Whether you watch at home or trek to a theater, this slate of screen gems is chock-full of comedic breakouts and dramatic heavy hitters who are definitely worth your time.
This interview originally appeared in the March/April 2020 issue of ESSENCE magazine, available on newsstands now.
01
CHERISH THE DAY – Premiered February 11
Ava DuVernay is back with more
Black love. This OWN anthology series,
starring Xosha Roquemore
and Alano Miller (above), is
about the life of a couple. Each
episode spans a single day, and
the narrative highlights the
major moments in a relationship
that compel people to stay.
02
HUNTERS – Premiered February 21
Tiffany Boone stars alongside
Al Pacino in this Jordan
Peele–produced Amazon Prime drama about
a group of Nazi hunters
who discover hundreds of highranking Nazis living among
them. When the hunters find
out the terrorists’ plans to stage
a Fourth Reich, the 1977 New
York City–set show gets bloody.
03
High Fidelity – Premiered February 14
The 2000 film turned Hulu series gets a redux with Zoë Kravitz (above left) as the jaded record store owner, Rob.
04
Jonica T. Gibbs in Twenties
Lena Waithe brought BET its first show with an LGBTQ+ lead. Loosely based on Waithe’s own start in the entertainment industry, Twenties follows Hattie, a queer Black woman (Jonica T. Gibbs), and her two straight friends, Marie (Christina Elmore) and Nia (Gabrielle Graham), as they chase their dreams in Los Angeles during their twenties. — Tre’Vell Anderson, March/April 2020 issue
05
Black Monday – March 15
With the stock market crashing royally, Maurice “Mo” Monroe (Don Cheadle, above right) shirks all responsibilities in the Showtime series he leads alongside Regina Hall.
06
LITTLE FIRES EVERYWHERE – March 18
Based on the best-selling novel,
this Hulu miniseries stars Kerry
Washington (above left) as a
single mother who has just
moved to an Ohio suburb. After
crossing paths with the
quintessential white-picketfence Richardson family, led by
Reese Witherspoon’s character,
she upends their lives in this tale
of secrets, scandal and arson.
07
SELF MADE: INSPIRED BY THE LIFE OF MADAM C.J. WALKER – March 20
One of America’s first Black
millionaires and our first
woman self-made one is
getting a Netflix series. Oscar winner
Octavia Spencer (above left)
plays the Black hair care
pioneer in this program based
on the biography On Her Own
Ground by the entrepreneur’s
great great-granddaughter
A’Lelia Bundles.
08
How to Get Away With Murder – April 2
With six adrenaline-inducing seasons in the
books, Viola Davis and her killer instinct law
students finally say farewell to the ABC series.
09
No Time to Die – April 10
After a self-imposed seclusion, 007 steps
back into action with the help of trusty
Moneypenny (Naomie Harris, above left).
10
Insecure – April 12
The fourth season of the HBO series returns and Issa (Issa Rae, above left) is back with new energy, a job she loves and her own home, but how will she navigate leveling up?
11
CHARM CITY KINGS – April 17
In this flick a Baltimore teen
(portrayed by Queen & Slim’s
Jahi Di’Allo Winston) has to
decide between the straightand-narrow path his mother
(Teyonah Parris) has set and
the lure of gang life. With a
story cowritten by Barry
Jenkins and directed by Angel
Manuel Soto, this project
features rapper Meek Mill’s
acting debut.
12
Antebellum – April 24
When a horrifying past intertwines with her
successful present, Veronica (played by Janelle
Monáe) finds herself questioning what’s real.
