Race relations fall under the spotlight
Justin Simien’s provocative 2014 film made people talk, laugh and think, and this 10-part series promises to do the same. Simien returns to write and direct several of the 30-minute episodes, but the cast is new and expanded. It’s an opportunity to flesh out the residents of Armstrong/ Parker, the historically black dorm at Winchester University. It’s also a chance to go deeper on the film’s themes: race relations, campus politics and the myriad microaggressions people of colour experience in modern America.
Recognise the dry tone of the narration? That’s Giancarlo Esposito, best known as Gus Fring in Breaking Bad. Logan Browning stars as Samantha White, host of a radio show at her majority white college. This time around though, Samantha is only one character among an ensemble, whose stories are all equally weighted and explored over the course of the series.
One episode plays homage to various classic films, another is directed by Moonlight’s Barry Jenkins, offering all the emotional heft you’d expect from the Oscar-winner. The wit can be blistering, but the sentiment is never less than honest.
You might think we don’t need a show like this in the UK, but then isn’t that exactly the kind of “postracial” complacency that Dear White People skewers so well?