- Amazon Prime Video's new show "Swarm" premieres March 17, and you should definitely tune in to this twisted ride.
- Donald Glover and Janine Nabers co-created the dark comedy, which features stunning performances.
"This is not a work of fiction. Any similarity to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events, is intentional," reads the disclaimer at the beginning of Amazon Prime Video's new show "Swarm."
It's pretty clear from the jump who the mythical celebrity revered by main character Dre (Dominique Fishback) is — with a rapper husband, a devoted following called the Swarm, and a highly-cultivated aesthetic, Ni'Jah is obviously a thinly-disguised version of Beyoncé.
While several scenes were clearly ripped from familiar headlines, the series focuses less on Beyoncé's career, and more on the dynamic between Dre and her sister Marissa (singer Chloe Bailey), and how Dre handles a devastating blow.
Created by multihyphenate Donald Glover of "Atlanta" and "Community" and award-winning playwright Janine Nabers, "Swarm" premieres on Prime Video on March 16. Here's why you should definitely make time to watch the twisted show.
Dominique Fishback delivers a magnetic performance and a masterclass on nuance
Whether she's bingeing junk food or consuming the latest Ni'Jah album with equal gusto, Fishback's Dre is one of the most intriguing antiheroes I've seen onscreen in a while. Without spoiling too much, let's just say that a traumatic event in the first episode leaves Dre reeling — and she leans into her Ni'Jah stan-dom with violent results.
Throughout it all, however, Fishback manages to keep the character grounded, while still nailing Dre's innate awkwardness and emotionally stunted development. As unlikeable as Dre is, I couldn't help but feel sympathetic for the complicated protagonist at times.
Fishback told Insider that was something she struggled with, too.
"Oftentimes, I would also be like, 'Dang, am I actually playing her too understandable?' Because she's doing these horrible things," Fishback said. "So I also was kind of struggling with it myself of being like, 'Is she too relatable? Do you care too much?' But ultimately that's what you're supposed to do as an actor."
Fishback ended up giving Dre just enough humanity to invoke flashes of empathy for the character, while still displaying Dre's intense anger. It's an intoxicating combination to be sure, and Fishback's portrayal is absolutely unforgettable.
The show's portrayal of stan culture is both hilarious and accurate
Anyone who's been even remotely online in the past decade or so is likely familiar with the toxicity found within many stan communities (for the sake of my own Twitter mentions, I'll avoid mentioning any by name — further proving my point). But "Swarm" takes things one step further, and reimagines how a particularly devoted Ni'Jah listener could find refuge in their stan community when everything else feels hopeless.
Dre's passion for Ni'Jah is obviously unhinged, but the show's portrayal of online stan communities — from stans' Twitter presences to their reactions to an artist's latest work — feels genuinely authentic, something co-creator Nabers said was the result of having a chronically online writers room.
And though "Swarm" does take audiences to a dark place, it also offers a thoughtful take on the often absurd realities of stan communities and pop culture. The question of ownership in parasocial relationships is also explored, along with the possible ramifications of being obsessively devoted to a high-profile public figure.
Overall, "Swarm" is a disturbing, darkly humorous exploration of celebrity worship and misplaced devotion
The show premieres on March 17, and you can watch the trailer below.