Watch + Play List | July 2024

Black women getting their sh*t together, Amind's Luvr EP + more

Hi hello!

How are you feeling at this midpoint of the year? I’m producing two touring experiential activations and have been trying to enjoy my summer when I’m not tied up with meetings and an overflowing inbox. As a result, my newsletter output has been a bit lower this month, but I appreciate you for staying subscribed! If your summer is going anything like mine, I’m sure you have had limited time to dive into new films or shows, so there is not much on that end in this roundup. I have not skimped on the music selections, though. I always have time for tunes! Let’s get into:

Shows about Black Women trying to get their sh*t together.

Queenie (S1)

Hulu has once again created a series that was better than the book it was based on. I realize calling it better is my opinion, but the show had me cackling and tearing up, whereas the book had me cringing and side-eyeing. Queenie Jenkins (played by Dionne Brown) is a 20-something Jamaican British woman living in south London, going through a breakup, followed by a hoe phase, all while trying to cope with her issues at work and with family. When I read the book Queenie, written by Candice Carty-Williams, I was annoyed with the way the protagonist was DOWN BAD over men who did not truly care about or respect her (as if I haven’t been there myself at that age lol). At the same time, I couldn’t put the book down. It was a bit of a hate-read, if you will, much like my relationship with the show Girls. Queenie, the show, however, balances out the cringe with humor, vulnerability, tenderness, and cultural specificity. As Queenie grapples with a work environment where she is pigeonholed, abandonment issues from her father, and a severed relationship with her mother who is seeking redemption, you grow to love this messy, complicated, hot mess of a human. In this process, she also learns about who her real friends are. My personal favorite is her bestie, Kyazike (Bellah), who is the kind of friend who tells it like it is and also does not play about Queenie. There is also Queenie’s teenage cousin Diana (Cristale De'Abreu), who is wise beyond her years, and the adorable and loving Grandad Wilfred (played by Geoffrey from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, yes that is who he is always going to be to me). This show is a great depiction of how a complex young Black woman can be loved and supported through her mess, ultimately offering her a space to heal and grow.

Unprisoned (S2)

The show that reads my ENTIRE life is back for another season. I cannot explain to you how significant it is to see a Black show based in my hometown, Minneapolis, as someone who regularly hears, “Wow, I didn’t know there were Black people there,” after telling people where I’m from. In season two, Paige (Kerry Washington) continues to unpack her emotional baggage while going to family therapy with her son Finn (Faly Rakotohavana) and her father Edwin (Delroy Lindo). Edwin is on a path towards redemption as he gets a legitimate job working in transitional housing. I also relate to Paige because we have similar backgrounds. Like her, I have a father who endured unspeakable racial trauma in the South before migrating north to Minneapolis and taking on a life of crime. Delroy Lindo has also been my favorite fictional father since Crooklyn and looks like my father, but that is a post for another day. Unlike my father, and I’m sure many elder Black men in a similar situation, Edwin has the capacity to under how and why he should do better. He acts as a father figure to his grandson Finn and puts Paige (who is something like a manic golden retriever) on the game. In fact, I think episode 2, “How to Be a Cat,” where Edwin explains that he is not a dog, as Paige proclaims, but a cat because cats are sly and smooth, is one of my favorite teleplays of the year so far. Similarly to Queenie, this show handles heavy topics with an appropriate amount of humor. In episode 3, “How to Be Friends,” we see Paige attempt to learn how to pole dance at a class taught by her ex-boyfriend’s new girlfriend, and it goes awry in the most comical way. Humor aside, this show centers necessary conversations about what healing, forgiveness, accountability, and redemption look like for the formerly incarcerated and people like Paige, who have endured “nine out of ten adverse childhood experiences.”

Because we love a Black sci-fi superhero drama

Supacell (S1)

Another show set in south London, Supacell, follows a group of Black people with a family history of sickle cell who appear to get superpowers out of nowhere. Sabrina (Nadine Mills) is a nurse who gets telekinesis that helps her protect her younger sister Sharleen (Rayxia Ojo), who continually puts herself in danger. Andre (Eric Kofi-Abrefa) is an ex-convict and single father who acquires super strength that allows him to break into an ATM. Rodney (Calvin Demba) is a self-absorbed drug dealer who gains super speed. Tazer (Josh Tedeku) is a gang leader who can make himself invisible. The group is brought together by the main protagonist, Michael (Tosin Cole), who can teleport and time travel and is tasked with stopping them from committing an act that will have dire consequences. This show belongs in the same cinematic universe as They Cloned Tyrone, though it is more dramatic in tone. It was interesting to see London gang life through their version of Bloods and Crips. I’m going to be honest: seeing British people trying to be hard always makes me chuckle a little bit because they always sound so proper, even when they’re not trying. As of this post, I have one episode left, and I cannot wait to see what this final showdown is about to look like.

Nobody should ever use the idiom “drink the Kool-aid” after watching this.

Cult Massacre: One Day in Jonestown

This 3-part docuseries contains never-before-seen footage of the days leading up to the Jonestown Massacre led by cult leader Jim Jones in Guyana during the Fall of 1978. I’ve known bits and pieces about Jim Jones and The People’s Temple, but this series gave a lot more context into what was once called a mass suicide but was actually a mass murder. A camera crew followed U.S. Congressman Leo Ryan during his visit to check on his constituents living in Jonestown to ensure they were not being forced to stay there against their will. In a clip of him meeting the community and declaring that they all must think Jonestown is the greatest place on earth, a thundering of dissimulating cheers and applause that lasts for an uncomfortable amount of time sets the stage for a horrendous act of terror that immediately followed. It was chilling and heartbreaking to see how Jim Jones took the lives of these people and hear the survivors tell their stories. It was also interesting to see how Jim Jones was branding himself as a socialist, not because he actually embodied the ideology of socialism (he wouldn’t have been a cult leader if he did), but because it allowed him to prey on the marginalized and vulnerable who were in desperate need of safe spaces. What was even more terrifying was to see the similarities between Jim Jones and a certain fascist presidential nominee who shall remain nameless. Ya’ll better make it to the polls this November!

An eclectic playlist for Luvrs

This month’s playlist consists of songs that reflect my current emotional state, some Angela Bofill who passed away this June, Amindi’s entire Luvrs EP because it’s perfect, one of my favorite covers of Dreams by Fleetwood Mac, and your usual blend of R&B, funk, soul, and dance music.

Catch me on Blackstack!

I recently went to the Queens of R&B Tour at Madison Square Garden featuring 702, Total, Mya, MC Lyte, Xscape, and SWV and got my ENTIRE life. I wrote about the experience and what it taught me about legacy versus relevancy as it relates to being a woman artist over the age of 30. You can head over to

BlackStack

to read it (only if you BLACK, though!) Big love to

Jacquie Verbal

for including me.

Week 6: Sunday Service Announcements

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With love,

LaChelle