In the episode "From Virgin to Vixen,” Queenie is in peak fun mode, until her demons begin to catch up with her. Latoya Okuneye/Lionsgate hide caption The new Hulu series Queenie explores the quarter-life growing pains of lonely South Londoner Queenie Jenkins. The first of her British Jamaican family to go to university, Queenie is a struggling writer awkwardly straddling multiple worlds.
An unwanted breakup with her white, longtime live-in boyfriend Tom sends her painfully reeling — spiraling into, and then climbing out of, destructive behaviors and onto a journey of growth and self-acceptance. The show, which premiered Friday, is based on a 2019 book by Candice Carty-Williams. And with Carty-Williams at the creative helm, the novel’s strengths are immediately visible on screen: the sharp social observation, the rawness of the voice, and the specificity and conundrums of aspirational, young Black British life in the millennium.
As showrunner, Carty-Williams effectively translates and expands her vision, addressing the pain points that both riveted and rankled the book’s readers and ensuring that the creative aspects of production also make an impression. Through sight, sound and performance, Queenie creates an empathetic and irresistible portrait of a young woman’s life in multicultural-yet-divided London. As great as the production sounds and looks, it’s the performances that make Queenie’s journey really accessible on screen.
The material is challenging and m.
