Run the World
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Run the World
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A Lot or a Little?
The parents' guide to what's in this TV show.
What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that Run the World is a Black female-centered comedy series intended for mature viewers. It features a cast of strong Black women who are educated, professional, and extremely self-aware. There's also lots of mature conversations about relationships, frequent cursing, and strong sexual content, including nudity and simulated sex acts. Race is a theme, and terms like "white colonizers" and the N-word are used in conversation. Drinking (shots, cocktails, champagne) is frequent, too.
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What's the Story?
Co-executive produced by Boomerang writer Leigh Davenport and Living Single creator Yvette Lee Bowser, RUN THE WORLD is a comedy series about four Black 30-something women living and working in Harlem. Ella (Andrea Bordeaux) is a writer with a broken heart who, after a failed career as a novelist, is hired by Barb Ballard (Erika Alexander) to write for her digital pop culture magazine. Meanwhile, Renee (Bresha Webb) is a confident, successful marketing executive on the brink of divorce who likes to have fun. Their friend Whitney (Amber Stevens West) is an investment banker who's getting increasingly anxious about her upcoming nuptials to fiancé Olabisi (Tosin Morohunfola), while Sondi (Corbin Reid) stands for her Black feminist ideals while negotiating a romantic relationship with her Ph.D. thesis advisor (Stephen Bishop) and taking care of his young daughter. Their lives are complicated, but they are always there to remind each other that they are going to take over the world.
Is It Any Good?
The fun dramatic comedy series in the mold of Sex and the City follows four professional 30-something women who are working, socializing, and trying to thrive in New York City. Like SATC, Run the World features lots of gossip, advice giving, and sexual encounters; it also stars a cast that is self-empowered, self-reliant, and comfortable with its sexuality. But this series tells the stories from the point of view of four strong, modern Black women, who unapologetically acknowledge how their race informs how they see the world, and their place in it. In doing so, Run the World stays away from stereotypes, and offers moments that are both entertaining and meaningful. Best of all, it never loses sight of the fact that life is just better when you have a loyal group of friends who are there when you need them.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the common stereotypes that have historically been used in movies and TV to represent Black women. In what ways does this series challenge them?
What is the purpose of featuring things like sexually explicit scenes and lots of cursing in a TV series? Does it make the story world more realistic? Or is it to make it more entertaining? Could Run the World tell the stories it wants to tell effectively without including this content?
TV Details
- Premiere date: May 16, 2021
- Cast: Andrea Bordeaux, Bresha Webb, Amber Stevens West, Corbin Reid
- Network: Starz
- Genre: Comedy
- Topics: Friendship
- Character Strengths: Communication, Perseverance
- TV rating: TV-MA
- Last updated: January 7, 2023
Our Editors Recommend
-
Living Single
Comedy about diversity and friendship for teens+.
-
Girlfriends
A tamer Sex and the City -- mature teens.
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Sex and the City
Smart, sassy, sexy -- and for mature viewers only.
For kids who love black voices
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