How P-Valley Addressed Reproductive Rights as Roe v. Wade Fell – IndieWire – Armessa Movie News

Ever since premiering in July 2020 — in the heart of a pandemic that shuttered the very strip clubs it depicts — Starz’ “P-Valley” has been one of the most consistently subversive and provocative shows on television. The drama, which Katori Hall adapted from her play “Pussy Valley,” follows an ensemble of adult performers making ends meet at The Pynk strip club in the fictional town of Chucalissa, Mississippi. The series was notable for its three-dimensional portrayal of sex work — which was shaped by its all-female creative team — as well as its charming cast and endlessly fabulous costume design.

By the time Season 2 premiered, the series had built up a passionate fan base that was eager to see what their favorite diverse group of strippers was up to. At IndieWire’s Consider This Event in Los Angeles on Saturday, “P-Valley” stars Nicco Annan (Uncle Clifford), Brandee Evans (Mercedes), and J. Alphonse Nicholson (Lil Murda) joined music supervisor Sarah Bromberg for a wide-ranging panel discussion moderated by IndieWire’s Marcus Jones.

Season 2 also seemed to respond in real time to major current events happening in the U.S. at the time of airing: notably the overturning of Roe v. Wade by the Supreme Court.

“In this season Mercedes’ 14-year-daughter gets pregnant,” Evans said. “As a former dance coach, I once saw a 10-year-old student get pregnant. And to be able to reflect that kind of experience on the show is so meaningful. That episode dropped right around Roe v. Wade being overturned, and the number of DMs I got about what it said moved me.”

Nicholson added, “Katori writes what she hears. She’s August Wilson-esque in that way. I don’t think she planned for that episode to come out right when Roe v. Wade was overturned, but it tapped into currents that ultimately led to that.”

“You may never have been in a strip club before, you may never have been in Mississippi before, and it’s putting a light on stories on a way of life that may be new to you,” Nicholson said. To that end, Bromberg notes that getting the musical authenticity right was essential: “Katori has made it available for artists in the area to submit their music,” Bromberg said, referring to the Memphis-born artist Jucee Froot among others.

This is a fraught time across the South as reproductive rights have never been more restricted, and a wave of anti-LGBTQ legislation has hit hard. Exploring identities that aren’t usually represented — Annan’s Uncle Clifford is non-binary, Nicholson’s LaMarques is a closeted rapper who performs under the name Lil Murda — is something that the entire team wanted to be a part of.

“Playing a closeted rapper has made me understand the LGBTQ community so much more,” Nicholson said. “He has to hide himself because he wants to maintain this masculine façade, or people have impressions of who he was. To identify with his struggle has made me so much better of an ally.”

“I’m not new to this industry, but it does not often come around that you can do things that impassion you,” Annan said. “Things that you really care about. And that you can see changing the culture. I am a Black gay man and I have been a Black gay man since I was a Black gay boy. So to see my generation and generations before me resonate with this — a 90-year-old said to me ‘Don’t he look like Uncle Clifford?’ And was so excited then when I pulled down my mask down and said, ‘Thanks for watching.’ A pastor said to me, ‘I didn’t think this is a show I would like. But I watched and what you’re doing is important and what you’re saying is a message of love that people need to hear.’”