SWARM

Bingeable Beyoncé satire is batshit crazy, brutal and beyond believable.

First off, give me a full season that’s seven 35 minute episodes and I’m in. Easy peasy. Let’s do this. Give me one that’s created by Childish Gambino Donald Glover, features a fascinating and wonderfully strange lead performance and a wiggety wack, infinitely surprising premise and I might just become a Stan. This show is a buck wild exploration of the toxicity of fan culture and internet discourse with a style and presentation that is unusual and unique. And very cool.

I don’t want to spoil a thing because the unpredictability of the narrative is one of its biggest strengths. The show implies in title cards that the story is based on true events and it’s unclear to what extent this is true. Completely fictional or not the story is deeply grounded in reality or rather the surreal world of superfan culture. It’s a pathological sendup of the profound loyalty of fandoms like Taylor Swift’s Swifties or more specifically Beyoncé’s Bey Hive.

Ni’jah stands in for Beyoncé here and Dre is her number one fan. I can’t say enough about Dominique Fishback and her riveting portrayal of Dre. It reminds me of Uzo Aduba’s astonishing, Emmy-winning work as Crazy Eyes in Orange is the New Black with her ability to demonstrate a deep humanity through layers of psychosis. I was captivated by every unexpected acting choice each one coercing us farther and farther into Dre’s insanity. It’s masterfully done and I’d expect we’ll be hearing Fishback’s name more and more in the coming years and rightfully so.

The entire ensemble is incredibly strong. Chloe Bailey is luminous and lovable as Dre’s doomed sister Marissa. Heather Sims brings humor and warmth as Detective Loretta Green. Billie Eilish is hilariously mystical and moony in her acting debut. A Different World’s Cree Summer and Broadway’s Norm Lewis pop up as comically progressive elites in one episode. And maybe most surprising is Paris Jackson, daughter of Michael, in a role I won’t spoil but only to say she’s hysterically funny and it hints at an endearingly authentic self awareness. Theres truly not a bad performance in the series.

This is a fresh, inventive show that goes to places you’re never expecting and shocks and surprises at every turn. It’s jaw droppingly outrageous in the best of ways. I highly recommend it. Heads up, it is most certainly for adults only. Enjoy!