The Reunion of the Year is Ready to Bring Back the 90s and Shake Up The Hip-Hop World in QUEENS

By BILL HARRIS Special to The Lede Certain decades have been mined often for nostalgic purposes in TV and movies. The 1960s, 70s, and 80s tend to get a lot of attention. But the new CTV series QUEENS – which debuts Tuesday, Oct. 19 at 10 p.m. ET – takes viewers back to the late 1990s, in spirit at least. And yes, the 90s were long enough ago to be considered nostalgia – do the math! QUEENS is set in modern times, but memories of glory in the 90s set up the story. In fact, the first episode is titled “1999.” Four women who were in a famous hip-hop group back then are now in their 40s, mostly estranged from each other, and battling varying levels of unhappiness in their personal lives. When one of the group’s old hit songs, “Nasty Girl,” gets sampled by a current hot young artist, a chance emerges for a reunion at an awards show. But are the former members of the group even interested? If so, can they put aside their differences to make it work? And what could it possibly lead to, if all goes well? Adding a strong dose of authenticity to the nostalgia of QUEENS is the fact that it features two famous and beloved music stars from the 90s: Eve, who plays Brianna (stage name Professor Sex), and Brandy, who plays Naomi (stage name Xplicit Lyrics). Rounding out the group’s lineup are Naturi Naughton – who, although better known as an actress, was part of the R&B group 3LW in the early 2000s – as Jill (stage name Da Thrill), and Nadine Velazquez as Valeria (stage name Butter Pecan). Pepi Sonuga plays Lauren, stage name Lil Muffin, the popular young artist who opened the door for this impromptu reunion. But in some ways maybe she needs the group as much as the group needs her, because her highly successful career is being managed by some bottom-line-focused men who aren’t always looking out for her best interests. In a virtual interview with the cast and creators of QUEENS, executive producer Zahir McGhee, who also wrote the first episode, was asked to compare this show to some of the other music-based shows that have emerged in recent years, such as EMPIRE, STAR, and GIRLS5EVA. “This show is more of a musical and a character drama about these women and their lives, and second chances,” McGhee said. “And I think those other shows were potentially a little more focused on the music business.” Certainly the intrigue in the first episode of QUEENS is of a very personal nature for the characters, because this shaky reunion could go embarrassingly poorly. As Eve’s character Brianna, a.k.a. Professor Sex, sizes up the current state of the rusty crew: “A mom, a church lady, a washed-up musician, and a disgraced daytime TV host are going to be performing at the biggest Black awards show in the world in four days. Tell me how this isn’t going to be a disaster.” On the other hand, the real-life stars of QUEENS had a strong feeling right away that the show was going to work. “When we all first got together, it was an instant click – like, instant,” Eve said. “We’re still learning and gelling, but it has honestly been incredible, really.” Brandy added, “This show is such a blessing, because I get to do everything that I love to do, all in one show, with amazing people. I’m just so excited. I can’t even believe this is happening.” billharristv@gmail.com @billharris_tv