Crafting “Brookie” for NBC's Lopez vs. Lopez with Laci Mosley

Photo by: Nicole Weingart/NBC

By: Rashida Ashley

Lopez vs. Lopez’s star, Laci Mosley, talks about her industry experiences, crafting her role, and the importance of comedy for all.

What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think of comedy besides a good ol’ laugh? For Laci Mosley, it’s a comfort woven in one of the most prominent art forms that allow one to feel companionship amid feelings of loneliness. In NBC’s Lopez vs Lopez, Mosley takes her understanding, dedication, and passion for comedy and fuses it into her character “Brookie” by bringing light to trauma for not only young black girls but for all.

Mosley is most known for her roles on Insecure, Kenan, A Black Lady Sketch Show, iCarly, Sherman’s Showcase, The Wedding Year, I Want My Phone Back, and more. As a comedian and award-winning podcast host of Scam Goddess, which is keen on contemporary scams and cons, Mosley is an expert on the ins and outs of comedy.

In April 2022, Laci Mosley was cast as Brookie, a recurring role, in Lopez vs. Lopez. The show is a comedy about a working-class family and their dysfunction, reconnection, and joy. Including cast members George Lopez, Mayan Lopez, Selenis Leyva, Brice Gonzalez, Matt Shively, and Laci Mosley (recurring). The show’s writers include showrunner Debby Wolfe, who is the writer and executive producer, and supervising writer and executive producer Bruce Helford. The show is also executive produced by Katie Newman, Michael Rotenberg, and George Lopez. With Mayan Lopez as a producer. Universal Television, Mohawk Productions, Travieso Productions, Mi Vida Loba, and 3 arts have also produced the show.

As you’ve prepared for your role as Brookie in Lopez vs. Lopez, what lessons from your previous experiences have you taken with you that you’ve incorporated into your new role?

I would say the preparation to play Brookie was unique because this character kind of pops in and out. So the preparation for Brookie was actually really fun. Having the experience of doing a multi-cam coming from iCarly, I had a lot more tools in my belt than I did previously. And I love the writing staff of the show. I love the showrunner, Debbie Wolfe, and the co-creators because she cares about all the characters and makes them as authentic as possible.

She invited me to the writer's room to just talk for an hour with all of the writers, and they got a real sense of who I am as a person and how they can incorporate little parts of myself into the character, which I thought was incredibly smart and really generous. As an actor, sometimes you're an actor who gets to contribute, and sometimes you’re a model. You get there, and if you mess up, they come over with the script say oh, wait a minute, you didn't say that “the” so next take. So to have a little bit of input, although it'd be quite small because they are geniuses over there and they are killing it, but even to be heard was really amazing. I'm incredibly grateful.

If you could describe Brookie in three words, what would they be?

If I were to describe Brookie in three words, it would be fun, tenacious, and audacious because Brookie’s got that audacity! She stole her boss's parking spot, her license plate is bad, you know, she has confidence.

Photo by: Casey Durkin/NBC