Ciera Payton Talks About Her Role On Netflix’s ‘She’s Gotta Have It’

Netflix’s She’s Gotta Have It is returning for a second season on the streaming platform and it’s bringing a host of fresh faces to the series, including Ciera Payton, who’ll play the role of Jameelah, according to a report from Black Girl Nerds.

She’s Gotta Have It is based on Spike Lee’s classic 1986 film of the same name and follows Nola Darling, played by DeWanda Wise. Nola is a “sex-positive, polyamorous, pansexual” woman trying to juggle her career and love life while dating multiple partners. There’s Mars Blackmon, a hilarious sneakerhead who works at a local bike shop, played by Anthony Ramos; there’s Jamie Overstreet, a middle-aged investor and father in a failing marriage, played by Lyriq Bent; and there’s Greer Child, a self-obsessed photographer, played by Cleo Anthony. Nola also enters a relationship with Opal Gilstrap, a lesbian mother who owns a flower shop, played by Ilfenesh Hadera, as previously outlined by The Inquisitr.

As for Payton’s role, the actress made it clear she can’t share too much but she did describe her character as “powerful.”

“Jameelah is a powerful woman working in corporate. She is just trying to balance out how to ‘do the right thing’ (pun intended). I enjoyed playing a role like that,” she said. “It was my first time playing a character of that type. She’s a sophisticated, laid back, and strong businesswoman.”

Payton went on to talk about her experience working with legendary director, producer, and writer Spike Lee. The actress said she worked with Lee previously on his remake of the South Korean movie, Oldboy, and later auditioned for several of his other projects, but didn’t land the roles. Lee’s wife, Tonya Lewis Lee, is also an executive producer on She’s Gotta Have It, and Payton said the couple is “amazing.”

“They’re amazing. When I arrived on set for filming, it was such an awesome and surreal experience. It’s just dope.”

The actress also added that she was happy to be a part of a show with such a high level of representation.

“There’s a lot of representation in She’s Gotta Have It. It’s shot in Brooklyn, you have black businesses, black makeup artists, hairstylists, you name it,” she explained.

Season 1 of She’s Gotta Have It is currently available to stream on Netflix, and Season 2 will go live on May 24. In the second season, Miss Nola will be focusing a lot more on her career as an artist, and according to Payton, her character might be helping Nola on her way.