Kenneth Dolin
Quinn Copeland
Quinn Copeland
With season one of "Punky Brewster" premiering Thursday on NBCUniversal's streaming service, Peacock, viewers can binge watch all episodes right from their living room — and also get a chance to see some Fort Worth talent.
"Punky Brewster" is getting its reboot with Soleil Moon Frye, who played the title character in the original 1980s sitcom, now playing a grown-up Punky who's a single mother of three. Cherie Johnson is also back as Punky’s best friend, Cherie. In the show, Punky meets a girl in the foster system, Izzy (played by Fort Worth child actor Quinn Copeland), and decides to take her in.
Copeland says that one thing she loves about the show is its message — that it doesn’t matter if you have the same last name, the same skin tone, or the same parents; you can be a family if you want to. The show also touches on topics like adoption and the LGBTQ community.
Copeland isn't the only Fort Worth native starring in the show. Another local, Noah Cottrell, plays a character named Diego. Due to COVID-19, Copeland and Cottrell will both celebrate the premiere from their homes, with close family members.
COVID-19 not only altered the way they're celebrating the premiere — it also altered filming. The pilot was filmed back in 2019, but the rest of the season was put on pause as the pandemic broke out. Filming did not start back up until late 2020, and even then, the cast and crew had to take a lot of precautions to ensure everyone’s safety, including constant COVID-19 testing during filming.
“It was a little different because when we were filming it, we didn’t have our masks or shields on, but before filming, we did,” Copeland says. “We always had to wear protection because we needed to be really safe about COVID-19. I guess you could say it’s kind of different than it was on other shows.”
Cottrell agrees that filming during a pandemic was challenging, but he also credits NBC for making sure the team stayed safe in the process.
“I think for anyone, no one is used to doing anything during COVID, and the last time something like this happened was ages ago,” Cottrell says. “It presents new challenges for everyone, and everyone has new hurdles, but we’re all trying our best. NBC did a great job keeping everything as normal as possible while still being safe.”
As of right now, there's no word on whether the show will have a second season.
