Twenties (TV series)

Twenties is an American single-camera comedy series created by Lena Waithe. The plot is semi-autobiographical and follows "a queer black girl, Hattie, and her two straight best friends, Marie and Nia, who spend most of their days talking 'ish' and chasing their dreams." The show stars Jonica T. Gibbs, Christina Elmore, Gabrielle Graham, Sophina Brown, and Big Sean.[2] It premiered on BET on March 4, 2020.[3][4] In June 2020, the series was renewed for a second season.[5]

Twenties
Official promotional poster for Twenties
GenreComedy[1]
Created byLena Waithe
Written byLena Waithe[2]
Starring
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes8
Production
Executive producers
Camera setupSingle-camera
Running time30 minutes[1]
Release
Original networkBET
Original releaseMarch 4, 2020 (2020-03-04) –
present (present)

Plot

The scripted comedy series follows a queer black woman in her twenties, Hattie (Jonica T. Gibbs), and her two straight best friends, Marie (Christina Elmore) and Nia (Gabrielle Graham), as they try to find their footing in life, love, and the professional world in Los Angeles.[2]

Cast

Guest stars

Episodes
Twenties, season 1 episodes
No.Title [7]Directed byWritten byOriginal air date [7]U.S. viewers
(millions)
1"Pilot"Justin TippingLena WaitheMarch 4, 2020 (2020-03-04)0.56[8]
2"I've Got the World on A String"Tiffany JohnsonLena WaitheMarch 4, 2020 (2020-03-04)0.45[8]
3"Happy Place"Tiffany JohnsonDaniel WillisMarch 11, 2020 (2020-03-11)0.47[9]
4"You Know How I Like It"Juel TaylorKimiko Matsuda-LawrenceMarch 18, 2020 (2020-03-18)0.56[10]
5"Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing"Juel TaylorNaomi IwamotoMarch 25, 2020 (2020-03-25)0.53[11]
6"Redemption Song"Justin TippingKeli GoffApril 1, 2020 (2020-04-01)0.52[12]
7"What Would Todd Do?"Justin TippingPatricia I. LloydApril 8, 2020 (2020-04-08)0.49[13]
8"Living The Dream"Justin TippingAzie DungeyApril 15, 2020 (2020-04-15)0.51[14]

Production

Development

Lena Waithe wrote the series when she was in her twenties based on her experience of Los Angeles when she first moved there.[2] She stated that she was intentional about creating a series starring a "masculine-presenting stud" with straight friends because that was her own personal experience.[15] Waithe asked Susan Fales-Hill to help her produce the series, which was initially in talks to be produced by BET, then landed at Hulu before being picked up by BET again.[15] It is the first series on the network to center a queer lead character.[15]

On April 15, 2019, BET announced that they had ordered the eight-episode comedy series, Twenties, written by Lena Waithe.[16] Waithe is the co-showrunner with Fales-Hill. The two are also executive producers with Rishi Rajani and Andrew Coles.[16] The director of the pilot, and co-executive producer is Justin Tipping.[3]

Of her experience filming Twenties, Waithe stated that BET gave no notes and was supportive of the producers' creative vision.[2]

On June 26, 2020, BET renewed the series for a second season.[5]

Release

The series premiered on March 4, 2020.[4]

Critical reception

Twenties has received "generally favorable reviews" according to aggregator Metacritic, where it received a score of 73/100.[17] It received a 93% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and is described in the critics consensus, "sharply written and hilarious relatable, Twenties is another impressive series from creator Lena Waithe that also announces Jonica T. Gibbs as a talent to watch."[6]

In a review for Variety, Caroline Framke wrote, "In large part thanks to Gibbs’ appealingly loose performance, it’s entertaining to watch Hattie figure out how to break into the business, but without any clear motivations pushing her, it’s frustratingly ephemeral. If she and “Twenties” want to be memorable, they both have to figure out what’s actually driving them to do it."[18] In a less positive review, Kellee Terrell of The A.V. Club stated: "Pilots are always tricky because they have to introduce viewers to new characters and rules, but the hyperfocus on Blackness distracts from the real issue at hand: [] character development."[19]

    References
    1. Harris, LaTesha (2019-12-03). "TV News Roundup: BET Releases Trailer for Lena Waithe's 'Twenties'". Variety. Retrieved 2020-01-05.
    2. Ju, Shirley (2019-08-01). "Lena Waithe on Casting Big Sean for BET Series 'Twenties': 'He's Phenomenal, So Natural'". Variety. Retrieved 2020-01-05.
    3. Petski, Denise (2019-12-03). "'Twenties' Trailer: First Look At Lena Waithe's New BET Comedy Series". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 2020-01-05.
    4. Sepinwall, Alan; Fontoura, Maria (2020-01-03). "25 Most Anticipated TV Shows of 2020". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2020-01-21.
    5. Petski, Denise (June 26, 2020). "Lena Waithe's 'Twenties' Renewed For Season 2 By BET". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
    6. "Twenties: Season 1 (2020)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2020-06-21.
    7. "Twenties – Listings". The Futon Critic. Retrieved February 20, 2020.
    8. Metcalf, Mitch (March 5, 2019). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Wednesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 3.4.2020". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
    9. Metcalf, Mitch (March 12, 2019). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Wednesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 3.11.2020". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
    10. Metcalf, Mitch (March 19, 2019). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Wednesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 3.18.2020". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
    11. Metcalf, Mitch (March 26, 2019). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Wednesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 3.25.2020". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
    12. Metcalf, Mitch (April 2, 2019). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Wednesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 4.1.2020". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
    13. http://www.showbuzzdaily.com/articles/showbuzzdailys-top-150-wednesday-cable-originals-network-finals-4-8-2020.html. Missing or empty |title= (help)
    14. http://www.showbuzzdaily.com/articles/showbuzzdailys-top-150-wednesday-cable-originals-network-finals-4-15-2020.html. Missing or empty |title= (help)
    15. Ramos, Dino-Ray (2020-01-14). "Lena Waithe Redefines Queer Black Narrative On BET's 'Twenties', Talks Being A Truth-Teller In A Hetero World: "I Had To Be My Own Revolution" – TCA". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 2020-01-21.
    16. Petski, Denise (2019-04-15). "Lena Waithe Comedy 'Twenties' Gets Series Order At BET". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 2020-01-05.
    17. Twenties, retrieved 2020-03-09
    18. Framke, Caroline (2020-03-03). "Lena Waithe's 'Twenties': TV Review". Variety. Retrieved 2020-03-09.
    19. "Lena Waithe's Twenties has potential and one glaring problem". TV Club. Retrieved 2020-03-09.
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