Moving to an unfamiliar neighborhood is already terrifying but THEM takes things a step further. Set in the 1950s, during a period called The Great Migration, the anthology series from Lena Waithe and Little Marvin follows a Black family named the Emorys as they move from North Carolina to an all-white neighborhood in Los Angeles. From the looks of the teaser, and the sinister smiles on their neighbors’ faces, THEM feels like the spiritual sequel to Jordan Peele’s Us. The imagery of creepy children, contorted women, scissors, and the color red seems far too purposeful to be a coincidence.
Yet the scariest thing of all in the teaser isn’t the neighbors camped outside of the Emorys’ house, nor is it the little girl being pulled into her closet — it’s the clown seen at the end. Reminiscent of the makeup and clothing seen in racist minstrel shows, the clown’s presence leads us to believe that THEM might be more akin to Lovecraft Country when it comes to the Black trauma seen on screen. Are we ready to be scared sh*tless when the show premieres on April 9 on Amazon Prime Video? No, but we are ready to see where the story of THEM takes us.
