Since the season finale of Insecure, I have been searching for a similar show to watch and I recently came across a recommendation of HARLEM on Amazon Prime. It does have several similarities with Insecure but I wouldn't say it fills the gaping hole left in my heart, it does just right by itself as a comedy, gal-pal show.
Harlem is a comedy TV series about four girlfriends living and thriving? in Harlem, New York. It stars Meagan Good, Jerrie Johnshon, Grace Byers, and Shoniqua Shandai as long-time college friends who share a great bond with one another and navigate female adulthood together.
Every one of the four friends is flawed in a way and it seems problems always pop up for each of them all at the same time. I found that kind of too much even though one might say that's realistic.
I found the true beauty of this show each time the four friends were together, basking in witty humour and sisterhood. It makes it a feel-good, entertaining show, I didn't mind that the plot was quite basic.
Camille, played by Meagan Good is a university professor with career problems, Tye is a tech entrepreneur who's a known playboy in the queer community, Quinn is also an entrepreneur with business troubles and an existential crisis, and Angie is an eccentric, wannabe actress who is always sex-starved.
For a show set in and titled Harlem, I expected to see the neighbourhood well portrayed and come alive but there wasn't so much of that in my opinion, it was rather passive. What I found colourful though, was the wardrobe. It represented the characters' personalities quite alright and matched with the entire theme.
I like how the show explores relationships, friendship and even subtly, family in the second season. It gave a better perspective of how the past influenced the current lives of the characters. I would love to see more of character development in later seasons, not just going over the same scenarios over and over, I think there's been enough of that already.
My favourite character was Tye, first, because she reminds me of Issa Dee on Insecure, they sort of look and talk alike but totally different personalities. I also like how she handles situations that happen to her, she freaks out but still knows how to get be unbothered and get shit done.
I do like the other characters, they all have a believable friendship and unique in their own ways. It's that kind of show where you're wishing everything works out fine for them, well, except for Camille maybe, who broke up a wedding spoiler alert.
Harlem to me, feels like a cross between the show, Girlfriends and Insecure. It is fun, fresh and entertaining. That sounds cliché but there's nothing really extraordinary about it so far. It is down two seasons already and if I didn't get to see the third season, it wouldn't bother me much.
I rate Harlem a solid 7, it's cool enough to make you watch all episodes but if you didn't, you wouldn't be missing much on this gal-pal comedy.
Cover image- Rotten Tomatoes