Nabers has also noted that she and Glover saw "Swarm" as an opportunity to look at a serial killer story from a Black woman's perspective, which is something we really hadn't seen before. At the same time, they made sure to ground it in a way that made it feel just as believable (or even more believable) than something like "Dexter" and its many other TV serial killer peers. Additionally, Nabers previously told Variety that all the murders on the show, "with the exception of episode 4, have a true foundation."
"It's based on a young woman that was brutally killed and discarded in some sort of kind of like desert, woodsy area," she explained. Here?s everything to know about the new series so far, including the high-profile talent that works on camera and off. "The greatest advice I've received from her is to trust my gut and my instinct, and to speak up for what I need and for what I want," Chloe previously told PEOPLE about her music mentor, "and I truly love her." "My very best friend's last name is Jackson. So there was a text with some of my friends where we were like, 'Who is Marissa Jackson?' For two days, we thought this was a real event, and it was dispelled later on Black Twitter," she explained, per Indie Wire.
In "Swarm" episode 6, the narrative switches and we see a true crime documentary about Andrea, including a segment where Glover, playing himself, says he's making a series about her life. It's kind of like the Emmy-winning "Atlanta" episode "B.A.N.," which features a television show within the "Atlanta" universe, or the season 4 episode "The Goof Who Sat By the Door." The only difference, however, is that it doesn't just make the show's world feel more lived-in, but it also makes it almost feel real. "So when Donald pitched this idea of a Black woman who's obsessed with the pop star, I said, 'I know what the pilot is' and ran with it. So every episode deals with real news stories, real events or Internet rumors that have happened, and we have put our wonderful woman at the center of that story." Swarm is like ?a sister? to the Emmy-winning series, Nabers told Vanity Fair in a recent interview ? and like Atlanta, it?s infused with musical DNA, albeit a totally different (and much creepier) kind. It follows a woman who is obsessed with a musician ?whose oeuvre and aesthetic are very similar to Beyoncé?s,? the outlet points out.
Though the series maintains that it is still "a work of fiction," the storyline features many parallels to "fandom" culture, particularly Beyoncé and her fanbase (known as the Beyhive). Since its premiere on March 17, the show has gained critical acclaim for its writing and performances from its star-studded cast, including Chloe Bailey, Paris Jackson, Damson Idris and Billie Eilish in her debut acting role. However, what has captivated fans the most is that it's inspired by actual events, as disclaimed at the end of the show's credits.
And of course, the very title of the series, Swarm, can?t help but make you think of the Beyhive that passionately supports the most-decorated artist in Grammy history. Created by Donald Glover and Janine Nabers, the series follows a young woman named Dre (Dominique Fishback) whose obsession with a female pop star named Ni'Jah (Nirine S. Brown) takes her on a dark series of events. "We did research for months to basically find events within a 2 1/2 year period that we could put our main character into. So, it's really not a work of fiction. We've taken real internet rumors, real murders, and combined them in the narrative of our main character, Dre. Not much of it is fabricated." It's unclear if Beyoncé has actually seen Swarm, as the show's creators and cast have been careful not to mention the singer by name when talking about the series. Instead, they have often referenced a "pop star swarm city price who shall not be named" during various interviews.
Throughout the series, there are many similarities between pop star Ni'Jah and Beyoncé, like subtle references to her music, tours and even outfits. In addition to borrowing inspiration from Beyonce?, Swarm actually stars one of the musician?s proteges, Chlöe Bailey, as Dre?s sister, Marissa, and Damson Idris as ?her charismatic boyfriend,? per Vanity Fair. In an interview with Variety, Nabers noted that the death of Rashida (Kiersey Clemons) was inspired by a real-life murder that took place in Georgia in 2018. Following the show's SXSW premiere, Nabers briefly talked about Beyoncé's reaction to the show during a post-screening Q&A session. When asked if the singer has seen the show herself, she responded, "Of course," before adding that she couldn't share any more information, according to Variety.
That's a gruesome creative decision but one you can almost feel in the series, which is deeply unsettling at every turn. So, although Dre isn't real, she is sort of a mixture of real people and real stories of fans who took things too far. The original inspiration for "Swarm" came in part from a since-debunked internet rumor that popped up after the release of Beyoncé's "Lemonade," claiming that a fan named Marissa had died by suicide because she realized that Beyoncé was allegedly being cheated on by her husband, Jay-Z. In "Swarm," Dre's foster sister Marissa (Chloe Bailey) similarly dies by suicide after Dre informs her that her fiancé has been cheating on her, drawing almost directly from that same false rumor.
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