Yvette Nicole Brown doesn't just believe children are the future. She knows it.
On season two of Disney+'s Big Shot, Yvette returns as Sherilyn Thomas, the hard-nosed dean of the Westbrook School for Girls. The second season also welcomes back John Stamos as basketball coach Marvyn Korn, his ensemble group of star athletes, plus an influx of new high school boys.
As Yvette explained exclusively to E! News, being around so many bright-eyed members of Gen Z has only served to invigorate her.
"We're blessed to have so many young people on the show," she shared. "They bring so much energy and amazing fashion. A lot of them are going to college for the first time, so they're coming back and telling stories about what's going on at school. The vibe on set is just a lot of energy and fun and hopeful youthfulness."
Not only that, Yvette said it's "great to be with younger people and to learn different things," and she's not afraid to ask.
"I don't know why people have a problem with ‘I don't know,'" Yvette told E! News. "I think ‘I don't know' is an amazing thing to say and something very honest to admit. If I'm with the young ladies and they're talking about some new social media or some new artist that they love or a new restaurant, I go, ‘What's that?'"
Time to hit up Yvette for some recommendations.
Though her co-stars often act as her pop culture savants, Yvette was quick to explain that she's been also inspired by their ability and willingness to break social norms.
"I feel like the younger generation is definitely more bent on activism than my generation was allowed to be because we were still being told that we had to do everything right and go to school," she said. "There were a lot of boundaries that Gen X had that Gen Z does not have. They're making their own rules, they can create their own livelihoods just by taking pictures and dancing on an app."
It's precisely that entrepreneurial enthusiasm that gives Yvette hope for the future.
"They have a lot more freedom and a lot more opportunities to be themselves than we did," she argued. "They celebrate and encourage being yourself because there's been no penalty for their generation for them to be themselves. I think it's great. I think society may finally be evolving and yes, we may survive this after all."
New episodes of Big Shot drop Wednesdays on Disney+.