The Other Black Girl | TV Show Review

I reviewed the book this film was based on HERE, so I wanted to watch and review the TV show too. News of the show coming out was what made me start reading the book in the first place, so even though I didn't love the book, I was looking forward to seeing how it would be interpreted.

Nella (Sinclair Daniel) is tired of being the only Black girl at work, so when Hazel (Ashleigh Murray) starts working at the publishing company with her, she's thrilled. But as Hazel rises quickly within the company, and Nella starts receiving threatening notes, she begins to suspect that the new girl isn't what she seems.

Now because the story is mostly the same as the book, I thought I probably wouldn't like it, but surprisingly I liked the show a lot more than the book!

The first episode felt a bit rushed. Compared to the book, which had time to slow things down, the show went through a lot of events really quickly without giving things time to breathe.

But while there was too much in episode 1, nothing happened in episode 2. The show could definitely have done with spreading out its big events a bit more.

The casting was great, all of the actors were believable as the characters and many were what I pictured while reading the book.

The show switched a lot of things up from the book. Not even the events themselves necessarily, but the order of things. Because of that, even though I had just finished reading the book, I felt like I didn't know where things were going, which was fun.

As with the book, I didn't like the additions of different points of view, though this did serve a more functional purpose in the show than the book.

About halfway through, the show did this weird thing of revealing too much, while also giving nothing. The book was better at feeding information to Nella and the reader, particularly about Hazel. The show gives nothing for a while, then something huge out of the blue with no buffer.

What I loved most about the show was how they used their supporting characters. Particularly the way they strengthened the relationships between Nella, Malaika and Owen. I loved seeing the three of them together and I loved that Malaika and Owen had more of an active role in the story.

And alternatively, the thing I liked least about the show was Nella. I didn't like her in the book and I hoped she would be better written in the show. Unfortunately, she might have been even more annoying, which is saying something!

Then there's the story itself, which I didn't like in the book, so I knew I wouldn't like it in the show. It made a little bit more sense in the show but ultimately I still don't think it has much substance.

But having said that, I absolutely loved the ending of the show, and wish the book had ended the same way.

Overall, the show is a much better version of this story than the book. And while I don't love the story itself, I liked the way it was told, and would definitely watch another season if one were made.

3.5/5