Billy Gardell & Folake Olowofoyeku on Saying Goodbye to ‘Bob Hearts Abishola’

“Bob Hearts Abishola” is coming to an end after five seasons, and stars Billy Gardell and Folake Olowofoyeku are preparing to say goodbye.

Billy and Folake recently sat down with the press as Warner Bros. Television Group hosted the Television Critics Association.

The show started with Bob, a businessman, falling for a Nigerian cardiac nurse while he’s recovering from a heart attack, but they’ve come so far over five seasons.

Billy said of the show, “It has shown that love wins no matter what. Doesn’t matter what you look like, where you’re from. Doesn’t matter. Love is love. And I think that’s vital and I think we captured that.”

Folake reminisced, “The journey has unfolded quite beautifully. When you actually think about the fact that in the beginning, Bob was chasing Abishola down with socks and now they're married and they're living together, and they're talking. They're parenting Dele and dealing with that together.”

As for what is ahead, she said, “We don't know how it's going to unfold, but I trust our writers impeccably that it will unfold magically and romantically.”

When asked if they felt emotional as the show nears the end, Olowofoyeku said, “Gee, I’m about to cry… going to mess up my makeup. It’s bittersweet because… it’s coming to an end, and sweet because of the work that we’ve done. The work that we’ve done here for the last five years, it’s extremely impactful.”

She continued, “I can speak for my culture, for Nigerians, and the reflection of these characters in such a positive light is something that we’ve yearned for, for so long. And for it to be done on the level that it’s been done here, it gives context to our experience as immigrants and as Nigerians as a whole. And I feel like the impact that this show has had will begin to reveal itself more and more for many years to come.”

Billy added, “For me, I’ve gotten to experience the Nigerian culture and I love that… I’ve learned to eat very hot food,” joking, “Even the water’s hot with Nigerians.”

He continued, “But the gratitude of coming here every day and putting a show on that –  especially in these times –  that represents ‘love wins no matter what,’ to me is the thing I am most proud of.”