‘Andi Mack’ Star Lilan Bowden Recalls Making ‘Magical’ Finale and Show’s Impact on Fans

Andi Mack aired on The Disney Channel for just three seasons and quickly attracted fans among adults and children thanks to its groundbreaking subject matter and deep familial bonds between its cast members. In an exclusive interview with PopCulture.com, series actress Lilan Bowden, who played Andi’s mother Bex, reflected on the show’s ending and its impact on fans.

In the series, Peyton Elizabeth Lee stars as the titular character, a seventh grade student with a group of close friends from Jefferson Middle School. Andi lives with her mother, Rebecca “Bex” Mack, who she once thought was her sister until it was revealed Bex had Andi as a teenager. Andi’s friends included Joshua Rush’s Cyrus Goodman, who made history as the first gay character featured in a Disney Channel series.

While Bowden said the cast had a feeling the show would not go past three seasons despite its critical acclaim and the sheer fact many Disney series don’t last that long, it was still a little disappointing to the California native.

“Of course it is disappointing to not continue, but I think that so many of us really realize that this is unique as far as the job that we’re going to work — adults and kids,” Bowden said. “I think the kids showed a maturity and a gratitude for the show and a lot of the adults that I spoke to on the crew also has that same type of gratitude. And so, I think it’s hard to be too upset when something that magical happens.”

Bowden called working on the finale itself a “magical” experience.

“We had a sense of finite then. So that was really magical for us… shooting it and ending the whole season,” she said, later adding that shooting the series was a “wonderful experience.”

The biggest advantage of knowing your show is going to end is you can avoid creating an unresolved cliffhanger. Creator Terri Minsky had that working for her with Friday’s finale.

“I think it wraps up really beautifully. I think that it doesn’t torture the audience,” Bowden said of the finale. “The only way the audience is tortured is that there will be no more.”

Andi Mack was also a game changer for Disney because of its representation. Alongside Fresh off the Boat and Kim’s Convenience, Andi Mack was one of the few shows with an Asian-American lead. Bowden said being a part of that “meant everything” to her.

“Personally, for me as an actress, it’s so rare I get to play my own ethnicity,” Bowden explained. “And the fact that Disney channel cast an Asian mom and a white dad to be the parents of me and the grandparents of Andi Mack, I’ve never seen that on TV before. I didn’t see it growing up.”

The revelation that Bex was really Andi’s mother was also a shocking moment for Disney viewers. For Bowden, it was the scene that sold her on the show. It was also one of the most important scenes for fans.

“The idea of Bex telling Andi that she’s not her sister, she’s her mom, is the thing that sold me immediately on auditioning for this project. This is the job I want for my life,” Bowden said. “And I didn’t even realize how important it was to tell that story until fans started reaching out, and fans of all ages.”

Bowden adds that the premise was one that resonated greatly with viewers and fans since the show’s conception.

“We had children who were saying, ‘This is something that’s really similar to my situation.’ We had moms reaching out, to me, that were saying, ‘I’m a single mom,’ ‘I’m a young mom,’ or even moms who are married saying, ‘It’s really hard to be a mom and I think your character shows that, and thank you for that.’”

Andi Mack also worked because of the camaraderie between the cast members. Audiences could easily see the chemistry between Bowden and Lee, and Lee and the actors playing her friends. Off-screen, Bowden and Lee built a close friendship that continued after filming wrapped. Bowden teared up just thinking about the friendships she built on this show.

“I think as an actor, you don’t always get the luxury of being friends with your co-stars, and having a natural chemistry with your co-stars, and there’s nothing you can do. It’s part of the job,” Bowden said.

“You have to pretend like you’re best friends, like you’re family, like you’re in a relationship with people you might not necessarily click with,” she continued. “And to be able to have all that connection that we’re showing… be real, be from a really real place? I’m getting teary-eyed just thinking about it because it’s not expected, but it made my job a joy… I think that people will be able to tell from that when they see there’s a moment I hug Peyton and I say, ‘I’m so proud of you.’ And there’s not difference between reality and fiction in that moment.”

When it comes to fans, Bowden said she was most surprised how easily the show appealed to people beyond just Disney’s traditional audience of children.

“There was rogue group of fans that I wasn’t expecting, nor prepared for, which are the fans like me. They’re in their late teens to mid-thirties,” Bowden said. “They might not have kids, so they don’t connect on the element of having daughters and stuff like that.”

Representation continues to be a major part of Bowden’s work. She is making her directing debut with the short film Becoming Eddie, written by Ed Lee that is about his experiences growing up as an Asian American. She also regularly performs during the monthly Asian AF show at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater.

Bowden can also be seen in an episode of Drunk History and just filmed an episode of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

Photo credit: Eric Schwabel