The Big Door Prize, now playing on AppleTV+, follows the residents of a sleepy town who are gifted a mysterious machine. For just a quarter, the machine reveals each resident’s true-life potential on a little blue card. The results turn everyone a little crazy, including angsty teen Trina Hubbard who has been grappling with the tragic loss of her boyfriend. The CW’s Riverdale alum Djouliet Amara stars in the role.
“She’s a really wise and grounded soul who’s going through a lot of grief, guilt and pain as she’s coming of age,” Amara tells EBONY. “It’s just this really interesting part in her life after her boyfriend’s death.” Trina’s life has been complicated by the fact that she was cheating on her dead boyfriend with none other than his still very much alive twin brother, Jacob. And it seems that the machine knows of her dalliance.
SPOILER ALERT: In the past episode, we learned that “Liar” was written on Trina’s card, a disturbing turn of events for the teen. “That was Trina’s episode, and it really dived into why she is the way she is and what she’s like,” Amara shares. “We learned why her relationship with her parents is the way that it is, why she is so close with Jacob, what’s going on in her world and how is she dealing with all this grief and guilt.” Amara notes there is a sense of realness to Trina. “There’s this charm about her that’s really interesting to read and easy to love. I find that it’s really easy to feel her feelings.”
While The Big Door Prize isn’t a Black-themed series, its diverse cast makes it one to watch. The show also stars A Black Lady Sketch Show’s Gabrielle Dennis, Crystal Fox, Coca Brown and Damon Gupton. “It’s always good to see diversity represented and I think the beautiful thing is that any one of the characters on this show could be of any race and going through these unique experiences,” Amara says. “It’s written as real human experiences by really talented writers who wanted to give a glimpse into how strange and beautiful life can be.”
The actress, who is also starring in the film Bloody Hell, which is executive produced by EBONY’s March 2023 cover star Janelle Monáe, knows what would be on her little blue card if she pulled one in real life. “I’d be one of the people who l would go in and try it a few times to see if I could get the same thing,” she says with a chuckle. “Since we got renewed for season two and we’re filming it right now, it would be a person who needs more sleep!”
Catch Amara on new episodes of The Big Door Prize Wednesdays on Apple TV+.
