“The Other Black Girl”: The Reel Critic Talks Best-Selling Thriller’s Screen Adaptation

Written by Vocalo Radio on October 27, 2023

On this week’s segment of “The Reel Critic,” Reggie Ponder discusses new series “The Other Black Girl.”

The dramatic thriller series is the adaptation of Zakiya Dalila Harris’ novel, which focuses on the life of Nella Rogers (Sinclair Daniels), the only Black woman working for Wagner Books — until the hiring of Hazel-May McCall (Ashleigh Murray). Rogers often felt undervalued, marginalized and othered as a result of being the only Black woman in the office, but McCall’s arrival changes Roger’s attitude and the two quickly become acquainted. But shortly after, strange occurrences begin, and a rift in their relationship(?) leads Rogers to uncover sinister secrets about the publishing house…

When writing the book, Zakiya Dalila Harris pulled from her own experiences working in publishing as the only Black editorial assistant and the only Black full-time employee on her floor, she told Entertainment Weekly in September. Reggie Ponder feels the show did a great job of highlighting some aspects of being the only BIPOC employee at an organization, but fell short in some others.

“The Other Black Girl” is currently streaming on Hulu. To hear Reggie Ponder’s thoughts on the series in full, check out this week’s segment of “The Reel Critic.”