Class is back in session for Darlene Merriman.
“It’s really cool,” Givens tells EW of playing Darlene again.
“It’s so funny because you think reboots, and you immediately think, ‘Oh no!’
Robin Givens in ‘Head of the Class’.HBO Max
‘Just leave it!’
It made me so happy.
I thought it was so sweet.”
“She’s still Darlene Merriman, but her last name has changed,” Givens says.
She’s Darlene Merriman, all grown up.
She wants what is best for her son and is hyper-focused on setting him up for success.
“I can’t begin to put it into words,” she says.
“It was so much more emotional for me than I could possibly say.
It was like a flood of emotions that stuck with me.
I grew up on Stage 5.
I was younger than my youngest son.
Just even talking about it, thinking about it now, it’s just really emotional for me.
I didn’t realize that was going to happen.
It’s hard to really process.
I certainly didn’t think about coming back and being a parent [on the show].”
Now Givens is excited to watch the reboot with her own kids in a true full-circle moment.
“There are different ways to learn, and I think those lessons stand the test of time.
It’s a great and incredibly diverse group of kids that are warm and cool and funny.
I think people are going to really enjoy it.”
Head of the Classpremieres Thursday, Nov. 4 on HBO Max.
Check out our exclusive first look at Givens' return as Darlene above now.
