While up at 4 am in Ghana during Christmas break, not yet accustomed to the 5 hour time difference and looking for something to watch on Netflix, I stumbled upon a show called “Chewing Gum”. I had heard of the show before on my favorite podcast, The Read, which mentioned once that it was hysterically funny and should be watched by all. Me being me, I put it in the back of my head as something to look for in the near future, little did I know that 4 am in Ghana would to be my opportunity to watch the show.
From the moment I began watching “Chewing Gun” to when I finished the first season later that night (yes I watched the whole thing), I could not believe how funny, pleasantly uncomfortable and relevant the show was. The show is about Tracy, a 20 something year old virgin living with her very religious mother and younger sister in London. Tracy, who now wants to leave her religious life behind and explore the world relies on her best friend, Candice, to help her along with this process.
Chewing Gum is a very refreshing comedy that holds nothing back from the imagination. I also really love the show because it is centered around a black female protagonist (played by Michaela Coel, who is awesome) who isn’t perfect and is trying to discover herself, which is a narrative that we don’t see on television and especially one to this degree. The show even won a British Academy of Film and Television Arts for Best Female Performance in a Comedy Programme. In some ways, Tracy and I are a lot a like which makes me appreciate the show that much more.
My only peeve is because it is a British television show that does not air in the states, I haven’t been able to watch the newest season that premiered on January 12. Hopefully soon enough I’ll find a way around this and get back to enjoying Tracy and her crazy antics.