‘She’s Gotta Have It’ Is Almost on Netflix But Do You Gotta Watch It?

Spike Lee’s reimagining of his movie She’s Gotta Have It; as a television series premiers on Netflix on November 23rd and the question is: should you watch it? Before I answer that, let me say that I’m pretty sure I’m the ideal audience for this show: I’ve seen the original movie; I’m a woman; I’m black; I’m sex positive; I like politics in my television shows; I binge watch Netflix like a good nerd. That said, I’m not sure this show is worth the binge. Without spoilers, we can safely say that the series, as did the original movie, centers on Nola Darling played by DeWanda Wise.

The tension in the story focuses on how Nola navigates her sex/love life, her friendships, and her art—all of which are complicated. The men in her life, Jamie Overstreet, Greer Childs, and Mars Blackmon, are played by Lyriq Bent,Cleo Anthony, and Anthony Ramos respectively.   Her beaus are all drastically different. The upside to this is we get to see how Nola reacts to different displays of male affection and, more importantly, there is an opportunity to explain the varied ways in which masculinity is performed—and impacted by colorism, class, and “a sex-positive polyamorous pansexual” woman of color, as Nola describes herself.

But that exploration feels hamfisted. In my first attempt to binge it, I only made it through the first three episodes because it felt at times like a show written by my most lowkey problematic cis-hetero dude friend after he took a Womens Studies 101 course and decide…