Arts & Entertainment
‘The Handmaid’s Tale,’ ‘Dear White People’ are compelling new TV shows
‘The Handmaiden’s Tale,’ ‘Dear White People’ are compelling new TV shows
Logan Browning in ‘Dear White People,’ an uneven yet wortwhile new show that premieres this week. (Photo courtesy Netflix)
This week, the resistance comes to streaming TV. Even though these exciting series were in production long before last November’s election, they’ve gained relevance as the new administration reaches the 100-day mark.
The first series is the stunning new adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s revolutionary novel “The Handmaid’s Tale” which premiered on Hulu this week. The story is set in the all-too-near future. In a world where environmental calamities have caused the birthrate to plummet, extreme right-wing Christian fundamentalists have overthrown the U.S. government and established a totalitarian theocracy called Gilead in its place.
Gay men and other enemies of the regime are summarily executed. Women are not allowed to read and are strictly color coded by function. Wives of the elite are dressed in blue; “Marthas” (domestic servants) are dressed in green; and, “Handmaidens” are dressed in red. The Handmaidens, the only remaining fertile women, are forced into sexual slavery, serving as concubines for the ruling Commanders and the Wives.
“The Handmaid’s Tale” is narrated by Offred (Elisabeth Moss) who is the Handmaiden for the “Commander” (Joseph Fiennes) and his wife Serena Joy (Yvonne Strahovski). Moss (“Mad Men”) turns in a brilliant performance in a role of staggering physical and emotional demands. She not only turns in a wonderfully subtle turn as the seemingly composed and serene Handmaiden whose understated gestures convey a world of meaning, but also provides a vibrant voice-over narration and plays “June” in flashbacks of life before the establishment of Gilead.
The supporting cast, including Samira Wiley (“Orange is the New Black”) as June’s lesbian bff and Alexis Bledel (“Gilmore Girls”) as Offred’s companion. is uniformly excellent. Of special note is Ann Dowd who plays Aunt Lydia, one of the “Aunts” who indoctrinate the Handmaidens into their new lives. As a trainer, she is horrifically brutal, but as a midwife, she is surprisingly tender. The amazing ability of Atwood and series writer Bruce Miller to create such fascinating well-rounded characters is one of the great strengths and joys of the 10-episode series.
“Dear White People,” which premieres on Netflix on Friday, April 28, approaches contemporary politics from a more satiric angle. Based on the excellent 2014 movie of the same name by out writer/director Justin Simien, the 10-episode series wells the story of four black students at Winchester University, a predominantly white school. The movie covers freshman year; season one of the series covers sophomore year.
The same characters return (although most are played by different actors), but the continuity between the movie and the show is inconsistent. Troy (Brandon P. Bell) is the pot-smoking son of the dean, struggling to meet his father’s high expectations. Sam (Logan Browning) is the campus radical and host of the hard-hitting radio show that gives the series its name. Coco (Antoinette Robinson) is now an ambitious pre-law student. Lionel (DeRon Horton) is uneasily juggling his identities as a gay man, a journalist, an activist and a black man.
Unfortunately, the series suffers from sophomore slump. The first four episodes are mired in repetitive exposition, rehashing the grotesque blackface party that ends the movie. The series start to gain some traction in episode five, but it doesn’t really catch fire until the final episode (which was written and directed by Simien himself). The writing and directing of the other episodes (shared between several people) is uneven, often lacking the style and substance that made the movie such a delight.
Despite these flaws, the series is still worth watching. Simien and his creative team raise issues that need to be discussed. They are trenchant observers of our contemporary political climate and thoughtfully examine the messy intersections of race, class, gender and sexuality. The acting is strong and there are flashes of great writing.
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Doug Spearman takes his chance
‘Noah’s Arc: The Movie’ debuted on Paramount+ last month
There’s no question that when Patrik-Ian Polk’s series “Noah’s Arc” premiered on Logo 20 years ago, it was a groundbreaking creation. The story of a group of Black gay men and their wonderful friendship. The titular arc was that of the cute main character, Noah (Darryl Stephens), and his close-knit circle of friends, including Chance played by gay actor Doug Spearman. This compelling and loving fraternity may, in fact, be what brought viewers back repeatedly, including a 2008 movie, “Noah’s Arc: Jumping the Broom,” as well as the 2020 “Noah’s Arc” short, and now, a new full-length feature “Noah’s Arc: The Movie,” debuting on Paramount+ on June 20. In the movie, filled with equal measures of laughs and tears, Chance, who has faced a devastating loss, finds his dependable friends there, ready to support and comfort him at a moment’s notice. I had the pleasure of speaking with Spearman the morning of the streaming premiere of “Noah’s Arc: The Movie.”
WASHINGTON BLADE: Doug, since the early 2000s, when the “Noah’s Arc” series premiered on Logo, you have been playing the character of Chance, including in the latest installment, “Noah’s Arc: The Movie.” What was it about Chance that appealed to you as an actor?
SPEARMAN: When Patrik (-Ian Polk) called me to ask me to play him (Chance), I was at JFK airport in the baggage claim, waiting for a suitcase. He explained what the part was. The thing that stuck out to me was the fact that Chance was in a long-term relationship with another Black man. And, they had a child; they had a 4-year-old daughter named Kenya. I had never seen two Black gay men raise a child on TV before. I thought it was the most revolutionary thing I’d ever seen. I immediately thought I’ve got to do this because that was something nobody had seen. I thought it was incredibly important to take the part.
