Cierra Ramirez Talks About Her New EP & Fosters Season 4

The Fosters Season 4 premieres Monday night (June 20) on Freeform, and now, we’re sharing another interview from our recent set visit. More interviews, including already-posted ones with Hayden Byerly and Maia Mitchell, can be found here.

Today the spotlight goes on Cierra Ramirez, who will also have an exciting night as her debut EP, Discreet, drops at the same time as the new season of The Fosters. Cierra’s character, Mariana, is at the center of a storm in this week’s season premiere, titled “Potential Energy.”

You can see Cierra’s interview below; if printed text is more your thing, you can find a transcription underneath it. Our thanks to Cierra for talking to us — be sure to check out her album!

KSITETV’s CRAIG BYRNE: How much of a mess is Nick going to be when Season 4 starts?

CIERRA RAMIREZ: Oh. The biggest mess! Where we left off, you’ve seen Mariana was kind of torn between two lovers. She has decided to move on after she broke Mat’s heart. She kind of comes up with the idea that it’s never going to happen again; she has to move on. She meets Nick who is a great guy, they have a great time together, but whenever Mat and Mariana rekindle for the Romeo & Juliet play, it’s undeniable that there’s still that attraction there.

On the season finale, Nick saw something that he shouldn’t have seen, and it’s going to reflect on some decisions he’s going to make this season, especially in the first episode. It gets pretty intense!

Speaking of kindle, he kind of burned the place. Does this mean the play is done for now?

We’ll have to see if they can come up with another place, but, I mean, I think right now you can see that he’s got something going on. He’s in a very dark place, and I don’t think they’re going to be thinking about Romeo & Juliet anytime soon.

The season premiere has some dark situations that Mariana gets into. Was it hard to play so scared?

It’s weird, because — I’m not even kidding — the writers, I swear they have cameras. It’s funny, because a lot of our storylines kind of intertwine a little bit with our lives. I feel like they kind of at this point write for us, and it’s crazy, because growing up going to school, that was always a fear of mine, that something like that would happen and I wouldn’t be in a classroom or somewhere where they could let me in and I would be safe. What would you do in that situation? So, to be stuck in that and kind of live vicariously through that moment, it was so intense and scary. It was pretty real for me, because I just pictured myself in that situation, like “what would I do?” She was very smart about it, so there’s that.

What can you tell me about Discreet dropping this week?

I’m really excited about that. It’s the first music project I’ve ever really put out. I’m really excited. I’ve got some great features. I’ve got Casey Veggies, Honey C, Dylan Holland, and Ty Dolla Sign, and I’m really excited about it. It’s been my first love forever, it’s how I got into acting, and to finally be coming out with something and be able to share it with the world is super exciting.

It’s coming out the same day that The Fosters is premiering, as well.

Is there going to be a preview of any sort during the episode?

I don’t know. Maybe! I know it would be great. I don’t think so, but you can definitely pre-order it and check out some snippets as well.

Are there snippets on your website?

Yes. There are. On cierraramirezofficial.com.

What are your hopes for Mariana in Season 4?

Growing up, one thing I always look back on is — I mean, I was never as studious and into the academics as Mariana was, but I did spend a lot of time — more time than I should have — on boys, and so you’re going to kind of see that getting into all of this boy drama isn’t really working out for her, so I hope that she sticks to her guns and sticks to the books, and focuses on herself and her self-growth this season, instead of wandering off and getting back into the boys.

Were things strange at all for Mariana to not have her brother around for half of last season?

Definitely. I think we were most definitely missing that twin dynamic, and Noah [Centineo] is so great. I love having him. The second he hopped on, it was the missing puzzle piece. I love him.

Will the two of you share any storylines this season together?

Most definitely. They’re definitely gonna get into some trouble together. Always.

What excites you the most for fans to see in Season 4?

You know this family can’t get away from drama for very long, but over everything, I think the one thing I love about this show is that there’s constant love, and that’s what’s it all about. So, they’re gonna be going through — trust me, these two intense episodes coming up are not, like, the highlight of the season. These writers are great. So we’ve got some really good stuff in store. It’s all about the love at the end of the day.

The Fosters Season 4 premieres Monday night, June 20, on Freeform! Follow @KSiteTV on Twitter for updates on when more interviews will be posted!