Stories about fans being overly devoted towards a particular group or person and taking things too far have existed in popular culture for years. At their best, these tales provide an interesting look to how warped fan culture has become over the decades. And even when they don’t really work or come across as overly mean spirited, you can see the moments where it could’ve worked more effectively if everything were in a better order.
Prime Video’s looking to step into that narrative territory with its upcoming series, Swarm. Created by Unreal’s Janine Nabers and Atlanta’s Donald Glover, the show stars Dominique Fishback as Dre, a devoted fan (or stan, if you will) of a fictional pop star. This pop star calls their fans a “swarm,” and Dre’s standom is so powerful that she appears to have killed them (and if not them, then certainly someone). The teaser is quite short, but it’s clear that the unnamed artist has quite the hold on Dre, to the point that she’s banging on the roof of a moving car and is on the verge of tears upon seeing the object of her affection on TV. While you could say that about fans of any musician these days, it’s fairly clear that the show has looked at the fandom for Beyonce in particular for influence.
Swarm looks very good, and if it reminds you of Glover’s recently ended Atlanta, that’s intentional. When speaking to Vanity Fair in January, Nabers and Glover said Swarm would be in the “same tonal space” as Atlanta, and would even feel like a sister series. With how odd Glover’s previous show could get sometimes during its four-season run, it’ll be interesting to see how this new show comes into its own identity. “It’s a strange one,” said Glover to Vanity Fair. “We just thought it’d be fun to make a post-truth Piano Teacher mixed with The King of Comedy.”
Also starring Damson Idris and Chloe Bailey, Swarm will premiere on March 17 during South by Southwest in Austin, TX.