Tracy Oliver is back with a project putting friendships in the spotlight. The Girls Trip creator’s new Amazon Prime Video series Harlem follows four Black 30-something women living in the Harlem section of New York as they navigate dating, life, and love. The series stars Meagan Good, Shoniqua Shandai, Grace Byers, and Jerri Johnson in the lead roles. The four friends rely on their relationships to get them through the ups and downs of life in the city. It’s a similar theme to Oliver’s 2017 box office smash.
“I love exploring friendships over time too and how they evolve,” she told Pop Culture in a recent interview. “And so, I would love with Harlem, if it does get multiple seasons to kind of… And Sex and the City did it really well, but just show when marriage and kids and other things start entering the picture, how that affects your core friendship groups and stuff.”
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While Oliver’s fans are happy to get another rendition, they are eagerly waiting for the sequel to Girls Trip. The film marked the first penned by a Black woman to gross over $100 million and almost immediately it was announced that there would be a follow-up. But production has yet to begin.
When Pop Culture asked for an update, Oliver let out a long sigh. “That sigh is because I am waiting as well,” she admitted. “The last time that I talked to Tiffany Haddish, she was like, “Girl, we doing this.” And I was like, “Yay, it’s happening.” And then she’s booked like a million things. And I don’t know if it’s ever going to all align, but it has to be cast availability and the budget has to work out. And if I can be really candid, it’s the budget for why this has been really tricky.”
In the meantime, Harlem is available on Amazon Prime Video beginning Dec. 3. Oliver is excited for viewers to see what the show has to offer.
“There’s a lot of bonding and comradery that can happen with shows like this and I kind of write for that audience. I’ve always been interested in making people laugh, making people cry, but joyful tears, not like pain and struggle tears,” she said. “But just because you feel good around your friends, and at the end of the day, Harlem’s a love story between women. And those stories are just always important because I think men and women can come and go out of our lives, but our friends are the glue that always holds us together. And I think it’s a valuable message, and yeah, I think it’s just really necessary.”
