We are officially in a polar vortex ladies and gentleman. Do you know what that means? It's perfectly okay for you to cancel your plans and curl up on the couch for an hour or five, because… It's cold damn it.
If you're caught up on all your faves and now you're looking for some new titles to add to your watch list, look no further. xoNecole has you covered. Here's everything that's new and black on Netflix this March:
The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind - March 1
If you're getting ready to watch The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind make sure you have a box of tissues handy because this one is sure to be a tear-jerker. Following other great Netflix originals based in the Diaspora that have released this year like Lion Heart and Black Earth Rising, the film reflects the true story of how one young boy saved his entire village from famine.
Juanita - March 8
Alfre Woodard is giving us the How Stella Got Her Groove Back reboot we didn't know we needed. Juanita is a mother and grandmother who wants more out of her life and goes on a cross-country road trip to find it. On her journey she finds love, passion, and ultimately, herself. This comedy featuring Alfre in a steamy scene with Blair Underwood seems like the perfect way to end the week, and luckily, it drops this Friday.
Shadow - March 8
I had to watch the trailer a few times to truly understand the storyline, but that's probably just because the lead character is fine AF and I kept getting distracted by his muscles. After an ex-cop from Johannesburg suffers a loss, he discovers he can no longer feel pain and seeks justice and revenge. I'm normally not into action series, but I might peep this one because a man with an accent really gets me going. And his muscles.
Turn Up Charlie - March 15
Speaking of men with accents, Idris Elba's new Netflix comedy series featuring him as a DJ (and part-time nanny) might just be your new favorite TV show. As a now seemingly washed up entertainment professional, Charlie thinks he has one last shot at success when he gets a call from his famous best friend about a potential job offer. Unfortunately, it wasn't for his dope DJ skills, but to be the manny of his 11-year-old problem child. *Cue drama*
How To Get Away With Murder (Season 5) - March 30
Where is Laurel's Mom? Who's going to die next? Who is it that snatches Viola Davis' lacefront and how can I book an appointment?! Damn it Shonda! You never cease to keep us on the edge of our seats, and this season of HTGAWM is no exception! Over the years, we've fallen in love with the characters, and you can binge watch the next chapter of their mystery at the end of this month!
The Burial Of Kojo - March 31
The Burial of Kojo was acquired by Ava DuVernay's independent film studio ARRAY following the film's award-winning premiere at the Urban World Film Festival. When a Ghanaian man's brother traps him in a mine shaft and leaves him for dead, it's up to his little girl to save her father. Directed by Ghana-born, Brooklyn-based filmmaker, Samuel "Blitz" Bazawule, The Burial of Kojo tells a story of life, death, and brotherhood through the eyes of a gifted little girl.
Queer Eye (Season 3) - March 15
The Fab Five is BACK and even more fabulous than before (as if that were even possible). By the looks of the trailer, this season will be filled with a whole lot of tears and even more smiles. The eight-episode season will give us an in-depth look at the transformation of individuals from the inside-out on their road to overcoming negative body image and being comfortable in their own skin.
On My Block (Season 2) - Coming Soon
Netflix
Your favorite coming of age Netflix series is getting a season 2 sooner than you think! After its release, On My Block instantly became a smash hit and was renewed for a second season only a month after its premiere. The gag is, you don't even have to wait for its return, the squad is already two steps ahead of you. The show's official Instagram page has been dropping hints that the new episodes will drop before the end of March. If you haven't had an opportunity to watch, now is definitely the time to binge and catch up before our friends from Freeridge come back to play.
Featured image by Getty Images.
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RELATED
While speaking to xoNecole, Eva shares that she’s a lot like the beloved 1994 character in many ways. “Lyric is so me. She's the odd flower. A flower nonetheless, but definitely not a peony,” she tells us.
“She's not the average flower you see presented, and so she reminds me of myself. I'm a sunflower, beautiful, but different. And what I loved about her character then, and even more so now, is that she was very sure of herself.
"Sure of what she wanted in life and okay to sacrifice her moments right now, to get what she knew she deserved later. And that is me. I'm not an instant gratification kind of a person. I am a long game. I'm not a sprinter, I'm a marathon.
America first fell in love with Eva when she graced our screens on cycle 3 of America’s Next Top Model in 2004, which she emerged as the winner. Since then, she's ventured into different avenues, from acting on various TV series like House of Payne to starring on Real Housewives of Atlanta.
Je-Caryous Johnson Entertainment
Eva praises her castmates and the play’s producer, Je’Caryous for her positive experience. “You know what? Je’Caryous fuels my audacity car daily, ‘cause I consider myself an extremely audacious woman, and I believe in what I know, even if no one else knows it, because God gave it to me. So I know what I know. That is who Je’Caryous is.”
But the mom of three isn’t the only one in the family who enjoys acting. Eva reveals her daughter Marley has also caught the acting bug.
“It is the most adorable thing you can ever see. She’s got a part in her school play. She's in her chorus, and she loves it,” she says. “I don't know if she loves it, because it's like, mommy does it, so maybe I should do it, but there is something about her.”
