'Harlem' Star Shoniqua Shandai Reflects On The Final Season

Shoniqua Shandai stars as Angie in the Hulu series “Harlem” on Amazon Prime. Photo courtesy of Amazon Prime

Saying goodbye to Harlem is bittersweet for actress Shoniqua Shandai, especially since her character, Angie, mirrors many of her experiences as an entertainer.

In the third and final season of the sitcom, created by Tracy Oliver, which centers around the bonds between four Black women in the Harlem borough of New York, everyone is closing the chapter on something. For Shandai’s Angie, that looks like a culmination of things.

When fans first met the boisterous, funny, and witty Angie when the Prime Video series was released in 2019, she was just a girl trying to make her dreams of making it big as an actress in the Big Apple – a story that Shandai, who was born in New York, but raised in Richmond, Virginia, knows all too well.

“I think as a human being, we’ve all grown and matured and had to have taken on more depth, just as a world in a society, because we’ve experienced so many like drastic shifts, globally,” Shandai told MadameNoire. “So I’m richer because of that and more heartfelt because of the experiences we’ve all collectively had, such as COVID and Black Lives Matter, the presidencies, and the fires in LA. I operate with more. I’ve always been empathetic, but even more so, I remind myself, ‘Who am I telling this story for?’”

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She adds, “I’ve become more courageous because of Angie. There were things that I always wanted to do, such as you mentioned, such as music, and Angie was my gateway to that. In her constantly saying yes to herself, I learned to say yes to myself more as well. And through the ladies of Harlem, I’ve learned more vulnerability. I created a different dynamic of sisterhood in sharing space with these Grace-filled women, who hold space for you, who are forgiving, who are loving, who are vulnerable, and who encourage you to love yourself differently because they love themselves differently. I used to hide in characters because I was scared to show who I am, and now I’m able to insert more of me and my heart and fearlessness in these spaces because I know that everything that I have to offer is valuable and worth receiving.”

In the show’s final season, viewers get to witness Angie live out her dreams of being the star of a Broadway show, a long way from when she was sleeping on her bestie Quinn’s (Grace Byers) couch, struggling to land auditions. Not only that, but it is apparent from the first episode that Angie has turned over a new leaf, having moved out of her friend’s place and into a home of her own alongside her new fiancé.

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There’s almost a glimmer of hope that a girl can have it all, but then she’s hit with an ultimatum to choose between living her dream and her partner’s vision for their life together. Something that Shandai admits that many women who look like Angie know all too well.

“I hope they see how important it is to know who you are and make sure that all of who you are is being encouraged, embraced, and nourished in a relationship,” the actress said when asked what she hopes is a key takeaway for those watching Angie’s journey in this final season of Harlem. “I think there can be a lot of partners, not just men exclusively, but partners who are attracted to light, who are attracted to the brightest woman in the room, and then want to take it, harness it, and then dim it. It’s something about wanting to conquer it. And I would hope that women see this and know that if you have to make yourself smaller to be in the relationship, then that’s not a relationship that wants you. I hope they understand that it’s okay to say no and then know that bigger, better, more fullness and accepting love is available. You just gotta make space for it.”

As the chapter that is Harlem closes, Shandai says her creativity will continue to blossom. Her new single, “Feel My Love,” showcases her talents as a musician, which she aims to develop further in the years to come.

Photo courtesy of Amazon Prime

“I’m making space for my multi-hyphenate in a way that I never have before. I have my first televised performance of my music and singles coming out back-to-back with an EP dropping this year,” she beamed. “I’m making space for Shoniqua, and not just because Harlem is ending, but Harlem showed me how magnificent I am, and Harlem showed me that what I have to say, my voice as a friend, as a romantic pattern, as an artist, as an actress, as a musician, as a writer, like, my voice is needed and my voice is loved.”

Shandai concluded, “It’s up to me to be willing to share it, and for the people who don’t receive it, it’s just not meant for them. But I think in Harlem closing, I’m saying yes to me in all the ways that I hadn’t before because of Harlem.”

The third and final season of Harlem is now available on Prime Video. New episodes premiere each Thursday until the finale on Feb. 6.

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