Not many people would look at a 50-year-old novel by Judy Blume and see a story that could just as easily be set in present-day Los Angeles with two Black teens. Mara Brock Akil, the creator and executive producer of Netflix‘s new romance series Forever, is not many people.

Inspired by the eponymous novel by Blume, Brock Akil and her team took a bittersweet story about love and teenage sexuality and brought it to life with Lovie Simone and Michael Cooper Jr. playing two star-crossed teens who have their first sexual experiences together. For the Girlfriends creator, to adapt a book like this without adding her own unique perspective, it would just

“I wanted to show how just modern times and race and switching the lens on gender, those three changes just sort of opened up the scope of it,” the writer and producer shared of the show’s major changes.

Among the list of edits is the choice to have Keisha (Simone) be the first to make a move sexually toward Justin (Cooper Jr.). It’s part of the exploration of how time, place and people change the outlook of each first time, she said. But don’t get it twisted, the book and the show are more alike thematically and structurally than they are different.

“It still is similar to the book, in that we just want love, health, and a future. But just to make us look at life a little differently through a different lens and a little more understanding of each other. So I think those key pivots opened up the world, I think, even more,” Brock Akil added.

Check out DECIDER’s full interview with Brock Akil below.

DECIDER: I wanna start by asking, this is a novel that was written 50 years ago this year. When you started to sit down and seriously think about this, what in the initial story did you see that you wanted to pursue into making a show?

MARA BROCK AKIL: I remember the feeling when I read the book. I think the best cinematic storytelling makes you feel. I remember feeling seen. I remember someone telling me the truth. I remember being hopeful about finding my first boyfriend and hopeful about having a healthy sexual experience. Hopeful about going to college. I remember those feelings, and they were very rich for me then and I just believed they would still be rich today. And I wanted to get my sort of hands in the clay to talk about the times for young people today and what their challenges may be as honestly as Judy did for us 50 years ago in that book.

And I know the book has been the target of book bans for its material. Did you ever have any conversations with Netflix or your producing partners about how far you could or should go with it?

What I love about partnering with Netflix, they were on board and true partners throughout, they believed in the vision. They understood that not only me — but the team that I surrounded myself with — we had our level of integrity and understanding how far, and also bringing the actors and conversation into the storyline. If we’re talking about the sexual expression of things, we were clear that we were telling a human story and not talking about sex to talk about sex. The trust was there throughout and conversation was there throughout. I think even the healthiest relationships and the health of sex are conversations and communication. And we did that throughout the entire process.

That’s such a great point and I love that you mentioned the actors because that was gonna be one of my next questions. I love Karen Pittman in this role, I mean, she can do no wrong in any project. But when you started looking at people for the cast, what specific qualities or characteristics were you honed in on for each character?

I really love talking about the craftsmanship of storytelling. When you talk about the actors, amazing actors, talented, committed — you mentioned Karen — she comes to every project [thinking], “How can I serve the story?” And I think the entire cast was that way, “How do we serve these characters? How do we serve the intention of what the series is about?” They are master craftsmen at what they do. And so that was the fun, too, was sort of coalescing a team in front of the camera and behind the camera around this. All marching toward that one mission, which is, “How do we tell this epic, intimate love story within a love letter to Los Angeles?” And “How do bring the love of ourselves and what we do and our own memory of love into it?” That was what we talked about all the time and that’s what you’re seeing on screen.

And you do make some pretty major changes from the book to the screen. Were there any particular plot points or beats that you wanted to use at a skeleton when you first started breaking this?

I wanted to show how just modern times and race and switching the lens on gender, those three changes just sort of opened up the scope of it. Also, it still is similar to the book, in that we just want, again — we just want love, health, and a future. But just to make us look at life a little differently through a different lens and a little more understanding of each other. So I think those key pivots opened up the world, I think, even more.

Last question, since music is so important here, what’s one song you were listening to when you were writing the show?

Well, honestly, when I’m crafting, I listen to something different than what is in the show. Typically, I’m either listening to Jóhann Jóhannsson or Akira Kosemura when I am writing. But when I am in the car, I am listening to that playlist [from the show]. I was listening to “Plain Jane” a lot, A$AP Fergs, I think that shows up in Episode 3. I listened to a lot to keep me pumped up and keep me going and keep me motivated. And then when I start crafting, I got to hit Jóhann or Akira.

The entire first season of Forever is now streaming on Netflix.