Black Girl Nerds • 11th May 2022

Review: Apple Original 'Now & Then', a Captivating Crime Thriller Led by an Outstanding Ensemble Cast

Apple’s latest original Now & Then is an intriguing whodunit with multi-layered characters facing life-changing consequences. The bilingual series comes from showrunners Ramón Campos and Gema R. Neira, the duo behind the series High Seas and Cable Girls, and follows the lives of former friends and current disillusioned adults as they grapple when a past secret catches up with the present. One fateful night in Miami, six best friends party on the beach to celebrate their status as recent college

Black Girl Nerds • 4th May 2022

Review: Hulu’s ‘Candy’ Takes on the True Story of a Small-Town Housewife Turned Ax Murderer

How does one go from Christian housewife to vicious ax murderer? Hulu’s latest five-part limited series Candy explores that very question. Showrunner/co-creator Robin Veith (The Expanse, The Act), and co-creator/writer Nick Antosca (Brand New Cherry Flavor, The Act) tell the true story of Candace “Candy” Montgomery, a woman who was accused of murdering her friend and neighbor Betty Gore in 1980. The murder weapon — an ax, of all things. It’s a fascinating crime with an unexpected victim and a su

Black Girl Nerds • 3rd May 2022

Cult Classics: Revisiting the Weird, Wild, and Whimsical World of FX’s ‘Legion’

Before Wanda Maximoff created her own alternate reality sitcom-style town of Westview, before Moon Knight’s Steven Grant discovered that he has another personality, Noah Hawley (Fargo) brought us Legion, X-Men’s story of a powerful telepathic antihero who doesn’t know he’s an Omega-level psychic mutant. The 2017 FX series laid the groundwork for all the surreal superhero stories to come, sending audiences on a psychedelic trip exploring the human (and mutant) mind. David Haller (Dan Stevens), i

Black Girl Nerds • 12th April 2022

Review: Iconic Series ‘Killing Eve’ Meets an Unsatisfying, Nonsensical End

Warning: MAJOR spoilers for all four seasons of Killing Eve. For four years we’ve followed Eve Polastri (Sandra Oh) and Villanelle (Jodie Comer) all over Europe as they develop a mutual obsession that evolves into a rather toxic relationship. We’ve seen them nearly kill each other, have intense, sexually charged moments, and share a brief post-brawl kiss on a bus. These beloved characters hold a lot of meaning to many viewers. While finales will never please everyone, this ending to a cult favo

Black Girl Nerds • 12th April 2022

Review: Roku Channel's Original Series ‘Swimming with Sharks’ Is a Dark Tale of Power and Obsession in Tinseltown

This month, The Roku Channel expands its impressive library of original programming with its new series, Swimming with Sharks, a dark psychological thriller loosely adapted from the 1994 film of the same name. Writer and first-time showrunner Kathleen Robertson, who also acts in the series, gives us a voyeuristic view into the sinister side of Hollywood. The series explores the allure of Tinseltown, the complexities of mental illness, and the infectious nature of power. Lou Simms (Kiernan Shipk

Black Girl Nerds • 11th April 2022

Review: The Struggles Are (Sur)Real in AppleTV+’s ‘Roar’

AppleTV+ has been on a roll lately with quality television, and this month, they continue that streak with Roar, an eight-episode anthology series based on the 2018 short story collection of the same name by Cecelia Ahern. Following eight very different women and their stories, GLOW creators Liz Flahive and Carly Mensch dig into societal expectations, beauty standards, modern dating, and more. As we’ve seen, female perspectives in genres like horror delve into issues very specific to the terrif

Black Girl Nerds • 4th April 2022

Review: HBO Max’s Thrilling Newspaper Noir ‘Tokyo Vice’ Explores the Dark Side of ’90s Tokyo

