trauma. We love using social media as a device to turn that on its head, to see the different perspectives.
I don’t want to spoil too much, but we see Fritz coming to terms with what happens to his brother. Jean, what was that like to film for you, personally, to put that in your show?
JE: It was tough. It was a very tough thing. It was a very vulnerable moment for me, being that I have experienced what he’s talking about. It was a very vulnerable and awkward moment, but I felt protected and comforted with the cast and the writing and things of that nature to be able to give that onto the screen. It was a very uncomfortable situation, but I’m glad it resonated and it worked the way it worked out because a lot of people go through that.
I love the fact that Fritz is literally taking that step forward, even though it was prompted by something else. A lot of times we hold these things in and we don’t necessarily talk about these things that are bothering us. We talk about these things that are happening within us as Black men, even as Haitian men or first-generation Americans. We don’t necessarily talk about therapy in our communities and having him explode in that way, it was going to come at some point in time. It was just a matter of when. And then him figuring out these things are still under everything he’s doing, which is also causing things to spiral out of control in his life.
For sure. And this is a bit personal, but Jean, did you find it healing in a way to be able to do this show?
JE: It was very cathartic. It was a cathartic experience to be able to do that.
We don’t know what’s going to happen with Season 2 but where do you hope Fritz goes now that he’s talking about maybe going to therapy?
JE: I think he’s going to start trying to figure out how to tackle that. It’s a new thing for him to tackle, something for him to really go head-on on. But now, which way will he do it? How will he do it? That, we will never know until we get to the second season. But it’s just a matter of how he’s going to find a way to either medicate himself into a place where he feels comfortable and better to move forward or not.
MG: There are several different ways or several different ideas that we’ve been mulling over. But the most important things for us is for Fritz to realize that there might be an issue at hand that he needs to face. And whether or not he attempts to seek help to do that, or if he attempts to try to do it himself and help himself. So that is as much we know so far and will wait to see for Season 2 what he decides to do.
What do you guys hope that audiences get when they see the show?
JE: That you don’t have to suffer alone, but also I want you to laugh and enjoy yourself as well and get a sneak peek of what it looks like to just be Haitian.
MG: We want people to be entertained too. Have fun, watch, and laugh, but also, get some insight into what it means to be a Haitian American or what the culture looks like. But also, having some sense of joy because you recognize that culture either it’s of your own or of a friend of yours that you haven’t seen amplified or expressed like this on TV. So we just want people to enjoy it overall. And we’re looking forward to a lot of the conversations that are going to be happening on social media about the show.
New episodes of Send Help drop on Allblk on Thursdays.