This New ‘Dear White People’ Promo Will Make You Cringe-Laugh

By Sameer Rao Feb 09, 2017

Black college students send their White, Blackface-donning classmates a stern message in the new teaser for Netflix‘s "Dear White People" series adaptation. 

Netflix released the 34-second promo on YouTube yesterday (February 8). The clip also announces the show’s April 28 premiere date.

It features actress Logan Browning ("Hit the Floor") as Samantha White, a student who delivers a radio address over shots of preppy White students smiling at the camera. "Dear White people, here’s a list of acceptable Halloween costumes: pirate, slutty nurse, any of our first 43 presidents," she says. "Top of the list of unacceptable costumes: me." 

The promo then shows photos of White partygoers in Blackface, fake Afros and other appropriative and racist attire. A group of Black students then crashes the party, snatching fake dreadlocks and knocking over speakers.

The new comedy is based on Justin Simien‘s debut 2014 feature film of the same name, which depicts an eclectic group of Black students dealing with their elite university’s frequent racist transgressions. Netflix said that Simien would write the series’ 10 half-hour episodes when it announced the show last year. The show’s IMDb page lists Simien alongside Barry Jenkins ("Moonlight"), Tina Mabry ("Queen Sugar") and Charlie McDowell ("The One I Love") as episode directors.

The 10-episode series includes a largely new cast portraying characters introduced in the movie; Marque Richardson ("All the Way) and Brandon P. Bell ("Insecure"), who respectively play students Reggie Green and Troy Fairbanks, are the only actors to reprise their film roles. Browning replaces the film’s Tessa Thompson ("Creed") as White, and she stars with Richardson, Bell, Antoinette Robertson ("Atlanta") and Ashley Blaine Featherson ("Paint It Black").

Simien told The Huffington Post yesterday that his new show isn’t about shaming White people, but "[allowing] people of color to see themselves and see their humanity." Despite his assurance (or maybe because of it), Gizmodo reports that the new teaser prompted a number of White people to cancel their Netflix subscriptions.