Michael Cooper Jr. Embraces Vulnerability and Young Black Love in Modern Adaptation of Judy Blume’s ‘Forever’

Michael Cooper Jr. wasn’t familiar with iconic author Judy Blume, but he instantly connected with the love story at the heart of her 1975 book “Forever.” ”As we all know, your first love, it really does shape a part of you, because it’s such an intimate and vulnerable and deep experience,” says the 23-year-old actor, who stars in a modern series adaptation of Blume’s controversial book for Netflix. The book, which centers on teenage love and sexuality, is frequently the target of censorship and efforts to ban the title from schools and libraries. “ Honestly, I wasn’t too [familiar] with Judy’s books,” says Cooper. A month before the audition for the “Forever” role came his way, the actor was at home for Christmas when he asked his mother what she had read as a kid. “And she said Judy Blume,” he adds. Beyond Blume’s literary legacy, Cooper was intrigued by the other names attached to the project: showrunner and screenwriter Mara Brock Akil, creator of monumental Black sitcoms including “Girlfriends,” and executive producer Regina King, who also directed the first “Forever” episode. “She’s such a grounded and inviting person, where you kind of forget it’s Regina King,” says Cooper, crediting the collaborative environment on-set

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