Critic Reviews

Each woman has her own story, motivations and particular strengths, and paired with their corresponding actors, each character quickly becomes distinct. ... In telling stories about relationship dynamics and women staring down their thirties with a thrill of apprehension and determination, “Run the World” is telling timeless stories with its own vibrant spin.

With its compelling cast, homage to Harlem in both the present and the past, and a stronger back end of the season, Run The World offers a lovely window into the lives of four Black women. It’s honest, witty, and at times heartbreaking.

Run the World marries aspirational gloss with emotional groundedness to familiar but appealing effect.

Beyond the witty dialogue and fashionable outfits, they’ve grounded this appealing series in the specifics of identity and place.

Run The World proves that a TV formula can be repeated if the characters and actors are appealing and the writing starts to create worlds around them that are start to stand out on their own. After the first episode, the show is on its way to doing just that.

The episodes move briskly, though Run the World suffers a bit from the protagonist problem, where Ella’s stories tend to be less compelling than what her friends are dealing with. But even that’s not a huge issue, since Davenport largely treats it as an ensemble, with Ella simply our initial way into the story rather than our guide throughout.