Mallori Johnson Brings Octavia Butler’s ‘Kindred’ to Life on Screen
On Monday morning, shortly after New York City’s first snowfall of the season, Mallori Johnson arrived at Lincoln Center in warm spirits. It was one day before the premiere of her show “Kindred,” and the young actress — bundled up in cold-weather Coach — was back where it all began. Posing for photos on Josie Robertson Plaza, Johnson’s alma mater, Juilliard, was in clear view across the street. Later that afternoon, she would step through the doors for the first time as a graduate and as a newly minted leading screen actress.
“It’s a really full-circle moment,” says Johnson, who graduated from the conservatory in 2021, “where I’m just like — ‘How has this happened?’”
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“Kindred” marks the first screen adaptation of formative sci-fi novelist Octavia Butler’s work. Johnson stars in the new Hulu series as Dana, a young Black writer who moves to Los Angeles and finds herself shuttling between the present day and back in time to a 19th-century plantation. Dana’s white partner, Kevin, is often along for the time-travel ride.
Johnson was already a fan of Butler’s 1979 novel. “I approached the audition a lot like a student,” says Johnson, who auditioned during her final quarter at Juilliard. “I never thought it would go further than that. And then I got another call for it and I was like, no way. I had never done a callback before.”
The series was adapted by showrunner Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, a playwright whose accolades include an Obie Award, Guggenheim Fellowship and two works selected as finalists for the Pulitzer Prize. “I was already a huge fan of his theater work, so as soon as I read that it was him who was making the adaption, I was like, ‘Oh, this is gonna be fantastic.’ I knew he was a storyteller that I could trust,” Johnson says.
Jacobs-Jenkins made several key changes to Butler’s original story, including moving the story’s present-day to 2016 and introducing Dana and Kevin at the beginning of their relationship versus an already married couple.
“It added an element of excitement,” Johnson says. “Because [Dana and Kevin] are not bonded in marriage, you don’t actually know if they’re gonna make it through this, which I thought was a really smart change. Brandon’s really smart about paying homage to Octavia Butler’s work while still creating elements of the story that are exciting and new and fresh.”
Johnson first read Butler’s “Kindred” before enrolling in Juilliard (she spent a year at CalArts before transferring), and notes that she discovered a new connection with the story, and Dana, in the years since.
“I understood a little bit more her willingness to do anything to survive,” Johnson says. “Dana has to think quick on her feet. The difference between Kevin and Dana is that Kevin has the luxury of being able to be flabbergasted and shocked by what’s happening,” she adds. “Dana’s determined and she does what she has to do to make it through this experience. I related to that more as I got older, because I started to understand what it means to have control over your emotions; to not be able to just fall out and react however you want, but to keep yourself very grounded and that determination that will to survive.”
Shortly before leaving New York to film the show’s pilot in Atlanta, Johnson’s apartment in Harlem, New York, was destroyed by an accidental fire. Johnson remains upbeat recounting the story. No one was injured, and she refused to dwell on the loss of material belongings, instead turning her focus on the task ahead: bringing her all to her portrayal of Dana. As the first version of Butler’s work to hit the screen, the stakes to do the late author justice felt particularly high.
Johnson’s performance in the show has been praised by critics and she’s gotten positive reviews from an even more important group: her family.
“My entire family — my grandma, all of my friends — came to see the premiere and I was so nervous. I was so scared that they were gonna be like, ‘Lol girl, what did you do?’ But they didn’t. They’re really excited. They genuinely can’t wait to see the next episode and they are tough critics.”
Johnson, who grew up in San Diego, also credits her family for their support of an improbable dream. Captivated by the stage from an early age, she notes that she “always knew” that she wanted to act professionally. “It was something that was very natural to me, and thank god I had a family that was really supportive of it,” she says. “My mom always encouraged me and my brother to do whatever we wanted to do — no matter how unlikely it was that we might succeed in it.”
Johnson starred in the recent Apple TV+ series “WeCrashed,” and is working on the anthology series “Genius.” She’s also optimistic about returning for a second season of “Kindred.”
“There’s a lot more story to tell,” she says. “I hope that it’s exciting enough to audiences to want to see more.”
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