In his 2009 memoir Tokyo Vice: An American Reporter on the Police Beat in Japan, investigative journalist Jake Adelstein details his time as a crime reporter for the Tokyo Metropolitan Police beat. The Missouri native set out to explore Tokyo beneath the surface — the seedy underbelly of organized crime and its ties to prominent figures in power — and that’s exactly what he got. Playwright (and Adelstein’s childhood friend) J.T. Rogers brings his story to life in a Japanese and English-language

Black Girl Nerds • 1st April 2022

Underrated Comedy Series to Watch for National Humor Month

April is the month of humor, and what better way to celebrate than with endless laughs from your favorite comedies. There’s It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, The Righteous Gemstones, Schitt’s Creek, Atlanta, Doom Patrol — plenty from which to choose. But if you want to indulge in some obscure and unappreciated shows, check out these criminally underrated comedies.

Black Girl Nerds • 16th March 2022

Female Horror Directors You Need to Know

As we’ve seen with cult horror flicks like Karyn Kusama’s Jennifer’s Body, and Ana Lily Amirpour’s A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night, female filmmakers bring a much-needed female perspective to the horror genre, exploring social issues like body image, female sexuality, and motherhood. Horror fans are familiar with names like Kasi Lemmons (Eve’s Bayou), Mary Harron (American Psycho), Jennifer Kent (The Babadook), Mary Lambert (Pet Sematary), Kathryn Bigelow (Near Dark), and the Soska Sisters (Ame

Black Girl Nerds • 14th March 2022

SXSW 2022 Review: HBO Max Successfully Adapts DC’s Vertigo Comic ‘DMZ’ into a Compelling, Character-Driven Series

Joining HBO Max’s DC Comics collection this month is DMZ, a four-part limited series based on Brian Wood’s Vertigo comic series of the same name. While staying faithful to Wood’s overall premise, writer/executive producer/showrunner Roberto Patino (Westworld) and director/executive producer Ava DuVernay (Naomi) adapted their series to better reflect today’s climate. The result is a compelling, character-driven, and unfortunately timely story about love, redemption, oppression, and war. DMZ take

Black Girl Nerds • 13th March 2022

SXSW 2022 Review: ‘Shining Girls’ Is a Mind-Bending Thriller That Will Have You Hooked

AppleTV+ expands its growing list of original content with Shining Girls, an eight-episode series based on Lauren Beukes’ 2013 novel The Shining Girls. Showrunner Silka Luisa (Strange Angel) brings Beukes’ time-traveling crime thriller to life on screen with the talents of Michelle MacLaren (Breaking Bad), Daina Reid (The Handmaid’s Tale), and Elisabeth Moss (The Handmaid’s Tale), who all three direct episodes and executive produce the enthralling series. In 1986, Kirby Mazrachi (Moss) survived

Black Girl Nerds • 3rd March 2022

Underrated Female-Centric Horror Films to Watch for Women's History Month

Horror is the perfect genre for stories of girlhood, motherhood, and all the inherently bloody business of being a woman. Celebrate this month with the classics like Carrie and Rosemary’s Baby, along with modern feminist favorites like Jennifer’s Body, A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night, and The Witch. But be sure to also add these criminally underrated gems to your watch list. When I think “female-led horror film,” Starry Eyes is what immediately comes to mind. Sarah Walker (Alexandra Essoe) is

Black Girl Nerds • 25th February 2022

Review: Amanda Seyfried Perfectly Captures the Essence of Elizabeth Holmes in Hulu's ‘The Dropout’

Based on ABC’s hit podcast of the same name, Hulu’s newest limited series The Dropout chronicles the evolution of Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos. The former biotech billionaire started out as a young girl wanting to change the world but ended as one of the biggest fraudsters in Silicon Valley history. Writers/producers Rebecca Jarvis and Taylor Dunn, and showrunner Elizabeth Meriwether (New Girl), take the wealth of information documented in the podcast and bring it to life on screen with dramati

