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Stream It Or Skip It?

Harlem came around in 2021 when it seemed we were swamped with shows about four female friends trying to find love — and maybe a little sex — in New York. But the show worked because it had four veteran actors as its leads and smart writing by Tracy Oliver. The series is back with a new season, which picks up where Season 1 left off.

HARLEM SEASON 2: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

Opening Shot: After a Season 1 recap, we hear Camille (Meagan Good) say, “Welcome back, everybody! Now, where were we?”

The Gist: She’s lecturing a class on the anthropology of time, but where we really pick up is where she told Ian (Tyler Lepley) that she loved him, and they kissed … right in view of Ian’s fiancée Mira (Rana Roy), holding her wedding dress. Mira pretends not to see it but doesn’t keep up the ruse for long. Mira doesn’t take long to point out that Camille dumped Ian right before they were going to move to Paris and Ian told her that Camille was a flake who couldn’t be trusted.

This is the same night that Camille drunkenly went to the house of her boss, Dr. Elise Pruitt (Whoopi Goldberg) and quit her job at Columbia, despite the efforts of Quinn (Grace Byers) to get her off that stoop. Quinn is anticipating her date with Isabella (Juani Feliz), which she’s excited about but also terrified; this would be the first time she’s ever been with a woman before and isn’t sure how to have proper lesbian sex.

Angie (Shoniqua Shandaiz), having been dumped by Eric (Jonathan Burke) for inadvertently sinking his Get Out musical (who knew Jordan Peele wouldn’t like it?), is as always seeking sexual companionship. When she goes home with the “best looking man in New York,” who happens to be giving her a pedicure, she pretends to be her own twin in order to have sex with his even more handsome roomie.

Tye (Jerrie Johnson), having fully recovered from her illness, is looking to really connect with somebody or something, rather than have her random hookups. She thinks she might have connected with a shar pei puppy, but then rethinks having to take care of something with a heartbeat. Even a cactus is endangered in her care. But she does help Quinn find some toys that will make her feel more confident with Isabella, who is so inexperienced with that kind of stuff she thinks a set of anal beads are earrings.

Camille tries to make things right with Pruitt and with Ian’s mom, and finds both processes painful, especially when she sees Mira again, and the jilted bride tells her to “fuck off.” Oh, and there’s also the matter of Jameson (Sullivan Jones), whom she hasn’t actually broken up with yet.

Harlem
Photo: Emily V Aragones/Prime Video

What Shows Will It Remind You Of? Harlem Season 1, of course. And as we said when we reviewed Season 1, it reminds us of Sex And The City, Girlfriends, Insecure, Twenties, Run The World and other similar shows.

Our Take: What we said about the show in Season 1 applies for Season 2: Harlem isn’t revolutionary by any means, but the show’s creator, Tracy Oliver (Girls Trip) has done a great job of creating four dynamic leads and cast them with veteran actors who have fantastic chemistry.

Are their stories a little crazy? Sure, but life in New York when you’re single or single-ish and in your late 30s can get a little crazy. You’re coming into your own, much more comfortable in your own skin, but finding someone you want to spend your precious free time with becomes increasingly difficult. That’s why Camille, who seems to have her life on lock, starts to spiral out of control with both Ian and her job. Something in her wants to break that lock, and we know that, despite the trauma of breaking him and Mira up, she will be revisiting the whole Ian thing repeatedly.

To us, the best scenes are when the four friends are at one of their favorite restaurants or otherwise hanging out together, because they get called on the quirks in each other’s personalities. Individually, their stories can get a little silly, but they can stand on their own or in different subsets, which is an indication that Oliver has built well-constructed characters.

Sex and Skin: Not as much skin as the first season’s opener, but certainly more than enough sex, even if it’s behind a door or cut off at a certain point.

Parting Shot: Jameson tells Camille that he decided not to take the job in Chicago in order to be with her in person, a notion that surprises her, given everything that’s gone on with Ian.

Sleeper Star: We liked seeing Whoopi as Dr. Pruitt, being completely annoyed with Camille, but still willing to give her her job back.

Most Pilot-y Line: When Camille’s sex toy bill comes to four figures, Tye tells her “Being gay is expensive.” We don’t know, that thing that takes 16 AA batteries could have stayed on the shelf.

Our Call: STREAM IT. Season 2 of Harlem continues the winning formula from Season 1, thanks to its four great leads playing characters that are well thought-out.

Joel Keller (@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesn’t kid himself: he’s a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, RollingStone.com, VanityFair.com, Fast Company and elsewhere.

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