i love shows that revitalize my sense of purpose.
sometimes,
we all need a boost from our current circumstances.
even though the shows are fiction,
we often see what we want in life through the lens of a tv show.
all the white vixens moved to new yawk to experience that “sex and the city” lifestyle.
i worked with white girls that piled in a one-bedroom to live their best hoe life because of that show.
harlem on amazon prime did that for me over the weekend.
it was created by tracy oliver who was a writer on one of my favorite “black girl friendship” movies,
“girls trip“.
the show was also executive produced by pharrell williams and amy poehler.
i saw the trailer a week ago:
…and i was sold when i saw my childhood crush,
meagan good.
after watching it in one sitting until 4 am on saturday…
…I was obsessed and wanted that season 2 filmed and ready.
my random thoughts:
they captured the current state of harlem pretty well.
harlem is a shell of what it was since 2012 due to all the gentrification.
it’s wild to see all the white folks everywhere in harlem these days.
the zombies on 125th tho…
new yawk as a whole has changed and the pandemic def didn’t help tbh.
it was nice to see all the harlemites who made appearances within the show as well.
i loved quinn who was played by grace byers.
she is best known for her role as “boo boo kitty” on empire.
they did her character so dirty on that show so i was happy to see her bounce back.
i’ve been rooting for her to find her place on something new.
i think this is the first show that a stud was in the friend group.
tye,
played by jerrie johnson,
had a really interesting storyline that wasn’t stereotypical.
i’ve met a few studs like her tbh.
she is gorgeous and her bone structure is the goals.
i liked they showed sex scenes with her character too.
angie,
played by shoniqua shandai,
annoyed me at the start but i liked they fleshed her character out.
tyler lepley was surprisingly really good in this role.
i realllllllllllly had an attraction to his character.
is it me or does he look like a sexier drake?
tyler’s acting has improved since his days as benny on hahn.
it was a surprise to see whoopi involved in this show too.
****
i’ll font a controversial statement while i’m at it:
I enjoyed that experience more than Run The World on Starz.
something was off with that show.
that story didn’t grab me as i thought it would.
i stopped watching after 2 episodes.
even though its vixens,
shows like harlem inspire me to live my best life.
i pray to have a nice ass crib,
be invited to all the poppin’ events in the forests,
a successful career that affords me luxuries,
being able to afford and wear nice ass clothes,
date and safely sex some of the finest,
and make memories with great friends.
along with those words to God’s ears:
Shows like this highlight that life is better when we are making mistakes and learning from our experiences.
i’ll allow it.
you can check out harlem on amazon prime:
Jamari, you didn’t talk about Arnez( one on one)? I waiting for that stripper scene gif 🤣🤣🥴🥴
^omg i forgot to mention that part!!!
i loved that whole cousin skeeter reference.
that was one of my favorite shows.
he still looks really good too.
meagan and him are aging well.
Yes, they are aging well. The cousin skeeter reference was hilarious!!!! You forget Megan Good has been in the business for a while.
This show, like Run the World, was not good. They keep trying to do this ‘4 black female friends in the big city’ plot, and it’s always formulaic AF. The token, trope friends would never be friends in real life, and they’re always trying too hard to educate the audience abt something random in btwn talking about last night’s random hookup and where the latest guy in their DM’s went for undergrad.
They’re chasing ‘Insecure’ but what they keep missing is that Insecure’s characters are authentic. They’re fukd up, and flawed, like us in real life, thus relatable.
I honestly think a lot of gay men give these shows participation trophies simply because they feature ensembles of black women living ‘fab’ lives in big cities that they want to live.
I agree. Some of the “super woke” got one my nerves.
Wow interesting perspectives particularly that last stanza! I love this show I will say I did some insecure moment but this story and show is really good and different it works well I was invested in the story and the characters run the world was terrible and the casting was awful too. I am in love with this show, it’s not insecure it’s Harlem no reason it can’t coo exist and these women make mistakes alll throughout this show and I feel are real people in reference to your comment on insecure comparison
Tyler Lepley was awful (acting ability) in this show. That flashback episode where his character has a breakup on the street was the worst. You could see him trying to act and show emotion in the scene and he ends up rolling his eyes. He just needs acting lessons and experience. All his scenes it seems like he isn’t giving the same energy as his scene partners. All the other actors were great, even in small parts. I liked seeing Whoopi, Tamara Tunie, Jasmine Guy and Sherrod Small on my screen. They all seemed to be having fun.
SPOILER….To going to lie… only got into it cause I came across a gif of Robert Ri’chard flashing his bottle hole in a scene.
Came for the booty hole… stayed for the story.
I won’t watch because Tyler is on it and I was gonna. I can’t support a man who leaves his fiancée and newborn for a thot flossing around town like he’s 21 years old. No thanks.
You need to check out Twenties on BET. Hattie is a stud and is the main character. She is an amazing actress
^i’ll give it a watch!
LOVE this show! JoJo Gibbs is great. I don’t typically find interest in lesbian stories, but this one I like. It’s my favorite of the Lena Waithe things…I like the friendship between the girls, the high powered closeted lesbian, and can’t wait to see what happens with the engagement. My favorite character is the screenwriter/coffee shop girl, tho…
Look I really don’t find interest in anything created by Waithe…lol
this too:
It’s really good. I’ve watched 7 episodes so far. It’s crazy how similar the premise is to Run The World (RTW). RTW felt so much like Sex And The City in the way it was shot. It’s weird that we have two shows with basically the exact same concept on television at the same time. Sounds fishy…
i saw this tweet that kinda explains it:
Jamari, you said that last statement so eloquently and described what I have been trying to say to
People about the show. Harlem is gives millennials hope that we can have it all even with our struggles. Yes, I agree. Where is Season 2 at LOL