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Hulu recently dropped a satirical drama, The Other Black Girl, based on Dalila Harris' stirring novel of the same name, on September 13, 2023. The 10-episode-long series narrates the story of Nella Rogers (Sinclair Daniel), a driven young Black woman's survival in the white-dominant and highly competitive New York City press industry.
The show depicts workplace racism, among other issues, and an official synopsis, as per Hulu, states:
"Nella, an editorial assistant, is tired of being the only Black girl at her company, so she's excited when Hazel is hired; but as Hazel's star begins to rise, Nella spirals out and discovers something sinister is going on at the company."
The Other Black Girl concludes with Nella making a shocking discovery about her friend and co-worker Hazel (Ashleigh Murray). Hazel is a lead conditioner of the national sisterhood called OBGs (Other Black Girls) that brainwashes intelligent and gifted Black women into blending into white society using hair grease.
In the concluding scenes of the series, which ends on a cliffhanger, it appears that Nella may have been brainwashed by the sisterhood, until she makes a hopeful call to her friends, leading a resistance movement to the brainwashing.
One major difference between the latest Hulu original series and Harris' book is that the latter ends on a slightly different note with Nella getting brainwashed after she is pressured into using the hair grease. Following this, she turns into the lead conditioner herself.
Nella's conversion possibly failed at the end of Hulu's The Other Black Girl
The Other Black Girl chronicles the professional and personal life of 26-year-old Nella Rogers, who works as an editorial assistant at the fictional Wagner Books. She also happens to be the Manhattan-based publishing company's only Black employee.
The editorial assistant's life, however, soon changes when Hazel, another black woman, starts working alongside her at Wagner. The two women become fast friends, but Hazel's sinister intentions soon begin to surface, and her true identity comes to light.
Nella ultimately discovers that Hazel is involved with a long-running national sisterhood called OBGs (Other Black Girls) that, as previously mentioned, uses hair grease as a form of mind control and brainwashes intelligent and gifted Black women into blending into white society.
According to Bustle, this hair grease formula makes Black people "amendable when it comes to working with white people and removes any guilt." Nella also learns that Hazel is, in fact, the lead conditioner of the sisterhood, which is led by Diana Gordon, an influential Black author, whose first book was published by Wagner.
Eventually, Nella gets cornered by Hazel and Diana, following which, she seems visibly different. She always wore her natural hair in an afro but has now replaced it with a pin-straight weave. This gives away the idea that she may have been brainwashed after all.
However, the concluding scene shows Nella making a hopeful phone call using a burner phone to her best friends, Malaika and Kendra Rae. The latter two are involved in helping lead a resistance movement against the brainwashing.
Yet, the ending not only leaves viewers on a confusing cliffhanger but also relays the message that there is more to Nella's story, leaving scope for the show to be renewed for more seasons.
How does Dalila Harris' The Other Black Girl book end?
At the end of Dalila Harris' book, which inspired the Hulu original series, readers find out that although Nella initally escapes being forced to use the hair grease by Hazel, she is eventually pressured into using it. The conclusion reveals that she herself is a lead conditioner now.
Time reported that the show's creators have made several other notable changes in the series, including Hazel's character, who is given a more detailed and gentler approach in The Other Black Girl. The show even has one separate episode for the character's introduction, that discusses her backstory.
Moreover, in the book, there is an elaborate mention of the resistance movement to the OBGs and their brainwashing sisterhood, while the series only shows Nella meeting two individuals, Shani and Kendra Rae, who have been fleeing after their failed conversions.
The Other Black Girl is now available to stream on Hulu.
