Itâs been a two-year wait for Harlem Season 3, and now that the charming comedy from Tracy Oliver (First Wives Club, The Blackening) has finally returned, itâs with news that this six-episode third season will be its last. Damn! You mean we wonât be able to hang out with Camille (Meagan Good), Quinn (Grace Byers), Tye (Jerrie Johnson), and Angie (Shoniqua Shandai) anymore, as they navigate their lives and loves in their beloved New York City neighborhood? Well, all the more reason to watch this close-knit crew figure out whatâs next for their own damn selves. Because while the laughs remain, there are also big changes afoot. Joining the cast for Harlem Season 3 are Kofi Siriboe, Robin Givens, Gail Bean, and Logan Browning.
HARLEM – SEASON 3: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?
Opening Shot: âIn many cultures, there are rituals for the sole purpose of providing closure,â Camille Parks (Good) tells us in the anthropologistâs usual series voiceover. Closure can offer a clean break, or present new opportunities.
The Gist: OK, but a clean break can also be super elusive. Season 3 of Harlem begins with Camille and Ian (Tyler Lepley) no longer an item, but still eagerly staying physical. Cue the âex sexâ montage! Which is great, right? No strings? Wellâ¦cut to two months later, and Ian has mostly ghosted her. He even leaves Camilleâs naughty sext on read. She agreed to their split. But now she canât stop thinking about two things: either their next hookup, or who else heâs seeing.
While Camille keeps her drama with Ian alive, she also meets with department chair Dr. Elise Pruitt (Whoopi Goldberg) to announce her plan to leave the faculty of Columbia University. (Camille sees this decision as another clean break.) And speaking of clean breaks, Quinn Joseph (Byers) is happily single, focused on her fashion boutique, and doing work on herself. That is until she meets Seth (Siriboe) at one of her clientâs exclusive parties for select thirtysomething singles. Seth plays professional baseball, and regularly puts up big numbers. No wonder: the smooth moves he puts on Quinn are definitely major league.
Wow, Angie (Shandai) and Mike (Luke Forbes), who she first met in Harlem season 2, are now engaged! Angieâs ring is enormous, her appetite for sex remains even more enormous, and the couple seem happy, though she wonât commit to any kind of venue for their nuptials. The girls give her some shit for not being around as much, too, though Angie does attend the âleftovers partyâ with Quinn. And meanwhile, Tye (Johnson) is generating a ton of interest in her P dating app. âWe need to support tech by more people of color,â says Eva Lewis (Bean). The angel investor thinks Tye is brilliant, and wants to financially back her project. But that might not be all Eva would like to do with Tye.
As the ladies gather at the club for their weekly girlsâ night, itâs with a few notes of celebration for how theyâre continuing to operate and explore their lives. But the evening goes a little sideways when there is a venue change to the emergency room. For Camille, closure remains elusive.
What Shows Will It Remind You Of? With Gail Bean joining the cast of Harlem Season 3, it feels like a prompt to ask: When is season 3 of P-Valley, in which she co-stars, going to hit? (Donât worry, itâs on its way.) The post-Sex and the City series â¦And Just Like That is also slated to return, and with Harlem closing out its run, maybe itâs time for a look back at Girlfriends? All eight seasons of the memorable Tracee Ellis Ross-led sitcom stream on Netflix.
Our Take: In the fine tradition of so many ensemble comedies, itâs the winning banter between the core group of Harlem, friends since college, that has always made this show sing. Whether as a group or in various configurations as pairs, Meagan Good, Grace Byers, Shoniqua Shandai, and Jerrie Johnson handle the fast-paced and funny writing of Harlem with a stylistic flair and boldness to match their consistently incredible outfits. Weâre with them at a happening loft-style bar in Harlem, on the edge of our bench as they drop loving but snarky advice on each other. (When a hysterical Camilleâs phone auto-corrects âex sexâ to âEx-Lax,â itâs reason for Tye and Quinn to take it away.) Weâre seeing them from across the room at a party for elite singles, laughing at Angieâs philosophies about how to âsize upâ a potential suitor with the eye test alone. And weâre feeling the frustration Tye has with her own love life, but also chuckling when she refers to herself as a red flag, like a walking episode of Maury. Harlem has developed this appealing and witty rapport over three seasons of highs and lows; it will be a shame to see such a reliable, smartly-written and acted series conclude.
Sex and Skin: Nothing too crazy â a little bit of dude butt, a little bit of lingerie.
Parting Shot: Camille, Quinn, and Tye are flying high when Angie and Mike join them at the club. But just like a shot of tequila, that feeling doesnât last.
Sleeper Star: Well, Meagan Good is the topline star in Harlem, not the sleeper. But Goodâs relatability and realness as Camille Parks deserves all of the mention here. That said, Kofi Siriboe as Seth, a new addition to the series, is one to watch for the sleeper star category in Season 3. Â
Our Call: Stream It! Harlem is hilarious, stylish, and smoothly contemporary in its take on living and loving â and just trying to goddamn be â in our modern age. While weâre sad season 3 will be its last, weâre already planning a full rewatch.
Johnny Loftus (@glennganges) is an independent writer and editor living at large in Chicagoland. His work has appeared in The Village Voice, All Music Guide, Pitchfork Media, and Nicki Swift.
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