Web Series Wednesday – The Retreat

By: Spring Marie Cullen

WHAT? The Retreat

BY: Nuanse Entertainment

WHY SHOULD I WATCH?

The Retreat is a brand-new web series chronicling the strange happenings after a secret is revealed at an artist’s retreat. Black Women of Kindred Energy: BWOKE seems perfect at first, a true utopia. It’s touted as an inspirational retreat where you can surround yourselves with artists from all walks of life and everyone is focused on honing their craft sounds like a dream come true. But is it?

First things first, one of the most exciting things about the series is the fact that it’s fueled by an all-black female team. Both on screen and behind the scenes, The Retreat comes from a group of sadly misrepresented voices. Oftentimes we’re lucky to get the impact of one black woman and this web series boasts an entire creative team of young energetic black women ready to put themselves out there. I’m always interested in supporting fellow black creators, especially women who wouldn’t otherwise get the chance to be in the spotlight. The Retreat and Nuanse Entertainment, in general, check all the boxes for me and never seem like they’re adding diverse elements to their shows solely to call themselves diverse.

I’m going to keep my review vague because the pilot alone ends with an intriguing cliffhanger that I don’t want to give away and the second episode is just as thought-provoking. Without spoiling anything, I can praise the cast who gets to shine right from the jump. Andrea Edgerson, who plays the series’ resident celebrity in crisis Cynthia Chadwick, makes you feel for her almost immediately. Ivana Noble’s ability to elicit tension simply as she listens to Pamela Hairston’s (Donna R. Walton) radio interview is something special. Then, there’s Walton who reveals a different side of Pamela effortlessly in the second episode and already had me questioning her motives. I can’t wait to see more of BWOKE, which admittedly was already giving me some low-key cult like vibes.

Currently, there are two episodes available with new ones coming out weekly on Fridays. If you’re a fan of suspenseful dramas, beautifully shot and performed shows or you just want to support a kick-butt team of black women artists and entertainers, I definitely recommend checking out The Retreat. It’s Black Girl Magic come to life!

WHERE CAN I WATCH? Episodes are available on YouTube.

Follow on Social Media:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/NuanseEnt

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/retreat_webseries/

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Website: http://www.nuanseentertainment.com/