If nothing good comes from this First Kill debacle, at least the cast and crew know their fans love them so much and made so much noise Blockbuster shaded Netflix and Forbes wrote an article which could be boiled down to "???whythefuck???"
What a wonderful and affirming 2 hours. It was great to listen to showrunner, Felicia D. Henderson, and The Burns Family cast.
Some great bts about intentionality, production, and just the importance of these characters and how they are presented. Even had me in my feels thinking about Queer representation and how the family (both families) embraced their kids.
Thinking about how Felicia D. Henderson took the job as showrunner for First Kill to create representation for her goddaughter, she really cared about her job and crew and I hope netflix will soon realise the mistake they made by cancelling a show with a crew that actually CARES about the art they're making
She also talked about one of the factors that was mentioned in the media about Netflix’s reason for offing First Kill–something called a “completion rate,” which is how Netflix’s algorithm factors in binging hours. In Henderson’s words, Netflix measures to see how quickly a show is binged to completion in its first 30 days. What Henderson said she heard from fans was that they were, indeed, watching the series; they just weren’t binging it because they wanted to savor it. That means the algorithm doesn’t factor in all the different ways fans enjoy content, making its metrics about a show’s success skewed.
i’ll say it for the millionth time: binge culture sucks, algorithms need to go, and netflix is evil.
Felicia talking about Imani having Sarah Catherine's back by deliberately not giving exactly what the director wanted during a scene because Sarah Catherine wasn't 100% comfortable and she wanted Sarah Catherine to be heard
I’ve just listened to the entire Win With Black Women Twitter Spaces podcast with executive producer and lead writer Felicia D. Henderson and the cast of the entire Burns family of ‘First Kill’. And I just gotta say that I absolutely love how much thought, feeling and passion the writers and the actors have put into the characters of this show and specifically of this particular family dynamic. These characters… the black and POC characters especially… they’re multidimensional. They’re full of charisma and emotion and intelligence… and everything that matters. They’re whole ass human beings.
As it should be! Black and POC characters should have that dimensionality in art/entertainment, especially of the visual kind, so the audience can see for themselves the amazing range these talented human beings have but never usually have the opportunity to showcase due to discrimination in the work place and in the industry. And listening to the executive producer and the cast talk about all the representation they have in this show… I gotta say, I really trust them. I trust them to deliver us a fantastic Season 2. I trust them to deliver us a happy WLW ending between our main protagonists - our beloved Calliette. I trust them to deliver great representation.
I can hear and feel the authenticity in their voices and words. I can sense their conviction. I. TRUST. THEM.
I’ve got a lot of love and respect for a writers room that has got a lot of love and respect for each other and for the work that they do in bringing forth full authentic representation to marginalised groups of people. That is so fucking rare to get and to have. I’m just floored. I’m very invested in this show now because I’m realizing that it’s not a show with a cast/crew that doesn’t like what they do and only does it for the money. It’s a whole ass family of like-minded people with the same ultimate goal that are very determined on achieving it. And I will happily, without any hesitation or condition, give them every ounce of my love and support to help them achieve all of it.
What particularly really amazes me is the showrunner; Felicia D. Henderson is really listening to the cast’s ideas and views and wishes and choices for their characters. I haven’t seen that level of creative freedom and acceptance from the head of any TV show since ‘Xena: Warrior Princess’. So I know in my gut that this is something very special I’ve discovered and have become a very loyal part of. You guys have to trust me when I say this is worth it. Just listening to this podcast alone will convince you. They come from a very genuine and humble place. I very much doubt they’ll become corrupt or power hungry which happens so often in the art/entertainment industry.
‘First Kill’ will have extremely loyal and intense supporters and I’m proud and honoured to be one. God I am so happy that I took a chance on this show.
Finally, to Netflix,…
if you’re reading.
Don’t let us down. Renew this show for a Season 2. Because I will fucking cry my eyes out if you cancel it and you will not receive my custom ever again!