“Woke” Review

During a moment in our history where the U.S. is undergoing discussions about race, a new comedy series premiered on Hulu called “Woke. The series was co-created by Marshall Todd and Keith “Keef” Knight, whose life this show is based on. Keef Knight is a black man suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder after being tackled by a police officer. 

This show could have been a great story on dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder, race relations, showing how black culture is being appropriated, and how police respond to acts of injustice in their police force. Sadly, however, this show didn’t live up to expectations.

The first episode gave me high hopes. It managed to be humorous, but still show a person struggling with trauma after a stressful situation. However, as the season progressed, it lost its direction, and the side stories started overshadowing the central plot.

The writers appeared to have worked hard to keep the audience entertained. All of the characters were fleshed out, dynamic and honestly hilarious at times. T. Murph’s character, Clovis, at the beginning of the show is a promiscuous man, only interacting with women for sex. However as the series progresses, he learns the error of his ways and how to rectify his mistakes.

Not only were the writers great at cracking jokes, they also knew how to explain the systematic gentrification of black culture. It is impressive how the writers are able to act as a comedy while also talking about underlying issues in America. The writers also were great at including people who are part of the LGBTQ community, and included a character who explored their sexuality in general. 

The stories regarding the side characters of the show are great and the onscreen talents of T. Murph, Blake Anderson, and Sasheer Zamata deserved their screen time. With this show being only four hours long, it was upsetting how much of it was scattered dealing with plot points that weren’t advertised. The trailer advertised a show dealing with police brutality and hallucinations after a stressful event, but this show was not that.

This series had some issues, but it is still worth the watch. With all the amazing talents on screen, the amazing soundtrack, camerawork and writing done, I wish the progression of Keef Knight was more focused.