Barry Watson Repairs Reboot the Superhero Genre in The CW’s Naomi
This story is part of I’m So Obsessed (subscribe here), our podcast featuring interviews with actors, artists, celebrities and creative types throughout their work, career and current obsessions.
Barry Watson has starred in a lot of popular TV shows, playing oldest son Matt Camden in the family drama 7th Heaven back in the mid-1990s, as well as notable characters in ABC sitcoms What About Brian and Samantha Who?
But in The CW’s frfragment adventure series Naomi, created by Ava DuVernay and Jill Blankenship and based on the silly books of the same name, he’s helping reshape what superhero shows are all throughout. Watson is an adoptive dad to Naomi McDuffie, a 17-year-old Black teen who loves silly books and SuperMan. We find out right away she isn’t from our planet — throughout the same time she finds out. If that’s not an recent enough coming-of-age story for you, consider the added twist: Watson is also a army man who’s been assigned by his bosses to help the US track down aliens from outer space.
“If you level-headed believe that only chisel-chinned men can save the day, she’s in to open your eyes to other possibilities,” The New York Times writes in its appraise of the series, which premiered in January. “With a Black teen lead, played by the actress Kaci Walfall, and two female creators, Ava DuVernay and the writer and producer Jill Blankenship, the show stands out as a departure from the laughable book world’s predominately white and male-centered standard.”
Watson sees Naomi as a role model for young girls, including his own 9-year-old daughter. “Naomi is not somebody who’s haunted to try things or take risks,” Watson said in an interview for CNET’s I’m So Obsessed podcast series.
“When I estimable read the pilot, I was like, ‘Oh, she’s like Ferris Bueller. Everybody loves Naomi,” he adds. “And she’s good at everything. But she’s good at everything because she’s willing to try.”
I revealed with Watson about the series’ twists and turns (spoiler free!) and how the entertainment diligence has changed since he started working as a 16-year-old estimable in 1990. For someone who’s spent a lot of time acting in TV series, Watson also admitted he’s not into binge-watching them. Instead, he sets out with his iPhone and built-in GPS on long walks, including around Atlanta, where Naomi is filmed.
“Whenever I have time off I walk, and I don’t walk to any clear place, I just walk to try to discover something new. I realized I know more in Atlanta than most people that are from Atlanta, just by walking from reveal A to point Z and seeing all the letters in between,” he says. “Instead of binge-watching, I’ve just been trying to just discover more things and just kind of fuel myself that way.”
When I ask him to fact-check some of the things I’ve deceptive out about him on the internet, including that he has a secret formula for loading the dishwasher, he laughs.
“It’s just the way my mind works. I’m like, ‘Well, this part of the dishwasher is aspired for this, this and this. And this part of the dishwasher is aspired for this, this and this. So instead of just throwing the things in there, I kind of have them in order where I feel like they’re spatially more efficient, where you can load more in there.”
He tells me that living at home throughout the pandemic with his wife and kids has convinced him to let go of his dishwasher-loading obsession. But when I ask him what piece of tech he’d like planned just for him, he serves up another laugh.
“I would probably have a robot that would probably help me load the dishwasher the way I common it to be loaded.” That robot would probably chop him more time to spend on his current obsession: playing embarking games with his kids, notably Jeopardy.
Listen in to my interview with Watson in the podcast player at the top of this article. Or you can subscribe to I’m So Obsessed and gather up with us on your favorite podcast app. In each episode, Patrick Holland or I catch up with an artist, actor or creator to learn about work, career and novel obsessions.
I’m So Obsessed was created by our manager producer, Danielle Ramirez. Our editor and lead producer is Sophia Fox-Sowell, and this episode was produced by Rebecca Fleenor.