BLADE: “Noah’s Arc: The Movie” was, once again, written and directed by Patrik-Ian Polk, who you just mentioned, is the creator of the entire franchise. What’s the secret to your long-standing working relationship?
SPEARMAN: [Laughs] the whole team, all of us, are like a band of brothers. We fight like brothers, we come together like brothers, we hash things out, we talk, because we’re all very different from our characters. I think the challenge of playing these guys and then uplifting these men, playing a part, especially something written by Patrik, is like solving a math equation. There’s always a challenge that’s enjoyable for me as an actor: to try to find out what it is that Patrik wants, and then how do I do it.
BLADE: I think you do a very good job of it.
SPEARMAN: Thank you very much
BLADE: In the years between “Jumping the Broom” and the new full-length movie, many changes have occurred, and the story addresses some of them, including gay widowhood, which is something that the aging community is now confronting, as well as mental health issues. Please say a few words about how you approached those subjects in the new movie.
SPEARMAN: I had a lot of loss in my life, right before we started shooting. Two months before we started shooting the first series, my mother died. I was going through the grief process through that whole first season. Since then, I’ve lost a lot of people in my life. In fact, when we started shooting the second season, the second week we were shooting, my ex died of a heart attack. I was having to fold that into what I was doing with my life on the set and off the set. You’ve got to show up and you’ve got to do your work. The first two seasons of “Noah’s Arc” are always tinged with the memory of grief. So, when I had to deal with the death that Chance faces (in the new movie), which is a significant death in his life, it wasn’t that hard to reach back, especially the scene in the graveyard. It was something that I unfortunately could pull from personal experience.
BLADE: Shifting gears, the movie features delightful cast surprises, including Jasmine Guy and TS Madison. Did you have a chance to interact with either or both when they were on set?
SPEARMAN: No, I didn’t have any scenes with Jasmine, and I missed her. I wish I had gotten to see her because I actually got to direct Jasmine for a CBS promo shoot for “Queen,” back in the early ‘90s. I had a huge crush on her when she was on “A Different World.” So, I really would have liked to reconnect. But TS and I got to see each other every day because I was in all her scenes. It was extraordinary being around somebody like that. That is one outspoken woman!
BLADE: Even though Beyoncé never makes an appearance in the movie, there’s a lot of talk about her. Would you say you are a Beyoncé fan?
SPEARMAN: Yes! I’m breathing! Yes, I’m a Beyoncé fan. I actually got the chance to meet her. I knew her mom. Her mom was extraordinary to me. She is in the second movie I directed. She also gave us a wedding gown to use in the very first scene of the movie. That family is extraordinarily important to me. Not only just to be a fan, but to be somebody who’s gotten to know them and work with them and see how hard they work. I don’t think anybody works as hard as Tina or Beyoncé.
BLADE: There was a recent news item about gay actor Benito Skinner of the Amazon Prime series “Overcompensating” being told not to bother auditioning for straight roles. As an out actor yourself, how important do you think it is for queer characters to be portrayed by queer actors, and vice versa?
SPEARMAN: Being queer is a multifaceted identity. There’s no one kind of queer person. I think finding the best actor that’s your first circle of casting. I think one of the joys about being an actor is that you get to play different parts. I play straight guys all the time. Dads and husbands and things like that. I think a lot of people are told not to do it. In fact, I wouldn’t be Chance if the actor who was originally cast as Chance hadn’t been pulled out of the series by his agents because they didn’t want him to play a gay character.
BLADE: That’s amazing! Thank you for sharing that. Without giving away too much, the ending of the movie is a little ambiguous, even ending with a question mark. If there was a “Noah’s Arc: The Movie” sequel, would you come back for that?
SPEARMAN: Yeah! A lot of it would depend on what Chance’s journey is going to be like. Patrik and I have conversations like that all the time. He’s very interested and supportive of input. I hope I would be, as we all would be, part of the creative growth with these characters. They live in Patrik’s head, and he writes them, but we’re the ones who have to flesh them out. It’s a conversation, it’s always a conversation.
BLADE: You are currently performing in Molière’s “The Imaginary Invalid” as part of the New Orleans Shakespeare Festival at Tulane. What has this experience been like for you?
SPEARMAN: It’s extraordinary! I started on stage when I was seven. There’s nothing like working with a live audience and having that immediacy. I’m working with an extraordinarily talented cast in a really great play, and I have some of the best scene partners I could ever want.
BLADE: Are there any upcoming film or TV projects you’d like to mention?
SPEARMAN: I’m still a writer, and I’m still a director, and I’ve still got scripts that I would like to make. I have a little something that’s a cross between “Treme” and “Bridgerton” that I want to do. I’m always trying to figure out what the next thing is.
Photos
PHOTOS: Montgomery County Pride in the Plaza
LGBTQ celebration held in downtown Silver Spring
Montgomery County Pride in the Plaza was held on Sunday, June 29 at Veterans Plaza in Silver Spring, Md.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
The fifth annual Fredericksburg Pride march and festival was held on Saturday, June 28. A march through the streets of downtown Fredericksburg, Va. was followed by a festival at Riverfront Park.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
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