The Other Black Girl Review: A Fun And Thought-Provoking Corporate World Stepford Wives
This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the series being covered here wouldn’t exist.
The Other Black Girl explores the struggles of being Black while working in the corporate world. It’s a show that nearly seamlessly blends satire and horror. The horror elements are stronger in the first half of the series than in the second half of it, but the latter episodes give the show the depth it needs to have an impact.
The Other Black Girl is based on Zakiya Dalila Harris’s book of the same name. Hulu’s original series makes smart choices and changes to successfully adapt it. The biggest strength of it going from page to screen is the additional depth and layers given to these characters.
The book focuses on Hazel and she feels fully developed. The show, on the other hand, allows characters like Diana, Hazel, Owen, and Malaika more of an identity.
Let’s take Owen for example. In the book, Owen feels like just a standard boyfriend character with not much purpose or direction.
The Other Black Girl starts the Hulu series representing Owen in that same way, but he evolves and becomes a key part of the team to take down Diana and her agenda. Additionally, at first, he feels just as cartoonish as many of the other white characters in the show. However, his presence emphasizes that the show isn’t saying all white people are bad but some make choices that oppress Black people and other minorities.
He represents a white character without a nefarious race-based agenda.
Vera also becomes a character who, though seemingly pathetic, has a good heart. The biggest flaw of The Other Black Girl, at the start at least, is how unrealistic the white characters seem.
They almost don’t feel layered.
However, it’s clear that this choice is made because this Hulu show is satirical. They’re extremely cartoonish to highlight the ridiculousness of their behavior. That’s not to say there aren’t people who act like this in real life and these situations don’t happen in the real world, but the show takes them to extremes just to emphasize how outlandish it looks from Nella and other’s perspectives.
Additionally, the series makes these characters more believable as it continues. By the finale, they feel like people you encounter in real life.
Harris’s book does an excellent job of building suspense when it comes to the Hazel character. Her behavior seems questionable, but like Nella, you aren’t sure whether you’re reading the situation wrong or if Nella can’t trust Hazel.
The Hulu TV series makes it clear from the start to not trust Hazel. It could have been a stronger reveal if the show kept the audience in the dark longer. Let them debate Hazel’s role in everything.
However, The Other Black Girl sacrifices the Hazel reveal to have a bigger impact with the Diana twist, and even Warner compromising Jesse.
Despite learning Hazel’s true intentions early in the series, she remains one of the most fascinating characters of the show. Ashleigh Murray gives a captivating performance as Hazel. Murray manages to highlight the various layers and contradictions of this character whenever she’s on screen.
You loathe and empathize with Hazel at any given time.
Nella has a pretty straightforward arc, which doesn’t quite allow the ending to bamboozle you like it wants to. You don’t really believe that Nella would trade her morals for success. Nonetheless, book readers may wonder, at first, whether Nella has betrayed herself for success, solely based on the book.
However, nothing that the TV series teaches us about Nella makes this outcome slightly believable (so the final reveal isn’t going to surprise most viewers). Hazel, on the other hand, you see enough of her story to understand how and why she continues to hurt others for her own stability.
It comes from a place of pain that’s relatable. The same goes for Diana but her decisions becomes harder to understand when you know she sacrifices Kendra for this life. Hazel doesn’t have anyone she sacrifices to the metaphorical devil for her soul.
These women aren’t her lifelong friends, but women she briefly befriends to toss them away.
The Other Black Girl does a fantastic job of taking inspiration from classic horror movies and books, such as The Stepford Wives, Get Out, and even cult and zombie movies or body invasion films. It takes inspiration but doesn’t lose its own identity by incorporating some of these elements.
It’s a very binge-able show that could either end with one season or expand to more, but the ending satisfies enough that it wouldn’t disappoint people if it only gets one season. However, many would gladly tune back in for more chapters.
The Other Black Girl has a strong message about the battle of sticking to your own identity or compromising to fit into the corporate world. It clearly takes a stand on this topic but it offers a sympathetic point-of-view to those who make the other choice because it seemingly betters their lives. Strong acting, fun satirical aspects, and a unique story make it worth a watch.
Rashida Jones and Zakiya Dalila Harris created The Other Black Girl.
What did you think of The Other Black Girl? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Stream The Other Black Girl Season 1 on Hulu.
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