Beauty in Black starring Taylor Polidore Williams and Crystle Stewart is Tyler Perry’s newest two-part Netflix release, airing part one on October 24. While the show is certainly chock-full of entertainment and classic Perry comedy, its biggest loss is its unserious take toward real-world issues.
The series follows two women from opposite backgrounds becoming interconnected. Kimmie (Polidore Williams) is a stripper and prostitute who dreams of being free from the control of her brutal pimp. Eventually, she becomes connected to Mallory (Stewart), the face of a massive cosmetology company who is simultaneously running the prostitution ring Kimmie is trapped in.
Within the first episode, Kimmie’s best friend and fellow stripper Rain (Amber Reign Smith) receives a botched street BBL that lands her in the hospital. So yes, the series certainly isn’t lacking in entertainment–but it is lacking in depth.
Despite following the lives of women trapped in a prostitution ring where they lack any agency or sense of personal safety, the show does little to convey the severity of this issue and its real-world implications.
In Perry fashion, there’s of course some amount of cheesiness and melodrama, but in a series like this, it just doesn’t quite fit. These are women who are suffering from abuse and sexual assault, and Perry doesn’t appear to fully acknowledge the reality of their situation–and how it reflects the challenges women in similar situations face.
The series toys with serious themes, but never seems to really understand them, at least in its initial eight episodes.
The series has a 49% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with critics also chiming in with lackluster takes. One critic wrote, “Beauty in Black features a lot of swearing and nudity but misses out on delivering a moving story about the complicated people and their different relationships.”
The series is indulgent and ridiculous in a way that doesn’t work. It does not take itself seriously, which gives the impression that Perry himself doesn’t entirely understand the delicate nature of the issues at hand.
If you’re looking for a show to be entertained, Beauty in Black might be for you. But if you’re looking for anything that’s even remotely below the surface, this one might be a skip.
The first eight episodes are available to stream on Netflix, with part two releasing in the Spring of 2025.
Entertaining
Funny
Helmed by compelling characters
Surface-level presentations of nuanced topics
Lackluster performances
Tone deaf when dealing with serious themes of sexual abuse and assault
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