Johnson’s businessman Corbin, and Isaiah Washington’s mayor Tydell also make nice impressions. Foy’s Patrice feels she deserves to be the head of her church, but her scenes with Mercedes are quite moving. Skyler Joy’s sole white dancer Gidget, Dan J.
Shannon Thornton’s Keyshawn aka Miss Mississippi does well as a dancer eager to get her own solo spotlight, while also balancing care of her daughter + an unseen abusive baby father, while also igniting fiery chemistry with Tyler Lepley’s PTSD-afflicted bouncer Diamond. Elarica Johnson is similarly fantastic as enigmatic newbie Autumn, her mind fractured with painful memories as she also runs a scheme of her own that brings her into close contact with Parker Sawyer’s Andre.
P VALLEY GAY SEX SCENE SERIES
For as neutered as the series title is, there is plenty of nudity - female + male - but it rarely feels sexploitative or sexpositional.īrandee Evans is an incredible lead as aging superstar dancer Mercedes, whose dance studio ambitions aren’t just for money but to eventually lead her to receiving custody of her estranged daughter. Various levels of corruption exists in the club, the church, and the community, gifting characters + storylines with extra interest. And the dancing! The insane athleticism + the attempts to employ the female gaze are eye-popping enough, but then there are entire sequences where the thumping club tracks (and the soundtrack is positively sizzling) drop out and the only sounds are the ladies’ breathing + body parts gripping the poles. The presence of a Black gender-nonconforming lead is significant enough, but they are also allowed to be flawed + human. The struggles that P-Valley presents for these working class ladies (and some men + nonbinary folx) are not just economic or misogynistic, but also highlight social media’s potent role, the heartbreaking effects of a recent hurricane, and, perhaps most uniquely, colorism. Based on Olivier Award-winning Katori Hall’s play Pussy Valley, there are an array of alluring creative decisions helmed by Hall, an all-female directing roster, and a veritable bevy of acting talents.
Starz’s newest drama takes that even further, centering the stories of Southern Black women + Black queer men in endlessly-entertaining, intensely-insightful ways. Last year’s true-ish story Hustlers afforded NYC female exotic dancers, many of whom were BIPOC, some humanity + empowerment they are not always afforded.