[Review] Boomerang Season 1 Episodes 1 & 2

by Qua-niesha

Poster for BOOMERANG featuring Lala Milan, RJ Walker, Leland B. Martin, Tetona Jackson, Brittany Inge, and Tequan Richmond. Photo courtesy of BET web site.

BOOMERANG is a continuation, dramaedy series of the 1992, Eddie Murphy-led film of the same name that takes place twenty-five years into the future and situated on the adult children of our protagonists.

The pilot follows Simone Graham (played by Tetona Jackson) and Bryson Broyer (played by Tequan Richmond) in their daily lives. We first see them at work for the Graham Agency overseeing the production of a commercial selling an energy drink. Immediately, we see what defines these characters individually and what traits they inherited from their parents. The confrontation in this scene jumpstarts the plot as Simone scouts her friend, Tia Reed (played by Lala Milan), for an innovative idea, and Bryson is requested to redirect the energy drink commercial after sharing his idea with his co-worker, Crystal Garrett (portrayed by Brittany Inge). We then meet Ari Thomas (portrayed by Leland B. Martin) and David Wright (portrayed by RJ Walker) with Bryson in an homage to the iconic workout scene from the 1992 film. As for seeing the social life of Bryson, we see Simone’s struggle in her romantic life with the introduction of Camden Knight (portrayed by Joey Bada$$). The episode ends with a natural conclusion and a moment that piques the audience interest of whether or not two characters will be endgame or not.

 

In the second episode, we have our six characters hold an abandoned friendship tradition of playing charades on a Friday night. It’s the episode where the show dives even more into the emotional depth of the characters: we see more of Bryson’s crush on Simone which was hinted at in the pilot; we see a conflicted and regretful David who tries to be vulnerable with Crystal and gets shut down as she’s clearly still hurt over what he did previously; Simone deals with her own conflictions on whether she wants a romance or not, and we see Tia and Crystal hook her up with the postmate addition, Sean (portrayed by Chauncey Jenkins); we see more of Ari’s personality and his romantic life when he brings his boyfriend, Dallas (portrayed by Siddiq Saunderson). The episode ends with a somber Bryson reminiscing on the past after looking at a childhood photo of him, Simone, and two other unnamed characters.

 

The pilot was written by Lena Waithe (The Chi, Hello Cupid) and Ben Cory Jones (Insecure, Underground), directed by Dime Davis (The Chi, Sugar), and produced by Alex Orr (Atlanta, Your Pretty Face is Going to Hell). The series is executive produced by David Warren (Devious Maids, Emily Owens M.D.), Rishi Rajani (Rising), Halle Berry (Extant, Frankie & Alice), Jones, Waithe, and co-executive produced by Davis and Jenny Lee (Anna K.). Episode two was written by Lee, directed by Davis, and produced by Orr.

 

I find myself in love with the script because you can tell that the creatives grew up on the Boomerang film and how they pay homage to the characters in little things reflective in the series characters while keeping things modern and fresh. The dialogue is believable. It sounds like Black millennials going through problems, being casual, working out, and having fun. My favorite thing is that within the first five minutes of the pilot we see Simone calling out colorism, but before that, we see it’s her and Bryson who notices it. I also do love how the show represents how Black millennials cope with ancestral violence through dark humor. Even in episode two, you see David immediately corrects himself when he almost misgenders Caitlyn Jenner. We also see the multifacetedness of the characters. Ari, for example, has an eye for artistic films in multiple genres. What Bryson and David see is the violence, but Ari sees a deeper, artistic picture as a photographer then he absorbs the message on another level, falling into a conversation on whether he and his friend would defend a friend in trouble. And, no one shames Ari about his casual dating like no one shames Tia for being a sex worker and David for being devoutly religious. Everyone acknowledges that they have their thing and respects that even encourage it. It only becomes a problem when someone else gets hurt (as in the eventual exploration of David and Crystal’s previous marriage). That’s something I love about this show. It’s cultural and homely. It’s realistic while managing to be inclusive.

 

For a fresh newbie actress, Lala did fantastic performing on the pole and playing her character. It feels like I’m seeing a whole new person from her personality on social media. Brittany also shined strongly in her role as a level-headed, “authority”-like figure of the group. She does an excellent job of portraying someone who wants to take care of her friends and ensure they’re on a right path while also trying to contain her vulnerable and hurt emotions whenever David’s around. Leland was another favorite performance. He did a wonderful job showing the complexity of character who isn’t the focus. It’s obvious there’s so much to this character in the small moments we’ve seen him in. I also love Tequan’s dynamic with Tetona and his dynamic with RJ; both dynamics hold chemistry and are very mesmerizing. Also, I did love Joey’s performance, Paula Newsome’s performance of Victoria, and Siddiq and Chauncey.

 

The production design on this show is fantastic as is the cinematography. The wardrobes, hairstyling, makeup, and music for this show is also nicely put. This is definitely a much needed show for the BET network and Hollywood in general. It’s about time Black millennials had something that reflected them, not just the cishet, light skin, and skinny ones; all of them. I rate episode one 10/10 and episode two 9/10.