, which Zakiya Dalila Harris has adapted from her 2021 novel of the same name. It has a promisingly topical premise. Nella, the only black woman working for New York publishers Wagner Books, is thrilled when Hazel – the titular other black girl – is hired. But is she actually the competition? And why does Nella keep having nightmarish visions of a trail-blazing black editor who mysteriously disappeared? Harris herself worked for Penguin Random House imprint Knopf Doubleday, and that experience lends sharp authority to her depiction of the publishing world. There's the day-to-day tedium of the office cubicle, where assistant Nella pines for a far-off promotion; the politics and rivalries; and, most interestingly, contemporary concerns like sensitivity readers and authors being cancelled. Harris also powerfully conveys Nella's isolation and endurance of constant microaggressions – whether it's an annoying colleague overcompensating as an 'ally', or her boss pressuring her to overlook a racist caricature in the new work of their bestselling author. Hazel only adds to her insecurities: in contrast to Nella, who watches Bake Off with her white boyfriend and has a preppy wardrobe, the Harlem-dwelling, colourfully dressed Hazel claims greater authenticity as a black woman. Yet she's also more adept at 'code-switching', i.e. shifting gear to fit in with her white colleagues. There's plenty here for a 10-episode series, but, frustratingly, the latter episodes instead prioritise a tedious conspiracy plot and flashes of sci-fi or the supernatural. And unlike in Peele's film (a clear influence here – one character calls this){kind=link}
Disney+’s drama is overtly influenced by Jordan Peele’s Get Out, but its attempt to blend genres results in confusion rather than brilliance
Mixing genres is a risky business. For every success story – say, Jordan Peele’s peerless horror/social satire mash-up Get Out – there’s a disastrous combination like Netflix’s recent misfire Painkiller, which, bizarrely, adds loopy farce to its dramatisation of the opioid epidemic. You can now add to that high-wire list The Other Black Girl (Disney+/Hulu), which Zakiya Dalila Harris has adapted from her 2021 novel of the same name.
It has a promisingly topical premise. Nella, the only black woman working for New York publishers Wagner Books, is thrilled when Hazel – the titular other black girl – is hired. But is she actually the competition? And why does Nella keep having nightmarish visions of a trail-blazing black editor who mysteriously disappeared?
Harris herself worked for Penguin Random House imprint Knopf Doubleday, and that experience lends sharp authority to her depiction of the publishing world. There’s the day-to-day tedium of the office cubicle, where assistant Nella pines for a far-off promotion; the politics and rivalries; and, most interestingly, contemporary concerns like sensitivity readers and authors being cancelled.
Harris also powerfully conveys Nella’s isolation and endurance of constant microaggressions – whether it’s an annoying colleague overcompensating as an “ally”, or her boss pressuring her to overlook a racist caricature in the new work of their bestselling author. Hazel only adds to her insecurities: in contrast to Nella, who watches Bake Off with her white boyfriend and has a preppy wardrobe, the Harlem-dwelling, colourfully dressed Hazel claims greater authenticity as a black woman. Yet she’s also more adept at “code-switching”, i.e. shifting gear to fit in with her white colleagues.