Black Girl Nerds • 24th February 2022

14 Movies and TV Shows to Watch If You Like 'Twin Peaks'

Happy Twin Peaks Day! Watching David Lynch’s cult series, its revival, and/or Fire Walk with Me is essential. After you celebrate, you might be looking for similarly surreal movies and shows. There are obvious choices like Stranger Things, The X-Files, Black Mirror, Wayward Pines, etc. But if you’re looking for something different, and want to expand your viewing beyond Lynch’s filmography, check out these darkly hilarious, scary, and downright weird titles. 1. The Woman in the House Across the

Black Girl Nerds • 24th February 2022

Cult Classics: Revisiting the Tragedy of Laura Palmer in 'Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me'

Warning: Spoilers ahead for Twin Peaks and Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me. In the early ’90s, David Lynch introduced the strange world of Twin Peaks to television. The first season was praised, while the second was much less well-received and was eventually canceled by ABC. Lynch left the series finale on a cliffhanger, and when it was announced he’d be expanding the world of Twin Peaks into a film, people were expecting a direct continuation with answers. Instead of the show’s trademark quirkin

Black Girl Nerds • 9th February 2022

Review: Netflix’s ‘Inventing Anna’ Dramatizes the Story of Anna Delvey, But the Truth Is Much More Compelling

Netflix’s latest limited series Inventing Anna is a dramatization of Jessica Pressler’s New York Magazine article “How an Aspiring ‘It’ Girl Tricked New York’s Party People — and Its Banks.” Creator and showrunner Shonda Rhimes, known for her string of hit television shows (Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal, How to Get Away with Murder), acquired the rights to the story before Anna was even sentenced. Having read about the true events and being a fan of Ms. Rhimes, I had high expectations for this series.

Black Girl Nerds • 26th January 2022

Review: Lily James and Sebastian Stan Take Us on a Wild Ride in Hulu’s ‘Pam & Tommy’

While we’re apologizing to the women who’ve been torn apart in the media for years — Britney Spears, Megan Fox, Janet Jackson, Marcia Clark — let’s add Pamela Anderson to the list. Though there have been documentaries, articles, and books written about her life, Hulu’s Pam & Tommy shines an even brighter light on the cruelty and rampant misogyny she endured. Written by co-showrunners Rob Siegel (The Wrestler) and DV DeVincentis (The People vs. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story) and directed by

Black Girl Nerds • 23rd January 2022

Sundance 2022 Review: Hanna Bergholm's ‘Hatching’ Is Wonderfully Grotesque Fairytale

Finnish filmmaker Hanna Bergholm makes her feature directorial debut with Hatching, a surreal tale examining feminine emotions, maternal instincts, and the monsters we keep hidden. Written by Ilja Rautsi, this horror film is more than what it appears to be, much like its characters. The exterior is pretty, but it’s the ugliness that tells the real story. Hatching follows Tinja, a young girl whose main goal is to please her obsessive, mommy-blogging mother. Mother has crafted this perfectly past

Black Girl Nerds • 23rd January 2022

Sundance 2022 Review: Adamma Ebo's ‘Honk for Jesus, Save Your Soul’ Shines a Light on Megachurch Culture

Based on the 2018 short film of the same name, Adamma Ebo’s Honk for Jesus, Save Your Soul takes a satirical look at the booming business of organized religion. The writer-director, along with her twin sister and producing partner Adanne, explores what goes into projecting a perfect pastoral image and what it looks like when that image is torn apart. Honk for Jesus, Save Your Soul follows Pastor Lee-Curtis Childs (Sterling K. Brown) and First Lady Trinitie Childs (Regina Hall), a couple from a

Black Girl Nerds • 22nd January 2022

Sundance 2022 Review: Christian Tafdrup’s ‘Speak No Evil’ Warns Us About the Consequences of Politeness

Why do we subject ourselves to unpleasant situations just to avoid being impolite? Writer-director Christian Tafdrup and co-writer Mads Tafdrup (A Horrible Woman) explore this determined civility in Speak No Evil. The film doesn’t answer the question. Instead, we see the worst possible outcome.