Neema Barnette Archives - Old Ain't Dead

Winding up season 1 of Naomi

5 Comments / TV series / By Virginia DeBolt / May 12, 2022 / Alexander Wraith, Amanda Marsalis, Angel Kristi Williams, Ava DuVernay, Barry Watson, Camila Moreno, Cranston Johnson, Daniel Puig, DeMane Davis, Jill Blankenship, Kaci Walfall, Lisa France, Mary-Charles Jones, Mouzam Makkar, Naomi, Neema Barnette, Stephanie Turner, Women Directors

Naomi on the CW is a superhero coming of age story. The superhero here is a high school junior beautifully played by Kaci Walfall. The casting in this series is inclusive and one of the best aspects of the series.

Meagan Good, Jerrie Johnson, Shoniqua Shandai, and Grace Byers in Harlem

Review: Harlem, 4 women and their relationships

1 Comment / Streaming, TV series / By Virginia DeBolt / December 8, 2021 / Andrea Martin, Grace Byers, Harlem, Jasmine Guy, Jerrie Johnson, Juani Feliz, Kate Rockwell, Linda Mendoza, Meagan Good, Neema Barnette, Robert Ri'chard, Shoniqua Shandai, Stacey Muhammad, Sullivan Jones, Tracy Oliver, Tyler Lepley, Whoopi Goldberg, Women Directors

Harlem is about four women and the disasters and successes of their sex lives. Its 10 half-hour episodes get off to a rocky start. The storyline gains strength as it goes along. Season 1 ends on a cliffhanger. Now that I’m invested in these characters, I certainly hope there’s a season 2. This is a Prime Video series.

Ja'Siah Young and Alisha Wainwright in Raising Dion

Review: Raising Dion

1 Comment / Streaming, TV series / By Virginia DeBolt / October 8, 2019 / Ali Ahn, Alisha Wainwright, Black Panther, Carol Barbee, Deirdre Lovejoy, Gavin Munn, Griffin Robert Faulkner, Ja'Siah Young, Jason Ritter, Jazmyn Simon, Marc Menchaca, Michael B Jordan, Neema Barnette, Rachel Goldberg, Raising Dion

Raising Dion tells the story of a 7 year old who discovers his superpowers by accident. His newly single mom struggles to keep him safe from the giant electrical storm that wants him.

Review: Luke Cage, season 2

Leave a Comment / Streaming, TV series / By Virginia DeBolt / June 26, 2018 / Alfre Woodard, Antonique Smith, Cheo Hodari Coker, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, D-Nice, Dorian Missick, Elden Henson, Esperanza Spalding, Faith Evans & Jadakiss, Finn Jones, Gabrielle Dennis, Gary Clark Jr, Ghostface Killah, Joi, Kasi Lemmons, KRS One, Lucy Liu, Luke Cage, Mike Colter, Millicent Shelton, Mustafa Shakir, Neema Barnette, Rakim, Ron Cephas Jones, Rosario Dawson, Sahr Ngaujah, Salli Richardson-Whitfield, season 2, Simone Missick, Steph Green, Stephen Marley, Theo Rossi, Thomas Q. Jones, Women Directors

Luke Cage season 2 is a treatise on power. Who has it, who wants it, what it does to the people who have it, and what it does to the people who are stripped of it. Mike Colter is back as the bulletproof black man in a hoodie, Luke Cage. In season 2 he faces several powerful villains. Some of …

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10 Great TV Series Directed Wholly or Partly by Women from 2017

2 Comments / TV series / By Virginia DeBolt / December 22, 2017 / Alias Grace, Amy Sherman-Palladino, Ava DuVernay, Claire Scanlon, Floria Sigismondi, GLOW, Jennifer Leacey, Kari Skogland, Kat Candler, Kate Dennis, Lana Wachowski, Lynn Shelton, Margaret Atwood, Mary Harron, Melanie Mayron, Mia Lidofsky, Minkie Spiro, Neema Barnette, One Mississippi, Queen Sugar, Reed Morano, Salli Richardson-Whitfield, Sally Wainwright, Sense8, Sian Heder, So Yong Kim, Strangers, Tanya Hamilton, The Handmaid's Tale, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Tig Notaro, Tina Mabry, To Walk Invisible: The Brontë Sisters, Victoria Mahoney, Wanted, Wendey Stanzler, Women Directors

My standard disclaimer about top 10 end of year lists: there are many things I don’t see on TV because I don’t have the right channels or subscriptions. If I overlook your favorite, that may be why. Here are the best TV shows I saw in 2017 (even if they weren’t released in 2017).

Dawn-Lyen Gardner, Rutina Wesley, and Kofi Siriboe in Queen Sugar

Review: Season 1 of Queen Sugar

1 Comment / TV series / By Virginia DeBolt / June 27, 2017 / Ava DuVernay, Bianca Lawson, Dawn-Lyen Gardner, Dondre Whitfield, Ethan Hutchison, Glynn Turman, Greg Vaughan, Henry G. Sanders, Isaac White, Kat Candler, Kofi Siriboe, Natalie Baszile, Neema Barnette, Nicholas L. Ashe, Ninja N. Devoe, Omar J. Dorsey, Oprah Winfrey, Queen Sugar, Rutina Wesley, Salli Richardson-Whitfield, season 1, So Yong Kim, Tanya Hamilton, Timon Kyle Durrett, Tina Lifford, Tina Mabry, Victoria Mahoney, Women Directors

Season 1 of Queen Sugar was outstanding, engaging, enlightening, and demanding. It ended with a cliffhanger that could mean huge changes in season 2.

Rutina Wesley, Dawn-Lyen Gardner and Kofi Siriboe in Queen Sugar

Watch This: New Trailer for Queen Sugar

1 Comment / TV series / By Virginia DeBolt / August 3, 2016 / Ava DuVernay, Dawn-Lyen Gardner, Kat Candler, Kofi Siriboe, Natalie Baszile, Neema Barnette, Queen Sugar, Rutina Wesley, Salli Richardson-Whitfield, So Yong Kim, Tanya Hamilton, Tina Mabry, trailers, Victoria Mahoney, Women Directors

Queen Sugar has already been renewed for a 16 episode second season before the first season begins airing. Season 1 begins on OWN on Tuesday, September 6 and Wednesday, September 7 with two nights of commercial-free TV directed by Ava DuVernay.

Watch This: Trailer for Queen Sugar

2 Comments / TV series / By Virginia DeBolt / June 28, 2016 / Ava DuVernay, Dawn-Lyen Gardner, Kat Candler, Kofi Siriboe, Natalie Baszile, Neema Barnette, Nicholas L. Ashe, Oprah Winfrey, Queen Sugar, Rutina Wesley, Salli Richardson-Whitfield, So Yong Kim, Tanya Hamilton, Tina Mabry, Victoria Mahoney

Queen Sugar, coming to OWN, is the first TV series with episodes directed by Ava DuVernay. It’s produced by Oprah Winfrey. Starring in Queen Sugar as the Bordelon sisters are Rutina Wesley and Dawn-Lyen Gardner.