She the People Review
Director: Tyler Perry
Date Created: 2025-05-23 22:07
2.5
She the People Review: Directed and written by Tyler Perry, and Niya Palmer, the show features a decent cast that includes Terri J. Vaughn stars as the ambitious and fiery Antoinette Dunkerson, along with Kevin Thoms, Robert Craighead, Michael Rose, and Heather Alicia Simms. With a total of 16 episodes, split into two parts (the first 8 available to stream now, each around 25 minutes), it’s pitched as a light-hearted political comedy set in Mississippi and based on the highs and lows of a Black woman getting into state-level politics.
Now, the idea was new. We don’t get too many sitcoms featuring Black women politicians who are powerful, let alone ones that broach racism, sexism, and power. Sadly, though Netflix’s She The People begins with a great idea, it doesn’t live up to it, at least with me.
She the People Review
The series premieres with Antoinette, a strong and ambitious female gubernatorial candidate. She’s an experienced politician with a good career and appears to have it all in order, until the party fiasco of her daughter goes viral. I had hoped this episode would be used for more character development or political satire, but what I got was the impression that the writers only did it to advance the plot to the shock election victory.
Yes, Antoinette does win the election and become the state’s first Black lieutenant governor, but after that, the show doesn’t delve far enough into the actual issues she’s battling in that position. Much of the tension with the Governor, Irwin Harper (played with fairly heavy-handed exaggeration), felt cartoonish. I get that this is a sitcom, but when you’re working with heavy stuff like systemic racism and gatekeeping in politics, you’ve got to have a little more bite. The comedy here really did feel forced and surface-level.
This is where I was most let down. The show is billed as a sitcom, but the humour never actually caused me to laugh. It is too concerned with ridiculous characters such as Shamika, Antoinette’s cousin, and Basil, her boyfriend. These two are the comedic relief, but they are unrealistic and over-the-top. I understand sitcoms do have over-the-top personalities, but here it seemed like a waste. These characters could have added warmth and sophistication. Instead, they were a distraction.
I also had trouble taking the Governor character seriously. He’s obviously supposed to embody old-school political power and racial prejudices, but rather than creating a wry or sarcastic commentary, the show makes him a joke on legs. It’s difficult to respect or even fear a villain when he’s sweating under his makeup and imploring to be dabbed every other minute.
All that being said, Tyler Perry’s She The People isn’t entirely terrible. There are instances, though few, where the message actually does come through. One of those instances that lingered with me was when Antoinette quietly questions if her own people will ever trust her enough to actually create change. It’s a fleeting moment of self-doubt and vulnerability that I wish the show had delved deeper into. There’s something powerful to see a Black woman in power move through spaces she’s always been underestimated in, even if it’s not done as deeply as I would have liked.
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Terri J. Vaughn is hands-down the highlight of this show. She brings charm, toughness, and depth of feeling to Antoinette. She even manages to make the character ring true when the writing isn’t cooperating. I also appreciated that the show didn’t portray her as a flawless heroine. Her flaws — as a mother, as a leader, as a lover — made her human.
Something that actually felt unnecessary to me was the half-cooked romantic plotline. It just did not add anything to Antoinette’s story. Rather than developing the character or creating tension, it felt like padding. I suppose they’ll continue to develop it further in the second half of the season, but I wouldn’t really want them to. The show has so much else it could be exploring; race, politics, family, public perception, and romance doesn’t really seem like the focus.
She the People Part 1 Review: Summing Up
I won’t lie, I desperately wanted to love this show. But She The People series just didn’t do it for me. The humour is forgettable, the satire is shallow, and most of the characters are flat. It’s worth watching as a mindless binge, particularly if you enjoy Tyler Perry’s typical offerings of comedy. But if you want a smart, satirical, politically biting comedy, this isn’t the show.
She the People 2025 is now streaming on Netflix.
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