Unlock the Editor’s Digest without spending a dime

Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favorite tales on this weekly e-newsletter.

It’s simple to see why Queenie, the heroine of the 2019 bestselling novel — now a brand new Channel 4 comedy drama — has been repeatedly referred to as the “Black Bridget Jones”. Like Helen Fielding’s beloved bumbler, she’s a self-narrating, resolution-making, wine-guzzling younger girl with a aptitude for fake pas and really doubtful style in males.

But if Bridget was unfortunate in love, she was additionally privileged in ways in which imply her British-Jamaican counterpart “may by no means be [like her]” — as Queenie’s creator, the creator and showrunner Candice Carty-Williams, has famous. The place it’s an embarrassing costume that attracts undesirable consideration to Bridget at a complicated backyard social gathering, for example, in an identical setting Queenie, performed by Dionne Brown, stands out merely due to the color of her pores and skin.

Greater than only a Gen-Z tackle a well-recognized quarter-life-crisis story, this eight-part sequence can also be a well timed reflection on what it feels prefer to be routinely singled out, missed, patronised and denigrated as a younger Black girl. And although Queenie’s tone typically stays gentle, there are pointed political observations and poignant reflections on every thing from racist in-laws to fetish-fulfilling hookups, on a regular basis microaggressions to home abuse.      

Following a break-up that blindsides her, the 25-year-old Londoner begins a routine of nightly boozing and (principally dangerous) intercourse that quickly takes its toll on her fledgling journalism profession and her psychological well being. Regardless of being in no way the primary display screen heroine to hunt refuge from existential angst on the backside of a bottle or between a stranger’s sheets, Queenie is imbued with an engagingly particular person presence by Brown. Her assurance within the position ensures that the character by no means appears passive or susceptible, even when she’s at her most uncomfortable.

The poor decisions, awkward encounters and mortifying situations typically really feel contrived, although, and go away too little time for scenes that set up extra significant occasions and relationships. Moments that take a look at the ties and tensions inside her multigenerational household are a few of the sequence’ most rewarding and richly emotive, and could be higher served by extra deliberate pacing and detailed storytelling. Like its protagonist, Queenie may gain advantage from slowing down.  

★★★☆☆

Streaming on Channel 4 within the UK. Streaming on Hulu within the US from June 7