Beauty in Black is an American drama television series created, directed and executive produced by Tyler Perry. The series stars Crystle Stewart and Taylor Polidore Williams as two women leading very different lives. The 8-episode drama series premiered on Netflix on October 24, 2024.[1][2]
| Beauty in Black | |
|---|---|
.jpg) | |
| Genre | |
| Created by | Tyler Perry |
| Starring |
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| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 8 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
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| Camera setup | Single-camera |
| Production company | |
| Original release | |
| Network | Netflix |
| Release | October 24, 2024 – present |
Premise
editA young stripper's life takes an unexpected turn when she crosses paths with a powerful wealthy, yet very dysfunctional family behind a cosmetic empire and a devious trafficking scheme.
Cast and characters
editMain
edit- Taylor Polidore Williams as Kimmie
- Crystle Stewart as Mallory Bellaire
- Amber Reign Smith as Rain
- Xavier Smalls as Angel
- Julian Horton as Roy Bellaire
- Steven G. Norfleet as Charles Bellaire
- Richard Lawson as Norman
- Terrell Carter as Varney
- Shannon Wallace as Calvin
- Charles Malik Whitfield as Jules
- Debbi Morgan as Olivia Bellaire
Recurring
edit- Ricco Ross as Horace Bellaire
- D'Kia Anderson as Leslie
- Bryan Tanaka as Officer Alex
- Joy Rovaris as Gillian
- Tamera "Tee" Kissen as Body
- Ursula O. Robinson as Delinda
- Ashley Versher as Lena
- George Middlebrook as Officer Trackson
- Ts Madison as Daga
Episodes
edit| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date [3] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Make it Rain" | Tyler Perry | Perry | October 24, 2024 | |
|
Trying to get out of the life as a stripper and pay off a serious debt, a young woman, Kimmie, applies for a scholarship to a prestigious hair school founded by the powerful Bellaire family. | |||||
| 2 | "A Dance With Daddy" | Tyler Perry | Perry | October 24, 2024 | |
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After a botched BBL, Kimmie defies orders to help Rain, and makes a deal with a secretive, yet powerful client. | |||||
| 3 | "The Aftermath" | Tyler Perry | Perry | October 24, 2024 | |
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Kimmie makes a series of choices that leads to dangerous consequences. Tension between the Bellaire's begins to mount as the identity of the victim in the hit-run is revealed. | |||||
| 4 | "A Family Affair" | Tyler Perry | Perry | October 24, 2024 | |
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Olivia plays hardball to protect her sons. Angel comes to Kimmie with a daring proposal. As the lawsuit escalates, Mallory contemplates her options. | |||||
| 5 | "Unraveling Threads" | Tyler Perry | Perry | October 24, 2024 | |
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After Angel's world gets rocked, Kimmie reconsiders his idea. Jules pulls the family's strings. Faced with a difficult choice, Norman's suspicions grow. | |||||
| 6 | "Bang Bang" | Tyler Perry | Perry | October 24, 2024 | |
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Roy's ego reaches new heights as Mallory hunts for his "other woman." Kimmie and Angel look for a way out. Norman's grief takes a bloody turn. | |||||
| 7 | "Evil Playing Field" | Tyler Perry | Perry | October 24, 2024 | |
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Fed up with Roy, Mallory takes matters into her own hands. As Norman digs for the truth, a familiar face comes into focus. Kimmie and Angel make moves. | |||||
| 8 | "Killing Karma" | Tyler Perry | Perry | October 24, 2024 | |
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Schemes and secrets come full circle as Horace connects the dots behind the robbery, Mallory asserts her dominance, and Kimmie hits her breaking point. | |||||
Production
editIn October, 2023, Tyler Perry signed multi-year first-look deal with Netflix.[3] On February 12, 2024, it was reported that Netflix has ordered 16-episode drama series Beauty in Black, his first series for streaming service under the deal.[1] In April 2024, the cast was announced with Taylor Polidore Williams and Crystle Stewart as leads, Amber Reign Smith, Ricco Ross, Debbi Morgan, Richard Lawson, Steven G. Norfleet, Julian Horton and Terrell Carter as regulars.[4] Shannon Wallace, Bryan Tanaka, Joy Rovaris, Xavier Smalls, Charles Malik Whitfield, Tamera “Tee” Kissen, Ursula O. Robinson, Ashley Versher and George Middlebrook were was cast in a recurring roles.[5][6][7]
Reception
editCritical response
editThe first season received negative reviews from television critics.[8] Television critic Andrew Lawrence from The Guardian gave it one star of five writing: "The wildly successful mogul’s first drama series for the streamer is a disaster with one-dimensional characters and haphazard plotting".[9] Joel Keller from the Decider also gave it a negative review writing: "Tyler Perry’s Beauty In Black is about a subtle as a slap in the face, which is something we’re surprised we didn’t see in the grim, abuse-filled first episode" but noted Crystle Stewart's performance as Mallory Bellaire.[10]
Audience viewership
editBeauty in Black debuted as Netflix‘s fourth-most-watched series with 5.6 million views in its first four days of availability. On the second week, it rose to the top of the streamer’s TV chart for October 28 to November 3, hitting 8.7 million views.[11][12]
References
edit- ^ a b White, Peter (February 12, 2024). "Tyler Perry Strikes First-Look TV Deal With Netflix As Streamer Orders 'Beauty In Black' Drama Series".
- ^ Nemetz, Dave (September 12, 2024). "Tyler Perry's First Netflix Series Beauty in Black Gets Release Date — Plus, Watch a Scandalous Teaser". TVLine. Retrieved September 12, 2024.
- ^ a b Grobar, Matt (October 23, 2023). "Tyler Perry Strikes Multi-Year First-Look Film Deal With Netflix".
- ^ Seitz, Loree (April 4, 2024). "Tyler Perry's Beauty in Black Casts Taylor Polidore Williams, Crystle Stewart".
- ^ Rice, Lynette (April 4, 2024). "'Tyler Perry's Beauty in Black': Netflix Reveals Cast For New Series Under Creator's First Look Deal".
- ^ "Tyler Perry's New Series at Netflix 'Beauty in Black' Announces Debbi Morgan, Richard Lawson and More - The Source". April 7, 2024.
- ^ Iannucci, Rebecca (April 4, 2024). "Beauty in Black: Tyler Perry's First Netflix Series Finds Its Leading Ladies — See Full Cast".
- ^ "Tyler Perry's Beauty in Black: Season 1 - TV Reviews | Rotten Tomatoes". www.rottentomatoes.com.
- ^ Lawrence, Andrew (October 25, 2024). "Beauty in Black review – Tyler Perry's Netflix series is another lurid mess" – via The Guardian.
- ^ "'Tyler Perry's Beauty In Black' Netflix Review: Stream It Or Skip It?".
- ^ Hailu, Selome (November 5, 2024). "Netflix Top 10: Tyler Perry's 'Beauty in Black' Rises to First Place With 8.7 Million Views".
- ^ Seitz, Loree (November 5, 2024). "Tyler Perry's 'Beauty in Black' Rises Atop Netflix Top TV List With 8.7 Million Views".