‘The Other Black Girl’ That Never Could

The Other Black Girl | TV Review

**Contains Spoilers**

The Other Black Girl a tv series featured on Hulu, based on a novel written by Zakiya Dalila Harris. This show follows Nella, an aspiring editor as she navigates office politics in the publishing world. To her surprise Hazel, a fellow Black woman is a new hire at her firm. Nella is excited about Hazel because she no longer feels alone. They begin to embark on a friendship until Nella discovers strange recurring patterns involving Hazel. 

Truthfully this show is not everyone’s cup of tea and I am not saying that because the main characters are Black women but because of the format of the storytelling. This psycho thriller has a satirical flare and a dash of supernatural undertones, with a cult plot twist (Big Jordan Peele vibes). Which can be a bit too much for many viewers.There is a lot going on but the storyline unfolds at a slow pace. If I did not hear just great reviews about it, I might have stopped watching after the third episode. 

But let’s jump into what happened! On Hazel’s first day she sort of throws Nella under the bus, leaving a bad taste in Nella’s mouth. But Hazel’s bubbly personality allows Nella to move past it. Hazel also fuels Nella’s self esteem back up and pushes her to take bigger risks in her career. This led Nella to catching her CEO’s attention. Maliaka, Nella’s best friend, starts to be suspicious of Hazel’s kindness as Nella continues to build a close friendship with her (trust your friends). Ultimately Nella discovers Hazel has a pattern of recruiting Black women and she changes how they view themselves in society. Sounds harmless but there are some sinister undertones that mirror the characteristics of a cult. Little did Nella know, this cult-like group is led by her favorite author Diana Gordon. This all comes to a head when Nella is faced with the decision to join the group or destroy it. And by the way the initiation of the cult includes using a magical hair grease that mimics a form of  hypnosis.

There’s lots of unanswered questions with this series. Again this can be intentional by the creators or loose ends that will be addressed in a possible season 2. The vibe of The other black is a blend of Get Out and Bad hair. If you are a fan of these 2 then you will enjoy this show. I appreciate the show for what it is and I am curious to see how the story will continue if it gets renewed.