Tag: POC

Seven Web Series by POC to Watch Right Now

By Yasmine Mathurin

Seven Web Series, created by and featuring people of colour, to watch right now.

Yasmine Mathurin suggests the best web series featuring women of colour to watch right now. In a market where self-directed content is reinventing how we consume television BIPOC have seized the moment and shaped a new reflective reality for themselves.

I enjoy web series. In the copious amounts of time I spend on the Internet, I’ve scoured the following seven. I enjoy the following 7 series because they present narratives and experiences that I can’t find in mainstream Canadian media. Though they range widely in the quality of their production, I’m here for the stories they are telling, and how they highlight the experiences of young POCs.

  1. Bolo – The Dictator’s Son. (Canadian)

The animated series is written and produced by Journalist and poet, Ian Keteku and animated by James White. When I stumbled onto this through my Instagram feed, I had to check it out. I thoroughly enjoy animated shows.

The short 5-episode web series follows the story of a young African boy who is trying to find home in Canada. I found it quirky and relatable. Without giving away too much, it’s not every day that I get to watch a show about the immigrant belonging struggle that positions the voice of the main character in a way that is unapologetic and assertive. The tone is dry, and given the scope of less than 5 minute per episode, it’s hard to truly develop a narrative arc with its main characters. I wish it were longer and more developed.

  1. Giants (US)

Is an original scripted drama series about three friends determined to live life on their own terms. It explores mental health in a way that is rarely seen on television or anywhere for that matter. Issa Rae and Jussie Smollett (from Fox’s Empire) serve as executive producers on the project.

  1. BK Chat LND (UK)

I was introduced to this series through a friend. The series follows conversations between UK (mostly black) twenty-somethings debate a variety of topics from courtship, money and everything in between. The room is opinionated, and it’s hard to stop watching, once you start. It is created by Andy Amadi.

  1. Anarkali (Canadian)

The web series follows 20something Anarkali as she moves through the world of dating while straddling moving through South Asian and Canadian culture. The series is created by  Rakhi Mutta.

  1. First (US)

This series comes from Issa Rae’s Production Company and is a modern-day Love Jones … need I say more?  

  1. Shugs & Fats (US)

This comedy web-series is about two Hijabis on a quest to reconcile their long held cultural beliefs with a new life in “liberated” Brooklyn. The series created by Radhika Vaz and Nadia Parvez Manzoor. It has won several awards including the Gotham Independent film award for breakthrough series short form.

  1. Acky and Saltfish (UK)

This web-series, previously a short film, is directed and written by Cecile Emeke. The series follows the everyday lives of two friends through different conversations and explore themes of Diaspora.