‘Boarders’ Creator Shares Why Season 2 Is All About ‘Surviving’ And ‘Thriving’

Daniel Lawrence Taylor discussed the evolution of his boarding school dramedy and how it gives fans more to unpack in its second season.

For U.S. audiences, the driving plot behind the new season of “Boarders” will feel awfully timely, and that’s not because series creator Daniel Lawrence Taylor felt inspired by the recent attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion happening in America.

That initiative kicked off by the Trump administration earlier this year hadn’t even occurred to Lawrence Taylor when production on his British teen dramedy began again last summer. But it is nonetheless relevant to the point he makes about it in its second season, which sees our returning Black boarding school quintet — Jaheim (Josh Tedeku), Leah (Jodie Campbell), Toby (Sekou Diaby), Omar (Myles Kamwendo) and Femi (Aruna Jalloh) — grappling with cuts to their scholarships as St. Gilbert’s acting headmistress plots to get rid of them.

It wouldn’t be the first time affirmative action has been repealed; there’s already a long history. “Boarders” makes it clear this is just another example of the cycle repeating itself.

So, when I ask Lawrence Taylor if he believes this well-timed storyline will especially resonate with U.S. viewers once his show returns to Tubi on Thursday, he replies matter-of-factly, “You know what? I think it will.”

“It’s scary… but at the same time, it’s not surprising because I feel like it’s a pendulum that constantly does this,” he explains. “It’s like, ‘Yay! Black lives matter.’ And then, ‘Oh, actually, I don’t know if they do.’”