INTERVIEW: Francia Raisa Discusses the Return of Freeform’s ‘grown-ish,’ Isolation, Dream Roles, Self-love, and More

Francia Raisa stars in Freeform’s grown-ish, and we spoke to the actress all about season three.

Francia plays Ana Torres, and we are going to be seeing a fascinating storyline from her in these new episodes as she delves more into her faith. The show airs Thursdays at 8 PM ET.

Read our exclusive interview with Francia Raisa below to find out more about fun filming stories, all her favorites, a dream storyline for Ana, and how she is similar to her character.

GLITTER: grown-ish season 3 returned on January 21, what can fans expect from this new season?
FRANCIA: Oh man, so much. As far as my character, Ana talks a lot more about her faith, especially with her new relationship. We really see her for the first time in a relationship, and they go through some interesting chapters considering their dynamics. So that’s cool. We talk about student loans, and I mean, that’s a big subject that I learned a lot about while filming this, and I’m glad that we’re touching on it. Let’s see; toxic masculinity is another one of them. I mean, we touch on so much, but I’m excited to see what the viewers think, and I’m actually excited to see what they tweet.

GLITTER: Any fun stories you can share from filming?
FRANCIA: Oh man. I mean, we just have fun filming, period. Most of the funny stuff or fun stuff that happens, it’s like Trevor doing something, just being Trevor, whether it’s farting on set– I’m not kidding. Then before a take or sometimes forgetting lines or like Halle, for some reason, like when we all start laughing, she just can’t stop. Then Trevor keeps egging it on, which makes her laugh more, to the point she starts crying. It’s hilarious. So we just have a good time, and it comes across on camera for sure.

GLITTER: What is one aspect of Ana’s storyline or background that you’d like to explore further? 
FRANCIA: You know, in this next season, we start touching on her faith, and that’s actually a new topic that we’re kind of talking about because we all knew she was Catholic, but then this is a whole other dynamic. So I kind of hope that to explore that a little more. But also, too, with you know, I love that the show really talks about what’s going on in the real world, and then we address it on the show. So I personally, and I don’t know this, but I would love to see Ana’s input on what happened with DACA and a lot of the stuff that’s going on within the Latinx community. So I hope more of that is touched upon in the show.

GLITTER: Favorite show you binge-watched over quarantine? 
FRANCIA: Oh my gosh, there are so many. I mean, I just finished Bridgerton. Girl, I am single, and I watched that alone with wine by myself at night. No one told me I wasn’t warned. So it was just like a situation where I was like, “Woah, okay.” God, there are so many, and it’s pissing me off like I’m watching Succession right now. But what’s funny is the show that I’m actually binge-watching, like crazy, it’s like my guilty pleasure, is Bob’s Burgers, the cartoon. I’m obsessed with it. Literally, no, I’m obsessed. It’s like my go-to every night. It just makes me so happy. I discovered it over quarantine.

GLITTER: Any goals for 2021? 
FRANCIA: I have a lot of goals. I think my main goal that I want to really focus on is myself and just making sure that my self-love and the discoveries that I made in 2020 really blend into 2021. I actually learned how to set boundaries, healthy boundaries, and so I hope that once I go back out in the real world, I can really still acclimate that into my life. Like I started telling people, “Don’t call me before 9 AM, that is my time to meditate and journal and just have time to myself,” which before I’d be like, “Whatever you want!” Now I’m like, “I need that time. I’ve earned it.” So hopefully, I can carry that into this new year.

GLITTER: What was a day in social isolation like for you?
FRANCIA: Oh my gosh. Well, so I don’t set an alarm, which was so nice. I would wake up, and on the days that I would teach, I was like, “Okay, I got a teacher. I have responsibilities,” but honestly, I sat on the couch, had my heating pad, which I’m sitting on now, and watched television. So what now? I miss it. I’m not going to lie. I really do. I would sit outside in my backyard. I’d play with my dog. The biggest decision I had to make was what was I going to eat that day?

I’ll tell you, though, I went to the doctor recently, and I started telling the truth. They’re like, “So you drink alcohol; how much?” Usually, I’ll be like, “You know, like twice a week.” Now I’m like, “Four glasses a day.” So that’s what isolation was like a lot of wine. But doctors don’t even get mad. They’re like, “I get it.”

GLITTER: Do you share any similarities with Ana?
FRANCIA: So Ana is ten years younger than me. We both grew up Catholic, so that’s very similar. Actually, with the storyline that I have coming up, that’s very similar to my real life. I grew up Catholic, and then I stepped foot into a Christian church when I was 16 years old, and I had the same shock and reaction that Ana does in this season, especially trying to navigate a Christian relationship. So there’s definitely— a lot of myself will be into this next season because it was a personal experience.

GLITTER: What would be a dream storyline for Ana if you could choose?
FRANCIA: Like I said earlier, I really want to touch more into the Latinx community and a lot of what had happened in 2020 within our community. So I hope that we do touch upon it. Whether it’s DACA, whether it’s happening at the border, I just definitely want more Ana and her culture in the show.

GLITTER: What is at the top of your most recent playlist?
FRANCIA: Oh my gosh. I can tell you right now because we were just talking about it. I mean, I have been listening to a lot of Karol G. Oh Jazmine Sullivan’s new album— LIFE. That just got me. So I’ve been listening to that a lot. I’ve been listening to a lot of Aloe Blacc. Then, I just discovered Songland, so all of the songs from there, like, “Everything I Did to Get to You,” Ben Platt, on repeat.

GLITTER: Top five favorite movies?
FRANCIA: Moulin Rouge!, Selena, Center Stage, all of Marvel, and then Soul! Oh My God, cut me deep in my heart. I’ve seen that movie five times. So put Soul there as number three. So deep. That first line that Tina Fey said when she was like, “Oh, we don’t crush those here. That’s just for Earth.”

GLITTER: Any dream roles or projects?
FRANCIA: Marvel. Marvel, there are Hispanic superheroes, so whenever that happens, call me. So yeah, Marvel for sure.

GLITTER: Glitter has a celebrity #SelfLoveCampaign. What does self-love mean to you?
FRANCIA: Self-love means putting yourself first; your needs and wants first. There’s a way to do it where it’s healthy to where it doesn’t offend anyone, and I think the healthiest way is by setting healthy boundaries. Like I said, I have a friend who is a creative director and works with a lot of big artists like John Legend, and he was like, “My phone would be blowing up, and I’d be right there, but I realized I had to tell everyone, stop calling me before 10,” and they don’t call him, they respect it. So I think setting healthy boundaries. I think we all need that and just being vocal about it and saying, “Hey, this is what I need in order to feel sane, in order to do my job right, in order to not get ticked off. So let me have my time and then just go on with my day.” It’s the boundaries.

GLITTER: Fans loved your limited edition of Silk + Sonder journal; do you have any plans to do any more collabs?
FRANCIA: Yeah, I do. I really enjoyed that collaboration. I love that it was a female-owned business. Journaling is such a big part of my life, as I’ve addressed, and I definitely want to dive more into that world. So I do definitely have plans up in the air as far as other collabs, which are personal ideas that I have that I want to bring to life.

GLITTER: Do you have any new projects coming up that you can share?
FRANCIA: I can’t tease or discuss it, but I’m hoping to make an announcement soon because I’ve been trying to for a while now.

GLITTER: What are the best social media platforms for fans to follow you?
FRANCIA: Probably Instagram is the best one. I am on Twitter, Facebook, and TikTok; I haven’t been as active on TikTok lately, so Instagram for sure.