Exclusive Interview: Jay Anthony Franke Talks About the California Dreams Reunion, the Fans, and More

If you grew up in the ’90s, you know Jay Anthony Franke is a surf dude with attitude and one of the stars of the cult classic, California Dreams.

Created by writers Brett Dewey and Ronald B. Solomon, and executive produced by Peter Engel, the coming-of-age series follows a group of friends and bandmates as they venture into adulthood, told through the backdrop of an incredible soundtrack that aired in households for five seasons. Jay shined as Jake Summers, the bad boy, heartthrob of the series who rode around in his Harley and leather jacket.

Pop Culturalist was lucky enough to speak with Jay about California Dreams, the reunion event that the cast is throwing in New York City on October 13, the show’s unwavering fanbase, and more.

PC: You and the cast of California Dreams are reuniting in New York City on October 13th. What are you most looking forward to? What can fans expect from the event?
Jay: I’m looking forward to seeing everybody. We all want to give something back to the fans. We’ve got this whole day planned with meet and greets, a panel, and a concert. It’s going to be a good time. This is also the first time that the entire cast will be back together.

PC: Can you tease anything about the setlist?
Jay: I can tease that there is one. [laughs]

PC: California Dreams is a show that’s stood the test of time. Do you remember what initially attracted you to Jake and the series?
Jay: Attitude-wise, Jake was me at the time. I mean I didn’t walk around in a leather jacket or ride a Harley, but we shared a similar attitude. I had been through a bit in my few years on this planet at the time and I felt confident in life. I felt confident as a person. It wasn’t a stretch to play Jake. They had also written Jake to be somewhat vulnerable. Plus, I got a nice paycheck. It was a win-win.

PC: You brought so much nuance to his journey. How did you prepare for those more vulnerable moments?
Jake: When you’ve played a character for that long, you just snap into them. You know their motivations, their disappointments, their loss—whatever it is. You take some time and reflect on what you want to portray in that moment and what you hope audiences get out of it. Sometimes, it’s even about what I want to get out of it because there are times when acting is a selfish thing. Sometimes you’re like, “I want to get something out of this. I want to feel this character express something in a certain way.” People have asked me what acting is. Acting is empathy. When you’re acting, you’re portraying an emotion or feeling of this character. It’s the ability to pick up on and clue into the emotions that this character would be feeling.

PC: Everyone seems so perfectly cast. Which of your castmates was most like their character? Who was the most different?
Jay: I love Michael Cade. He is Sly. People have asked, “Do you think anybody else could have played Sly?” I’m always like, “No. He is that dude.” I don’t know if anyone was different from their character. They all were pretty similar to them in some way or another.

PC: There was such an incredible chemistry that came off the screen. How were you all able to build that bond?
Jay: I’ve got to give credit where credit is due. We did have great chemistry and we worked very well together. The writers knew us and our characters. They knew how to get the best out of us, along with our directors, Don Barnhart and Patrick Maloney. I would remember there would be moments when Don or Patrick would be like, “That’s great, but why don’t you try it this way?” They’d make a little tweak and it would be more poignant. So it was a process between a lot of different people and not just the cast. We’d have our second assistant director being like, “I would try this. What do you think?” We’d be like, “That’s a good idea. We’d try it and it would work.” We had a big cast and crew that built this show together.

PC: I imagine reuniting with the cast is such a fun trip down memory lane. Do you have a favorite behind-the-scenes moment from the series?
Jay: Probably the final gig episode where we’re all saying goodbye. It was so real because we were saying goodbye to the show. It was our final episode and it all hit us.

We also played a lot of practical jokes. There’s a point when Sly comes in and grabs a sandwich off the Garrison’s counter that I think Matt was making. He just starts eating it. Some of us decided to throw some hot peppers or chilies into the sandwich. We definitely had some fun.

PC: Whenever you sign onto a project, you never know how successful it will be. At what point did you all realize you were creating something special?
Jay: It felt special at the time. We were doing something awesome and we were all good at what we did. But I don’t think I realized it until thirty years later when we still have fans. For some reason, we’re being denied streaming services and conventions. We have people running conventions celebrating the ’90s who have never heard of California Dreams. We get turned down a lot. But despite that, we still have a massive amount of fans who have stuck by us and are fighting for us. I didn’t realize it at the time, but I realize it now.

PC: You walked away from this industry following the show. Have there been any inklings about coming back?
Jay: I walked away for personal reasons and I started thinking about getting back into it because a nine-to-five job in the tech industry has never been as fun as what we were doing back then. It’s never been as fulfilling. But then COVID and the strike happened, but we’ll see.

To keep up with Jay, follow him on Instagram. Pick up your tickets for the California Dreams reunion today!