The Other Black Girl

The horror aspect is also, at times, a bit freewheeling. .... The Other Black Girl’s dive into questions of agency and choice around assimilation is what makes it rich.

Strong performances—notably from Daniel and Murray, who play Nella’s vulnerability against Hazel’s confidence, as well McCormack, who deftly balances charm and smarm—can’t compensate for indifferent direction. .... These are not minor problems. Yet despite the style and pace, the show is hard to dismiss.

Ms. Harris and her screenwriters may have been out to spoof the world of publishing and lampoon its less-diverse corners, but we don't believe the characters because the script abandons basic impulses of human nature—ambition and anger, but also the God-given, self-preservationist instinct to read a room. .... Where the Diana-Nella collaboration will go—and what Richard actually knows—are intriguing questions posed by the plot, and a viewer might want to wade through the illogic to find answers.

What could have been an enthralling story about assimilation to the highest degree ultimately fumbles under the weight of the dozens of films and miniseries that preceded it. Perhaps if the novel came out on the cusp of the release of "Get Out," this adaptation would be more appealing instead being almost offensive in its mediocrity.