If you’re looking for a roller coaster of a ride in a TV movie, then you must check out Down for Whatever, available now on TV One. Shadow and Act had a chance to screen this film and talk to two of the stars at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con! The first action film for the network, the story follows married couple Tracy (LeToya Luckett, Greenleaf) and Mike Jones (Hosea Chanchez, The Game) as they deal with the aftermath of Mike’s partner’s brutal murder, just days before his retirement. This death sets Mike off on a personal vendetta to find the sisters behind the act, Denise Brown (Bre-Z, Empire) and Sonya Brown (Imani Hakim, Everybody Hates Chris). When Tracy gets a mysterious visit from a random social worker, she finds out that the Brown sisters are not just two troubled girls, but also her biological sisters.

Tracy, a successful pediatrician, initially denies these claims to be true. However, when she leans into her instincts, she realizes they are the biological family she’s been missing her whole life. Well, it turns out, Sonya and Denise could’ve used a relationship with Tracy their entire lives. When they were very young, their parents were murdered with them in the home, sending them into foster care, where they suffered further abuse and emotional damage.

Mike, a follower of truth, neglects Tracy’s instincts and sometimes his own, in favor of evidence. “Mike’s hard “no” in trusting Tracy’s instincts when she first revealed they might be related was brought on by the fact that these young women were on a killing spree. Mike believes 100% unapologetically in the system and in the law. For Tracy to imply that these killers, who are nothing like her and the pedigree she built for herself, could be related to her, isn’t believable. The really good cops believe in evidence, anyone can speculate, but the really good cops go off of evidence. Mike and Tracy had no evidence,” says Chanchez about his headstrong character.

Well, it’s her husband’s disbelief that sends Tracy on a dangerous journey of her own, using her instincts and medical smarts to work her way into the abandoned house where the Brown sisters have been squatting. When Sonya is injured and healed by Tracy, they form a bond. Denise, on the other hand, is the more protective and skeptical sister of the two, especially of Tracy’s big family secret reveal. These young women are more than villains or victims. Imani and Bre-Z support this with performances that make you incredibly sympathetic to why they’re killing and living the way they do. According to Imani, “Sonya doesn’t see herself as a villain, she literally just sees herself as someone who is trying to survive and take care of her sister and herself.” As the story unfolds, viewers get a more profound sense of this.

This movie has action, heart and, of course, suspense. By its climax, all the characters come full circle, and you see growth from everyone in this newly blended family. On Mike’s growth, Chancez says, “Mike, in the end, learned a valuable lesson of going with his instincts. Tracy taught him this, as she was always able to live in the gray area, which is something Mike was never able to do. Mike is very black and white, but the gray area is where you find all the clues and things about life that you normally wouldn’t catch. So, in my opinion, he learned the value of the gray area and going with your gut versus just evidence.”

Shadow and Act asked Imani and Hosea what other classic black films they would compare this film to or inspired their portrayals of their characters. For Imani, “Set It Off and Training Day, but really Set It Off. The sisterhood, the urgency to find a solution and the community of having your back against the wall and nowhere else to turn.” For Hosea, it was a little different. “Shawshank Redemption always inspires me. There is a great message in that film for men about friendship, solidarity, love, commitment and living life in the gray area and not judging things. This film inspires almost everything that I do!”

This movie has a lot more layers than anticipated. Watching the Brown sisters on this emotional mission rooted in avenging their parents’ deaths and taking back what they lost over and over again in life, really made me wish that this family, the sisters and Mike, had more time.  Focusing more on the high stakes drama, the sisters didn’t get enough time to bond as much as I would’ve hoped. In the end, Tracy found the family that she set out looking for at the beginning of this wild ride! While thrilled that Tracy found who and what she needed, there were still significant side-eyes to some of her family members and their choices.

So, where else can you catch Hosea and Imani after this project? The answer for both of them is behind the camera, in the writers room and doing more on the production side. Imani, who just wrapped a milestone last week, told us: “I just co-directed my first short film, and I am learning a lot about being behind the scenes. I think it’s really important to have more women, women of color and young women in that space.” Agreed Imani, agreed! Be sure to check your local listings and OnDemand for Down for Whatever on TV One, available now.