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donald glover swarm

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Donald Glover is bringing a new series to our screens inspired by Beyoncé’s mega fame and the dark side of fandom that comes with it. Titled Swarm, the television project pulls from the intense culture of Beyoncé’s BeyHive, arguably the biggest celebrity fan group on the globe.

Following the recent end of Atlanta’s four-season run, show writer Janine Nabers tells Vanity Fair that Swarm is “a sister” to the popular FX series that lives in “the same tonal space.”

Glover’s latest project follows the life of Dre (Dominique Fishback), a young, Black, 20-something whose stan-like obsession with a pop star “takes her to weird and dark places.” Singer Chlöe Bailey, a signee on Beyoncé’s Parkwood Entertainment label, will star as Dre’s sister Marissa. Swarm will also include Damson Idris as Marrisa’s charismatic love interest.

The fictional pop star at the center of Dre’s life has an aesthetic “very similar to Beyoncé’s,” according to Vanity Fair

Glover and Nabers explained that memorable TV antiheroes like Donald Draper from Mad Men and Tony Soprano from The Sopranos inspire Dre’s character complexities.

 

Swarm showrunner and executive producer, Nabers, said she and Glover were “really interested in creating an antihero story,” but “through the lens of a Black, modern-day woman.”

Glover and Nabers added to Dre’s development by utilizing the help and insight of former First Daughter Malia Obama in the writers’ room.

“Dre and Marissa are in their 20s and Malia is in her 20s, so it was really great having someone like her in the room,” Nabers praised. “She’s a very professional person. She’s an incredible writer and artist. We really wanted to give her the opportunity to get her feet wet in TV and see if this is something she wants to continue doing.”

Updates about Glover’s latest project come as the internet is frenzied over getting tickets for Beyoncé’s Renaissance World Tour. The singer’s website revealed the North American and European tour dates Feb. 1. 

Seven new tour dates were recently announced in the following cities:

Toronto – July 9

Chicago, IL – July 23

East Rutherford, NJ – July 30

Washington, DC – August 6

Atlanta, GA – August 12

Los Angeles, CA – September 3

Houston, TX – September 24

 

RELATED CONTENT: “This Is Not A Drill — Beyoncé’s ‘Renaissance World Tour’ Is Coming Our Way”

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