They Too Can Exist: Harlem Review
There’s no denying lately audiences have been craving more. Specifically the audiences of color. With an overwhelming push for more representation on screen, black women-centered comedy shows, with luxury lives, were bound to happen. But who could’ve imagined the release of two in one year.
Amazon Prime released their highly anticipated series Harlem. The show was written and created by Tracy Oliver, a rising comedic screenwriter who garnered success from her well-received Girls Trip and Survivor’s Remorse. Harlem follows four girlfriends who met while attending the prestigious New York University. Now in their early thirties, they maneuver through relationship and career woes while trying to have it all together in Harlem.
The series features Megan Good (Think Like a Man), Grace Byers (Empire), Shoniqua Shandai (Stevens Universe), and Jerrie Johnson (Good Trouble). This ensemble was able to produce organic chemistry on-screen largely from its unknown talents. The series is clearly set to focus on the “will she” or “won’t she” of Good’s character Camille. Ultimately I felt the representation of Camille was inauthentic making me shift my focus to Byer’s character Quinn and Johnson’s character Ty.
Yes, there were several uncomfortable moments Camille had to face throughout each episode, but none of which needed the constant need to “escape” that was advetised. Some of these include the return of an ex, fangirling over someone who doesn’t like her, and failing at her life plan. Camille would constantly act overdramatic in these cringe-worthy moments when in reality no one would act as far out as she had done in real life. I soon realized Camille wasn’t going to be someone I could connect with throughout this series.
Thus my growing love for Quinn and Ty. Though these characters habitually failed at keeping their lives together, how they worked through it felt nuanced and real on several levels. For example, Quinn desired being connected to a man and ultimately found the man she was looking for in the most unlikely package, a male stripper with a child. Then when finally feeling as if she had her love life together, a woman had peeked a intimate desire and curiosity within her. So many women can relate to having a degree of standards in what they seek in a partner then ultimately choosing to be with someone who is the complete opposite of it.
As for Ty, she stepped out of her queer comfort zone by choosing to date a masculine lesbian woman and then eventually a white woman. Both of these entanglements failed but her relationship with Anna, played by Kate Rockwell, was one to make note of. Ty was a woman who dedicated her career to creating a piece of tech that could uplift other queer women of color. She founded a dating app that was exclusively for queer women. In the mists of the app’s success and failed situationship’s she decided to take a risk and date a white woman. During that time she began to come face to face with her demons and some of her personal fault. These included running away when things get uncomfortable, failing to articulate her emotions to her partners properly, and being brave in her decisions when it comes to love.
Then there’s Angie. The sexually liberated, doesn’t hold her tongue, singer. Angie’s focus in the series was making it as a singer and letting a man or two distract her from here and there. With her character expositions topics of white fragility, respectability, and critiquing of black art and creators came about. It was clear her character was solely set to be the comedic relief, but every now and then you felt the same frustrations and wonders as Angie.
Being out in less than a few days, the series has already garnered mixed reviews. One of the most frequent comments is Harlem reminding its viewers of the Starz series Run the World. This is also a black-women-centered comedy based in New York. Many of the character and story themes are similar but with Harlem, the comedic undertones are a bit more natural.
I think when it comes to the television market there’s a widely offensive idea that people of color can’t have a multitude of shows that reflect similar experiences. There have been hundreds of shows centered on a group of cis white women in cities like Los Angeles and New York but when it comes to black people there can only be one. Black films and shows are not a genre itself. Because it’s not, shows such as Insecure, Pose, Queen Sugar, Lovecraft Country, and more have thrived.
When I watched Harlem I didn’t feel deeply connected with every character and that’s okay, but I saw myself. I saw my struggles of trying to emulate the “storng black woman” trope. I saw myself in being vulnerable with friends who are more like family. I saw myself having the battles of choosing to call out problematic white people or biting my tongue to play the game.
With more shows like Harlem there can be a push to diversify the black friend centered shows to feature black men friend groups, friend groups who struggle financially and professionally as a whole, friend groups that highlight black mothers or fathers, and more. Harlem can exist too in the catalogue of Run the World.
