Meet MENACE, your newest Instagram obsession that asks if the future is still female
Confession: Despite having written about web series in the past, I don’t really watch them. Like I’m pretty sure I’m the only awkward Black girl who’s never actually seen an entire episode of Awkward Black Girl. I know, I know. Sorry, Issa! In my defense, I read the book and I quite enjoyed it. But I digress…
Between my day job and my side-hustle as a blogger and freelance writer, I’m constantly glued to my computer. So when it comes to TV shows, I prefer to check them out the traditional way…on a TV.
But something about MENACE, “an Instagram microseries” based in Chicago, caught my attention and I just had to learn more.
“We just know that attention spans are tiny now and we wanted to build something the busiest person couldn’t deny watching,” Sarah Alò — one of the producers, writers, and editors for the series — told HelloGiggles. “Plus, it was a challenge. We discussed 1-minute episodes and I was really nervous about pulling it off.”
The show, which was shot in an apartment in Chicago’s Wicker Park neighborhood, is about three single women — Anna, Daisy, and Jane — who are forced together because of the “complete chaos” going on in the world.
“It’s set in the near future. So you see the trajectory of where the nation is now, and this takes place in the future where women’s rights are even further restricted,” explained Sarah. “There are men’s rights groups committing mass femicide, which forces these women who would not have been friends otherwise to live together in this tiny apartment.”
Also on camera with Alò are Chicago actresses, Flavia Borges (who serves as executive director, writer, and editor), as well as Devon Carson (who’s also a writer and editor for the dark comedy). The cast and crew are mostly women. Talk about girl power.
“It’s not that we’re anti-male, we were just sick of seeing so many things centered around men, so we decided to create something distinctly female,” said Sarah. “For us, MENACE is more than a series, it’s a mission. We really want to unite and empower other women. We need each other now more than ever before.”
Catch the official series trailer premiere on July 20th at @menaceseries.
