Trigger warning: Mentions of suicide and murder
⅘ stars
Rated R for nudity, violence, substance use, alcohol use, smoking, foul language, and sexual content

Based on a real-life incident involving a superfan of Beyonce, “Swarm” captures and illustrates parasocial relationships in fan culture. Amazon Prime Video’s limited series, directed by Donald Glover, is a psychological thriller accompanied by an amazing storyline. Glover is recognized for his musical stage name as Childish Gambino and stand-up comedy, as well as acting in shows such as “Community” and “Atlanta,” so directing a thriller like “Swarm” was a step outside his comfort zone.
Dre (Dominique Fishback) is the most extreme fan of Ni’Jah (Nirine S. Brown); her infatuation with Ni’jah is so deep she would do anything to protect her favorite singer’s image, including falling into major debt for tickets and even committing murder. Dre is essentially a hardcore fan account that comes to life, and if anyone tries to disrespect Ni’Jah she will kill them.
Dre begins to truly spiral after her best friend Marissa (Chloe Bailey) who shared an interest in the artist, commits suicide. The murders she commits are to protect the only thing she has left of her best friend.
Dominique Fishback (Dre), who is best known for her role as Billie Rowan on “Show Me a Hero,” captured my attention in this show. Her acting is astounding and the way she is able to embody the insanity of the character is spot on. Fishback has such an astonishing ability to take on the persona of someone in distress, she plays it so well it’s as if the role of Dre was made for her.
Although he doesn’t have a lot of experience directing this genre, Glover does not disappoint. The camera work really helps connect the audience with the essence of Dre’s character by conveying how she feels in every scene. It isn’t just the cinematography though, the music has an eerie vibe that really helped keep up the suspense.
I enjoyed this show more than I thought would because it drew me in with curiosity; I loved that they told both sides of the story leading up to Dre’s arrest as she evaded cops for years. The characters are fantastic and the overall quality of the show was incredible. It’s upsetting that there is no possibility for another season as it is a limited series, but it definitely deserves a follow-up season.
The name of the series comes from the analogy of a swarm of bees in which Ni’Jah is the “Queen bee.” And everyone knows that if you mess with the queen you get stung. It is the exact same instance with Beyonce because if u mess with her they will come after you.
This show goes into extreme depth to depict every murder and how Dre spirals as years go by, the result is some very gruesome violence, so if you are sensitive to gore I wouldn’t recommend watching. The way Dre kills for the smallest reasons makes me believe she is seeking the thrill from her first murder, so she continues in search for the thrill as well as maintaining her idol’s image.
I definitely recommend this show to any true crime lovers or anyone who enjoys psychological thrillers.