SHIFTER’s Kevin Bourne calls Sasha Leigh Henry’s new series “funny, well-written and pretty much perfect” in his Bria Mack Gets A Life review.
Since the success of Kim’s Convenience, some have wondered when Caribbean people would get a comedy series of our own. Well, that day is just around the corner with the upcoming Crave Original Series Bria Mack Gets A Life, a coming-of-age comedy about a young Black woman’s transition from college student to adulthood. The series has been gaining buzz since it premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival this year.
Created and written by Sasha Leigh Henry and directed by both Henry and Kelly Fyffe-Marshall, Bria Mack Gets A Life follows recent university graduate and proud valedictorian, Bria McFarlane (Malaika Hennie-Hamadi), as she discovers the ups and downs of the real world. Initially planning to sit back and relax after years of burn out, Bria reluctantly enters the workforce after learning her Jamaican mother Marie (Leslie Adlam) will be retiring early and moving to Florida.
The show is a raw and unfiltered look at race, workplace dynamics, and sexuality (or “getting flipped and folded like a flapjack”) through the eyes of a young Black woman in the Greater Toronto Area. It dives into the deep waters of allyship and White Savior complexes, interracial relationships, Angry Black Woman stereotypes, Black Twitter, reparations, feminism, diversity hires and faux pas like white people touching our hair (Yes, they go there). While the subject matter sounds deep, it’s delivered through clever writing and great comedy.
And while our culture at times sexualizes and fetishizes Black women to the extreme, the series does a good job of normalizing a Black woman’s relationship with sex as they are seen owning their desires instead of being ashamed of them. While there’s even a little bit of nudity, it’s not the kind that is unnecessary or strictly for the sake of being edgy. We’re getting a glimpse into the mind of a young Black woman and things get real.
What also makes the show so entertaining is its accurate depiction of Black life in Canada. From beginning to end, everything feels so familiar as we see ourselves on screen and relate to Bria’s life. From Adlam’s portrayal of a Jamaican mom (and her propensity for Reggae air horn sound effects), to being set in Brampton, to Bria Mack’s mannerisms, way of speaking, pay cheque to pay cheque lifestyle, and occasionally partaking in a little weed, we’ve never seen the young Black Canadian experience depicted this way on Canadian television before.
The writing, editing, cinematography and acting performances were executed to perfection adding to the realism and entertainment value of the show. Malaika Hennie-Hamadi is so believable as a young Black woman from the Greater Toronto Area you may at times forget you’re watching an actor portray a character (I seriously wish I had a friend like Bria Mack). Leslie Adlam provides a refreshingly accurate depiction of a Jamaican mother after years of seeing Americans butcher the Jamaican accent. The show would not be the same without Hannan Younis as Bria’s invisible hype girl and inner dialogue Black Attack who’s always ready for the smoke. Most Black people have a little Black Attack in them so seeing that inner dialogue depicted as a character made the show even more funny.
Also noteworthy are the performances from Manuel Rodriguez-Saenz in his portrayal of Marie’s slightly wimpy boyfriend Rodrigo who is obsessed with Bria’s approval, and Amalia Williamson‘s portrayal of Gemma Bridlepath, the super ally whose always down to come through with some reparations.
Setting the tone for the show is the soundtrack, which includes Toronto rapper Charmaine‘s “Bad Bitch Mentality”. The music, which will probably have your head nodding, was very well selected and relevant to the scenes. Just a word of advice though; you might need to have Shazam handy.
Now, there are shows you watch just to support Black creators and there are shows you watch because they’re that good. Bria Mack Gets A Life is the latter. It draws that balance of being Canadian yet so “un-Canadian” at the same time in its raw approach, themes, editing, and shooting style as it draws inspiration from the Issae Rae school of storytelling, It’s also so universal in its themes and references to the Black and human experiences that it would resonate with Black audiences everywhere, especially the United States (“Siri, call BET”), while being able to resonate with other ethnicities as well.
Bria Mack Gets A Life is funny, well-written and pretty much perfect. And it’s us. Unashamed. Unfiltered. Ungentrified. As Black Canadians, it’s a show we can, and should, be proud of, and Sasha Leigh Henry is clearly a rising talent we should be equally proud of. While Canada has produced some of the biggest talents in the world when it comes to music, that has escaped us in film and TV. But as the demand for Canadian film and TV continues to rise around the world, I’d bet on Henry being among Canada’s film and TV success stories.
Kevin Bourne is SHIFTER’s Toronto-based editor and Senior Entertainment Reporter focusing on Black music and film & TV. He was named one of 310 international voters for the 81st Golden Globe Awards by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and a Tomatometer-Approved Critic by Rotten Tomatoes.
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