When it came to creating an on-screen version of Laurel, author Jenny Han knew the mother of two needed a love interest. That’s when Han stumbled upon the idea of creating a character named Cleveland, who would not only fall for her, but would challenge her professionally as a published author.
However, those weren’t the only reasons that Han wanted to create Cleveland. “When I was approaching the adaptation, I wanted to really reflect the moment that we’re living in,” Han explained during an interview with CinemaBlend. “And I think the diversity of characters is a piece of that. We get to have like an Asian American family on the show. And then, we also have a new character Cleveland, who is Filipino.”
The direction that Cleveland’s character takes in the TV series changes the entire trajectory of the story. After all, Laurel isn’t the only one has been changed by having him around. “Having Conrad have a whole mentor in Cleveland was wonderful as an actor as understanding his journey and where he comes from,” actor Christopher Briney, who plays Conrad, told E! News. “Because in the books, I was still enthralled obviously, but you don’t really know where or why or how he changes. To get some justifications and to be able to watch some of it and act some of it, I really appreciated.”