Overall, Eva hopes that her contribution to the role and the play as a whole serves as motivation for others to reach for the stars.
“I want them to walk out with hope. I want them to re-vision their dreams. Whatever they were. Whatever they are. To re-see them and then have that thing inside of them say, ‘You know what? I'm going to do that. Whatever dream you put on the back burner, go pick it up.
"Whatever dream you've accomplished, make a new dream, but continue to reach for the stars. Continue to reach for what is beyond what people say we can do, especially as [a] Black collective but especially as Black women. When it comes to us and who we are and what we accept and what we're worth, it's not about having seen it before. It's about knowing that I deserve it.”
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
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Feature image by Leon Bennett/WireImage
Fortunately, five simple words have simplified my dating process and ushered in clarity faster: “Would my husband do this?”
A couple of years ago, I met an entertainment lawyer who was tonguing down a twenty-something-year-old woman for breakfast while I slurped my green smoothie and chomped on a flatbread sandwich. Okay, Black love, I grinned and thought as I sauntered out of the Joe & The Juice. As soon as I stepped down from the front door, a torrential downpour of Miami summer rain cascaded and throttled me back inside to wait out the storm.
I grabbed a hot green tea and vacillated between peering out the wet door and anxiously checking my watch. My lengthy agenda started with attending the Tabitha Brown and Chance Brown’s “Black Love” panel, and I was already late. That’s when the lawyer introduced himself to me, after he made a joke about neither one of us wanting to get soaked by the rain. His female companion had braved the storm, leaving us to find our commonalities.
We both lived in L.A. and had traveled to the American Black Film Festival to expand our network. He represented various artists, including entertainment writers, while I was working as a writer/creative producer in Hollywood.
While there is no shortage of internet advice on how to strategically meet a prominent man at conferences, if I spend my hard-earned funds on career growth, I have tunnel vision, and that doesn’t include finding Mr. Right. So, I stowed his contact details away as strictly professional.
Keep It Cute Love And Hip Hop GIFGiphyAs the humidity and mosquitoes were rising around L.A., two months later, another suitor-turned-terrible match cooled off after three unimpressive dates and a bevy of red flags. I posted what some of my friends called a thirst trap, but it was really me wearing a black freakum jumpsuit with a plunging neckline to my friend’s 35th birthday soiree despite feeling oh, so unsexy and bloated on my cycle.
I’d been waiting to post a sassy caption and finally had the perfect picture to match: “You not asking for too much, you just asking the wrong MF.”
That’s when the entertainment lawyer swooped into my DMs and asked me to dinner. I was quite confused. Is he asking me on a date? Or is this professional? Common sense would’ve picked the former. Once it clicked that this would in fact be a date, I told my mentor, who’s been happily married for over twenty years and has often been a guiding light and has steered me away from the wrong men.
Upon telling him about how we met, he emphatically stated, “He ain’t it.” He followed up with a simple question, "You have to ask yourself: Would my husband do this? Would you tell others that you met your husband, tonguing down another woman, and later married him?"
Aint It No Way GIF by UFCGiphyOuch. The thought-provoking question cleared any haze. Prior to going out with the lawyer, the first thing I inquired about was the woman.
“You saw that?” He said, taken aback that I’d witnessed his steamy PDA. Surely, anyone with two open eyes peeped him caressing her backside as he kissed her in the middle of the coffee shop.
He brushed her off as a casual someone he’d gone on a couple of dates with but had since stopped talking to. He said he hadn’t been in a serious relationship in over three years. Though I was still doubtful, dating in L.A. is treacherous and ephemeral. Making it past three months is considered a rarity.
With my antennae alert, I dined with him at a cozy beachside steakhouse restaurant where we were serenaded by a live jazz band. I’d emphasized forming a platonic friendship first.
Break Up Friendship GIF by TLCGiphy“I’ll come to you,” he obliged. I liked that he had made me a priority by driving over 50 miles to see me. I also liked the effort he made to check in with me daily. But I still couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that he initiated on a professional pretense and then alley hooped through the back door on a romantic venture, which bombarded me with confusion.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my dating life, God is not the author of confusion; any man who brings confusion, rather than clarity, is simply not The One. It doesn’t matter how many boxes he checks–eventually, that confusion will manifest itself into bigger problems, in time.
After diving into deeper conversations on the phone, post our first dinner date, I quickly realized this man was indeed not The One for me. But I’m grateful for the valuable lesson I learned.
I don’t expect some unattainable fairytale of a husband; we all have our own flaws and conflict is inevitable, but after dating for two decades, through failure and success, I’ve realized that the person I ultimately marry must mirror the values I exert into the world. He must reciprocate kindness, patience, and respect. He must be quick to listen and slow to respond. He needs to be forgiving and trustworthy, practice healthy communication, and be a man of his word at the bare minimum.
If I’d had “Would my husband do this?” in my toolbox when I was dating and floundering in stagnant relationships, in my twenties, it would’ve saved me a lot of precious time. But now that I’m equipped with the reminder, it’s allowed me to ground myself in my non-negotiables and set/maintain the standard for the special person, I’ll one day say, “I do,” to.
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