Donald Glover has shared a first-look image from his upcoming Amazon series, Swarm, which takes inspiration from Beyoncé. The show will follow a young girl obsessed with a fictional pop star and detail the “dark, unexpected places” that fandom takes her.
Glover discussed the highly-anticipated show during an interview with Vanity Fair.
“We just thought it’d be fun to make a post-truth Piano Teacher mixed with The King of Comedy,” Glover said. “Me and my brother Stephen were talking about finding someone like Isabelle Huppert, as far as risk-takers in performances.”
As for the cast, Chloe Bailey will star while Damson Idris plays the role of her boyfriend.
“A lot of people did it out of the kindness of their hearts and they did a really great job,” Glover said, before adding, “Dom, Damson, Chloe. I was really blown away at how hard they worked on the tone, ’cause it’s a strange one.”
Swarm co-creator Janine Nabers further described the show as feeling like “a sister to Atlanta.” He also says it lives in “the same tonal space.”
Regarding the writers, Barack and Michelle Obama’s daughter, Malia, was on the team. Nabers has nothing but praise after working with the former President’s daughter.
“Dre and Marissa are in their 20s and Malia is in her 20s, so it was really great having someone like her in the room,” Nabers said. “She’s a very professional person. She’s an incredible writer and artist. We really wanted to give her the opportunity to get her feet wet in TV and see if this is something she wants to continue doing.”
Amazon has yet to announce a release date for the series. Until then, check out a first look at Donald Glover’s new series, Swarm, below.