Spoiler Alert: This summary and review contains spoilers.
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Watching Jacqueline and Jilly is like checking out a soap opera that is past its prime and on its last season.
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| Network | ||
| UMC | ||
| Creator | Victoria Rowell | |
| Director(s) | Victoria Rowell | |
| Writer(s) | Victoria Rowell, Patricia Cuffie-Jones, Joyful Drake | |
| Air Date | 12/6/2018 | |
| Genre(s) | Drama | |
| Good If You Like | Black High Society Drama
Rebellious Daughter Just A Whole Bunch of Messy People |
|
| This Isn’t For You If | You Like Subtlety
Don’t Like Hearing People Brag Constantly Aren’t Into Soap Operas |
|
| Introduced This Episode | ||
| Jacqueline | Victoria Rowell | |
| Magnus | Richard Brooks | |
| Jilly | Nikko Austen Smith | |
| Ruth | Christen Roberts | |
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The Introduction
The Mitchell family are very much well to do. Jacqueline comes from money made up in the New England area and Magnus, a Hampton graduate, is a well to do businessman. Together they have a daughter, Jilly, someone who is currently going to Hampton with a focus on photography. On paper, they may seem perfect, but the family is a hot mess.
For one, Magnus is cheating on Jacqueline, and it is at a point he doesn’t even hide it anymore. His assistant Ruth knows about it, also she is someone he propositions, and Jacqueline is well aware of his affairs. As for Jilly? After a riding accident, it seems she got hooked on opioids — something which, by the end of episode one, may have led to her having a car accident.
On The Fence
Bougie Black Folk
On the one hand, I enjoy seeing these wealthy Black individuals from a historically Black college. Even with them name dropping artists left and right. However, one of the biggest issues with this show is while the background of the characters are interesting, in terms of most, besides Magnus, growing up wealthy, their personalities and possible storylines draw little interest.
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Take Magnus being a womanizer. Nothing about the way he is written makes you want to watch this man hook up with some young thing, cheat on his wife, and berate his daughter for not meeting his standards. Then with Jacqueline, taking note of Rowell’s work on The Young and the Restless
Which negates a lot of the things which could honestly be of interest on this show. The big thing being Jilly. Now, let me state my bias: The only reason I decided to watch this, never mind get a UMC free trial on prime, was Nikko Austen Smith. After her role in Queen Sugar, I wanted to see what was next. Now, even with being a fan, let me say she is a bit rough like the rest of them. Not so bad you can’t see her becoming the silver lining, but for one scene, when she is going off on her parents, Rowell should have pulled the reigns a little bit.
But with Rowell’s career primarily being in soap opera, to not expect her to bring that experience to a production she wrote, directed, performs in, and is the creator of? That would be plain ole ignorant. Yet, I’d argue that same experience is probably what makes Jilly’s character, one dealing with addiction, parental pressure, and more, not living up to its full potential.
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First Impression: Negative (Niche Show)
I wanted to like Jacqueline and Jilly
Hence the negative label. While I could make it to the end of the episode, I really can’t bring myself to watch any more of this. Between the writing which meanders around the point to performances that could use a different hand in reigning them in, this show is a low-key mess. The kind which I could not imagine being greenlit anywhere but on a network like UMC which is trying to develop content with fairly recognizable faces and names.
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