Jalen Rose is no stranger to positively influencing the next generation of change makers. While the trajectory of his career in sports has been marked by a multitude of titles and noteworthy achievements, the NBA alum’s dedication to mentorship is equally resonant. The New York Times best-selling author’s passion for uplifting youth is evident in his creation and leadership of The Jalen Rose Foundation and, subsequently, The Jalen Rose Leadership Academy. Now the sports analyst is taking a different approach to reaching young people, this time through the lens of television with creator Dennis L. Reed II‘s South West High, the latest project born out of Rose’s production company, Same Page Entertainment. The first season of the five-episode series is now streaming on Tubi.
Mr. Rose, Please Come to the Principal’s Office
Rose stars as Nolan Thomas, a former professional basketball player who’s returned to his hometown of Detroit to lead the fictional high school as its newest principal, with the goal of creating positive change. According to Rose, the creation of his character mirrored his own, particularly in shared personal milestones.
“Manifestation is a huge part of Nolan Thomas’s character. I watched a lot of shows that were staged in high schools, whether it was All-American or Lean on Me, getting into my Joe Clark. Nolan Thomas, being a doctor, ultimately became something of real life over the last month or so at the University of Michigan,” Rose said, referring to his honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from U of M. “And when we were writing that character, we never thought that Dr. Nolan Thomas would ultimately end up being me, being so very blessed to be honored with a doctorate, but also speaking at the University of Michigan’s graduation.”
The Detroit native’s depiction of the nuanced high school principal has garnered praise from the show’s supporters regarding his firm yet loving approach within the walls of the fictional high school. According to Rose, it was intentional to lean into those qualities.
“Embodying Nolan’s character is one of compassion, love, and versatility. He has to make sure that his wife is happy, his youngest son, who doesn’t go to school, and his daughter, who goes to the school,” Rose said to UPTOWN. “He tries to love all of his staff members, who are overworked and underpaid, all of his students who have things like all young people that they’re juggling to deal with in their lives, sex, drugs, violence, and social media. And, his job is to love everyone equally. And that was our goal when we tried to create the character.”
Paging Ms. Headings
That intentionality was clearly a throughline through the series’ production, as it’s something that actress Kourtney “Nu Nu” Thurman leaned into when portraying Ms. Cheryl Headings, South West High’s social studies teacher, to life. Thurman admits that, though challenging, the character became easier to bring to life as she leaned more into her own qualities.
“Playing a teacher is hard when you’ve never really done it before,” Thurman said to UPTOWN. “However, it wasn’t too hard because I took my nurturing spirit and I applied that to the role.”
In addition, Thurman attests that the camaraderie she experienced on set also helped her to firmly grasp the role.
“Energy is everything, and being around younger people, and reading the script, and knowing what the stories are wasn’t hard for me to bring my character to life,” Thurman said. “I just stepped in like, ‘OK, this is when she comes. She’s a caring teacher. And she wants to make sure they’re OK.’ She’s trying to do all of that by holding her own relationship together, so it wasn’t hard.”
South West High is now streaming on Tubi.
