“Beauty in Black” features a struggling young woman who finds herself entangled in the dangerous world of a powerful, dysfunctional family. Kimmie’s life has been nothing but hardship. But since this is a Tyler Perry production, should we really be surprised?
So What is the Show About?
‘Beauty in Black’ Is a new Tyler Perry drama series on Netflix. Season one’s first part came out back in October 2024 and the second part will release this week.
‘Beauty in Black’ follows the life of a stripper named Kimmie (Taylor Polidore Williams). Kimmie’s life has always been nothing but struggle after struggle. Then she crosses paths with a powerful, rich, and deeply problematic family who run a beauty empire and turns out to be a part of the traffic scheme she and her friend fell victim of. It’s safe to say her life just takes a turn for the worse as she falls deeper and deeper into the twisted ways of these people.
Characters & Dynamics
Kimmie is a genuine sweetheart, but it seems like the world has thrown everything at her and left her to figure it out by herself. Without any spoilers, I would say she has been through a lot. She was kicked out of her home by her own mother at the tender age of 17. Then she was dragged into a drug deal gone wrong that landed her into a sex trafficking situation. But honestly, since it is a Tyler Perry production I wouldn’t expect anything less from him. Nothing better than to drag a Black woman through hell and back for the sake of character development.
Beyond Kimmie, the series also follows Mallory Bellaire (Crystle Stewart) the CEO of the Beauty in Black hair product company. Behind closed doors, she is far from the polished business woman she portrays herself to be in public. Mallory is as abusive and as spiteful as any of the people who mistreat Kimmie at the strip club. Especially Kimmie’s pimp, Jules, who then we find out is connected to the Bellaire family in a way.
The Bellaires
Speaking of the Bellaire family, which Mallory married into…. They are an absolute mess. They are a couple of dysfunctional individuals with deep unresolved issues and family feuds. No surprise the wealthy, famous, and successful family is a total fuck up behind the designer shoes and sports cars. Mallory’s husband, Roy, is an alcoholic, drug addict, abusive man who has no concern for others, not his brother, not his dying father, and definitely not his wife (who, by the way, he is cheating on). Mallory (also a cheater) and Roy, hate each other’s guts (no surprise there again) but are forced to keep up appearances.
Meanwhile, Roy’s younger brother is kind of a sex addict. His father is a dying man who just now decided to give into his closeted homosexual desires (same ones he condemns his younger son for). His mother is your typical overprotective ‘nothing that my boys do is wrong’ type of boy mom and then finally, his uncle who hates pretty much everyone except his wife.
Despite all this chaos, the first part ended on a cliff-hanger that definitely has the audience—including myself—curious about what’s next.
The Same Old Tyler Perry Formula
Given the plot and the overall vibe of the show, it was no surprise that this was Tyler Perry’s work. Perry, an American director, producer, author, and actor, has always prided himself on uplifting Black entertainment and culture, especially through his movies and shows.
This is not to say that his work is all bad. I, too, enjoy the occasional Madea movie from time to time—but you can’t ignore the fact that instead of truly uplifting Black people, his work often leans into tired, harmful stereotypes.
The thing is, this show is no different than what we’ve seen so far from Tyler Perry. Once again, we have a suffering Black woman at the centre of the story.
Most of his work must always portray a struggling black female lead who can’t just have a normal storyline with the occasional bumps on the road as a normal movie or show would.
Extreme hardship, abuse, and danger constantly fill their lives. They are always yearning for a man who couldn’t care less if they live or die. They’re always miserable and there is no middle ground, like can they ever catch a break?
No Storytelling Depth
On top of that, this show has no solid writing. It’s weak. I have never heard so many curse words in a span of 45 minutes. Honestly, some of them felt like nothing more than punctuation. Like we get it, they are “tough,” “mean,” and “damaged,” people. Could they please express themselves with something else other than yelling and the word ‘bitch’ or even the N-word? Clearly not.
The dialogue lacks depth. And instead of giving us compelling conflicts, it just makes everyone sound aggressively hostile all the time.
Same Pattern, It’s Tiring.
Tyler Perry has built an empire for sure. Yet his work continues to push the same tired tropes onto the very community he claims to uplift. They are often the same pattern and reinforce narratives about Black women enduring endless struggle, Black men being abusers, and overall dysfunction and comedic relief. It’s exhausting to say the least.
Like no thank you. As a Black woman, I refuse to be portrayed as someone who lacks the self-respect to demand more from life than a man who constantly embarrasses and mistreats me.
Is ‘Beauty in Black‘ Worth Watching?
If you don’t think too much about these factors and you just want a dramatic series to watch that features good performances ‘Beauty in Black’ might be worth checking out. If there’s one thing Perry gets right, it’s casting. Crystle Stewart delivers an impressive performance, stepping out of her usual “soft” roles to nail the ruthless, mean-girl persona of Mallory. Taylor Polidore Williams also makes you deeply sympathize with Kimmie time and time again and you’ll find yourself rooting for a happy ending even though all signs point to more suffering.
In my opinion, her character has had the most development so far, and after that part one finale, I’m curious to see if she’ll shed her gullible, “weak” nature and start fighting back.
If clear verbal abuse, trafficking, or other heavy topics easily trigger you, please don’t tune in. This series has very graphic content and to be honest is really not for the weak at all.
Final Thoughts
So my take is, If you’re already familiar with Tyler Perry’s storytelling, you know exactly what to expect. ‘Beauty in Black‘ doesn’t bring anything new to the table, but if you’ve watched his past work and enjoyed it despite the flaws, then go ahead and tune in for part two this week.
I will keep watching because I refuse to end on a cliff-hanger.
But if you’re debating whether it’s worth your time or not? Honestly, not really. You wouldn’t be missing much anyway.
John Doe
March 9, 2025 at 2:54 pm
Very good read. Good points made. 👏🏽