The premiere of “Blindspotting” doubled as a block party in the heart of downtown Oakland, as stars of the new television series mingled with East Bay natives with the familiarity of old friends. 

Locals came out Saturday, June 12, for a community screening of the first episode of “Blindspotting,” Starz’s Oakland-set TV show based on the 2018 movie of the same name. 

“I’m just a dude from East Oakland, and I loved the movie ’cause it really hit home for me,” Armando Miranda said.

Miranda, 35, was sporting a #Blindspotting hat and an Oakland jersey and gushed about his adoration for Daveed Diggs and Rafael Casal, the Oakland natives who co-created the movie and are executive producers of the television series along with Jess Wu Calder and Keith Calder.

The large crowd Saturday drew passersby who heard the bumpin’ music and felt the local energy and pride from the street.

“Clearly this is not just a street party, this is something. It’s like Oakland is back with a vengeance,” said Shawn Funmi, 31.

Former “Hamilton” star Diggs and Casal are co-writing the half-hour dramedy, and Casal is the showrunner. Fandom for the two was on full display at the block party, with people who had followed them both from project to project showing their support.

“I’ve kind of followed every ‘Hamilton’ cast member,” said Alex Balistreri, 17.

Production on the show was based primarily in Los Angeles, but many outdoor scenes were filmed on location in Oakland. Many members of the cast and crew are Bay Area locals as well, and said they were excited to showcase their city on the small screen. 

“This project means finally giving Oakland the recognition it deserves. We don’t see a lot of shows that truly represent Oakland — and I’m just excited for the world to see its beauty,” said Candace Nicholas-Lippman, who plays Janelle on the show. 

Even cast members who did not grow up in the Bay Area said they felt familiarity with Oakland through the project.

“When I first came to Oakland it felt like home to me — this town is very about the culture and history and music. There’s literally art overflowing from the murals and the walls, and I think that is so incorporated into the show,” said Jasmine Cephas Jones, who stars as Ashley in the show. 

Cephas Jones — another alum of the original “Hamilton” cast — said that having Casal and Diggs directing her made sounding like a local come easy.

“Having Rafael and Daveed constantly on your shoulders making you as Bay as you can possibly be, you can’t go wrong,” Cephas Jones said.

Casal said he was excited for “Blindspotting” to show the world how Oakland had been an arbiter of culture for a long time.

“I would love people to see and meet and fall in love with the ‘source code’ for what inspired me and a lot of writers on the show,” Casal said. 

In a speech to the crowd before the screening of the first episode, Casal said, “We’re trying to tell a small story about the Bay, not everyone’s story, and if we can make that s— light the world up, we can do it again and again.”  

During the screening, the crowd was silent almost the whole time — though laughing loudly at jokes and cheering when local haunts came onscreen.

“It was so Oakland. The scenes in West Oakland where I used to live, and seeing the same liquor store on the corner, was so familiar,” said Tanya Lefebvre, 39. 

“Blindspotting”: Eight-episode weekly series premieres Sunday, June 13, on Starz.

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