Amazon Prime’s new show, Swarm, opens with a message that says it’s “not a work of fiction” and “any similarity to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events, is intentional” before Dominique Fishback’s Dre scrambles for $ 1,500-floor tickets for the concert of a pop star called Ni’Jah, who’s aesthetic screams Beyoncé before we see the young woman’s obsession for the singer go to horrific and violent depths. With Bey influences as clear as day on the show, its co-creator revealed that she wrote the “Crazy In Love” singer a letter.
Janine Nabers created Swarm alongside Atlanta’s Donald Glover. While speaking to Vulture about the series, she shared that she didn’t have fear to create a show with so many Beyoncé references because it was approached “with a lot of respect.” And when it comes to Queen Bey’s awareness of Swarm, here’s what she said:
She has, actually [seen it]. She knows about the show.
The producer shared that while she has yet to meet the Grammy winner herself, almost everyone in the writer’s room has, including Donald Glover, who is reportedly “actual friends” with her. The Swarm creator also said this:
I wrote her a letter basically being like, 'Yo, you're great. I love you. This is a show that we're working on. These are the people that are writing on it.' She's worked with a lot of the people who have worked on our show. It's a family. This is not a crusade to tear down anyone's reputation. I know it's extreme, and I know that our character is doing a lot of crazy shit, but this is a love letter to Black women.
While explaining her motivations for making the series, Janine Nabers also said that her team wanted to portray a “conflicting Black woman who’s fighting for another Black woman.” Nabers described Dre as being this misunderstood “fly on the wall,” who only really has her love for Ni’Jah and her sister.
When it comes to her inspirations for Swarm, the creator made note of herself being a Black woman who grew up in Houston, cutting school to see her favorite performers, and wanted to tell this original story. This drama series is a rarity in that it's a serial killer story from a Black woman’s perspective and “an origin story of a villain”. The series has some solid commentary about the pitfalls of stan culture, the dangers of the idolization of people like Beyoncé and the relatable addiction many of us have to social media.
Created By: Donald Glover & Janine Nabers
Starring: Dominique Fishback, Chloe Bailey, Nirine S. Brown, Karen Rodriguez, Kiersey Clemons, Damson Idris, Paris Jackson, Rory Culkin, Byron Bowers and Billie Eilish
Where To Stream: Amazon Prime subscription
The Swarm cast is led by Dominique Fishback and includes Chloe Bailey, who was actually discovered by Beyoncé and signed by her label alongside her sister (and soon-to-be live-action Ariel) Halle Bailey for their duo act, Chloe x Halle. There are a lot of underlying connections to the singer herself here. Also among the guest stars on the series are Billie Eilish (in her first acting role ever) and Rory Culkin, who has a full-frontal scene inspired by a story Donald Glover told Janine Nabers.
There's to telling if Queen Bey herself might formally respond to the well-reviewed series at any point. But at the very least, it sounds like she's well aware of what the producers were going for.
All seven episodes of Swarm are available to stream on Amazon Prime now.
