Katori Hall developed her new Starz series, P-Valley, with the goal of shedding light on the world of stripping—and the nuance of Blackness as a whole.
Audiences find a host of relatable, vibrant characters to connect with in the series, including Autumn (Elarica Johnson), the mysterious new girl on the block who is keeping secrets, Mercedes (Brandee Evans), a stripping veteran who is trying to establish a new life, and Uncle Clifford (Nicco Annan), the queer owner of the Pynk Club who begins an unexpected relationship.
In a time when many Black showrunners have diminished or shied away from LGBTQ representation, Hall says the she purposed to include a developed queer, non-binary character in her series.
The fact that we see Mercedes kind of like, you know, suddenly digging at that very real truth is just an articulation of something that happens in strip clubs all the time and quite frankly just happens, you know, in the world.”
She concludes, “The fact that P Valley allows us to see queer Black people, Black men, Black women, for us to see those of us who are poor, some of us who are doing okay financially—like basically every corner of the Black experience is represented in the show because that’s a true reflection of the strip club.
