On Wednesday of last week, Hoorae Media, Issa Rae’s media company, began uploading mini episodes of a new show onto their official TikTok account. Screen Time is a series that was uploaded in episodes between 1 to 2 minutes in length. The micro drama was uploaded over the course of about a day and people spent no time flying through the 27 episodes. Although, some have uploaded a version of shows onto TikTok before, this is my first time seeing a media company create a series catering to the short attention spans of social media users. Once again, Issa Rae is at the forefront of innovating program to meet the moment.
The first web series that I ever watched a got into was the Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl. In 2011 many people had not yet gotten into web series viewership as cable TV was still very much a thing. However, after seeing Issa write, produce, and star in the series, it became a first favorite for many. The web series would eventually be turned into Insecure, but many of us fondly remember logging onto the Youtube in order to enjoy the series. From the beginning of her career, Issa has found ways to utilize the internet and evolve with it. Screen Time is a really good show that some how manages to develop the characters and storylines within a minute or so. I started with the first episode and binged all the way through to the 27th, only to be disappointed by the announcement that new episodes would not be out until May 22nd. The very first episode has over 17 million views and many people are excited to move forward.
There are those who do not want to get on TikTok, but as of now there is no word on whether the series will be uploaded on any other platforms. I do not want to give the plot away at all, but it is about 2 couples who end up being caught up in a game that they do not want to play. Screen Time addresses this current period where we are surrounded not only by screens, but more importantly cameras. I cannot wait for the mini episodes to pick up again. It feels like we are on the ground floor of a new era in programming and as long as it’s quality, I think it will be amazing. Shout out to Issa Rae for once again being ahead of the curve.
To watch the series, you can go to @hooraemedia on TikTok. For those who never experienced the ground-breaking beginning of The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl, check out the first episode below:
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