- What would happen if women suddenly developed a fierce new power? That's the premise of Prime Video's new series, The Power, where suddenly and without warning, all teenage girls develop the power to electrocute people at will. Take a look. - This is in Nigeria-- electricity coming out of their hands. - All teenage girls? - Mom, I know someone, like, aim it. - How does yours work? - Ah! - Hey, hey! LINSEY DAVIS: Will Reeve sat down with The Power star Toheeb Jimoh to discuss his role, his recent visit to the White House advocating for mental health, and, of course, his claim to fame, Ted Lasso. - Today, we have the story that's going to change the world. - This is in Nigeria-- electricity coming out of their hands. - Thank you for being here. You've got this awesome new show. It's called The Power. You play a young Nigerian journalist. You document the phenomenon of these teenage girls who develop the power to electrocute people at will. - Yep. - What's happening in this show? - A lot. [LAUGHS] There's a lot going on, but, yeah, just like you said. Yeah, like, this new thing happens, and suddenly, almost overnight, like, these women have the ability to generate electricity through their hands, and kind of just flips the power dynamic between men and women on its heads. - Mom, I know some can, like, aim it. - How does yours work? - Ah! - Hey, hey! TOHEEB JIMOH: And my character kind of gets caught up in it. He almost accidentally releases the first real image of it, and so, like, kind of breaks the story, and then, like, finds himself in this position where he's got this new platform. And he becomes, like, a major mouthpiece for these new events. - What made you want to do this? - Well, firstly, the character's Nigerian, and I'm Nigerian. I think for me, the first thing was playing a Nigerian character was important to me. You know, like, I grew up at a time where the representation of Nigerians in the media wasn't one that I particularly liked. And usually, it wasn't a lot of Nigerians who were a part of, like, shaping that narrative. So there was that. But also, when I read the book, the arc that Tunde goes on is insane. Like, it's a crazy journey. And, like, he kind of has to grow into manhood in this new world, where one of the main male archetypical traits isn't there for him. And he has to rediscover what his masculinity looks like in this new world. And by the end of it, he's a completely different person than the person who we started with. - What do you hope that audiences are going to take away from The Power? - I think the main thing is, like any great story, like, the aim is to hold the mirror up to people. And I think through this weird, wacky sci-fi world that we're in, hopefully, the aim is to come out of it and, in your real life, to realize, like, where you have power and where other people don't. And our show is set in a world where suddenly, like, these gender dynamics are flipped on their head. But also, it's like, the female characters we have on this show are just as complex and interesting and three-dimensional as any other characters, you know? Like, I don't think our show aims to promote the idea that suddenly women having the power turns us into this, like, matriarchal utopia. Like, I think there are also, like, some really interested, complicated women in the show. - And the show that made you-- established you and burst you onto the scene, Ted Lasso, is also quite three-dimensional, and people can see themselves in a lot of the characters-- TOHEEB JIMOH: Yeah. WILL REEVE: --and in Sam, your character, I think, or, at least, we would hope to see ourselves in Sam with his positivity-- - It's a very high bar, yeah. - --and his kindness and his athleticism and all that. Season 3 is just sort of upon us. What do we have to look forward to? - Oh, man. I mean, I guess more of the same. Like, I think these-- like, the main themes of the show are already up in the air, like teamwork, togetherness, looking for the best in people, being, like, the best version of yourself and trying to stay that way in a world that sometimes encourages you to close off and be a bit more cynical. We're getting to a stage now where, especially with the younger players on the team, like, they've started to learn these lessons, and they can start to come into their own a bit more. - A huge element of Ted Lasso that has now permeated into the culture is discussions of mental health and of checking in with your people, checking in with yourself, of raising your hand when you need help, so much so that you and Jason Sudeikis and the rest of the core cast just got to pay a visit to the White House to speak about these topics. - Yeah. - Describe your experience there. - It was an awesome opportunity. And I got to, like, tip my hat to the President and the First Lady because, like, they were awesome, and they really do deeply care about, like, how mental health is spoken about now and demystifying it, you know? Like, it shouldn't be this, like, thing that we shy away from. Like, I think it should be something that's common knowledge, like, and people should be able to speak about it freely in the same way that we speak about our physical health. - Can you take me back to when you set foot in the Oval Office? What was going through your heart and your mind in that moment? - You know, like, that room has so much history and so many of, like, the world's most important decisions were made in that room. And suddenly, here I am as a Nigerian kid, as a British kid, as a kid from Brixton, as a 25-year-old, like, in that room with one of the most powerful people on the planet. I think also, in that whole trip, one moment that really stood out to me is, like, there was a moment where we had done the entire tour, and then I, like, landed on a picture of Michelle Obama. And I was just like, whew, you know? Like, it felt like she had reached out through that picture and just, like, put her arms on my shoulder a little and just gone, like, you're good. Like, you belong here as much as I belong here. - It sounds like they couldn't have picked a better man for the role-- - Oh, man. Thank you. - --for that, for Sam on Ted Lasso, for Tunde on The Power, and whatever comes next, Toheeb. - That's really kind. - Thank you, my friend. LINSEY DAVIS: Our thanks to Will Reeve for that. The Power will premiere exclusively on Prime Video on Friday, March 31, with new episodes available each Friday.