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See the Stars of Queens Sound Off on Girls5eva Comparisons

In an exclusive chat with E! News, the stars of ABC's Queens, including Eve, Brandy, Naturi Naughton and Nadine Velazquez, sound off on comparisons to Peacock's Girls5eva.

By Alyssa Ray Oct 19, 2021 8:18 PMTags
Watch: ABC's "Queens" Cast Sets the Record Straight About Show

Four has-been artists reunite after a younger performer samples their one hit wonder for a new song. No, we aren't talking about Peacock's Girls5eva: We're referring to ABC's new drama, Queens.

Though the Peacock comedy and the upcoming ABC series have very similar premises on paper, they couldn't be more different—or, at least, that's what Queens stars Eve, Brandy, Naturi Naughton and Nadine Velazquez expressed to E! News in an exclusive chat.

According to Eve, who plays Brianna (a.k.a. Professor Sex), Queens is "completely, completely, completely" different for a couple key reasons: A) The show follows a former rap group, not a singing group, and B) It is a drama.

"Nothing against the other cast," the "What Ya Want" artist shared, "but you have people who are authentically from that era that we are portraying. We know what that era was...and also, it's hip hop. Real hip hop."

Eve was, of course, referring to herself and co-stars Naughton and Brandy, as they all made a name for themselves in the '90s music scene.

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2021 TV Premiere Dates

"We have a lot more life drama," she continued. "We get really dramatic in certain places. There's a lot of meat to this show...It's nothing like it—at all."

Naughton, who plays Jill (a.k.a. Da Thrill) on Queens, expressed a similar sentiment, calling the new show "a drama with elements of comedy." As she continued, the former 3LW member said she was surprised by the comparisons. "I get the whole '20 years later' thing," she said. "But like Eve said, we're real hip hop. We're actually in there, going to the studio, rhyming. We're not making a mockery out of it."

ABC

For Naughton, the idea of second chances isn't something to laugh at, adding, "I hope that people give us the chance to just come in and receive us with fresh energy without any comparisons."

Similarly, Brandy and Velazquez weren't eager to compare their show to the Tina Fey-produced comedy. Instead, the co-stars highlighted how Queens is special. For starters, Velazquez described the ABC drama as "honest" with "strong" actors at its core.

Jumping off of this point, Brandy added, "I think too the music—the music is just so different. Hip hop is just different...Hip hop being the foundation, the driving force, that's different than I think anything on television. Period."

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Intrigued? See how Queens differs from Girls5eva by watching the premiere tonight, Oct. 19 at 10 p.m. on ABC.

(E! and Peacock are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)

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