She's Gotta Have It (2017)

The Netflix series is stunning in its visuals, performances, soundtrack, and voice. ... The show is unlike anything previously seen on the platform, and it feels like a high-water mark that may define an age of prestige Netflix television.

She's Gotta Have It is a sumptuous character portrait, a deep and rewarding study of a black woman in our current era, this time portrayed by the dazzling DeWanda Wise. ... It manages, most importantly, not to feel dated. Its examination of topics including street harassment and gentrification feels vital.

As the show explores Nola's life and choices at its own pace, there’s a sustainable, lingering quality, even when certain subplots drag, or the filmmaking pushes the idea of “raw” right next to the idea of plain clumsy.

Yes, there are times when excess gets the better of this series. Pace occasionally becomes a problem, as we move from episode to episode that could be more tightly edited. Yet the sheer vitality of the performances keep us fully engaged.

Some of it is well-meaning but didactic and sledgehammer-y, with the episode about words that kids should stop saying feeling at times like the actors stepping out of character to recite position papers. Some of it is so jarring--like the end result of Nola’s friend Shemekka (Chyna Layne) exploring bootleg cosmetic surgery option to further her dancing career--it’s a wonder nobody talked Lee out of it. And a lot of it is utterly stunning in how it combines words and music and pictures to create what feels like a new audiovisual language.

The main reason to watch is Wise, who captures Nola in all her complexity -- defiant, sexy, resistant to labels and vulnerable. The notion of a woman approaching sex so freely is less "freak"-ish than it was in the mid-'80s, but there's still a thrill in seeing a star in the making.

Nola’s stance as an artist isn’t that interesting, and making it the focus of the entire season makes for uninteresting TV. ... Overall, it’s hard to say why any of it is happening or if we really needed this extension of She’s Gotta Have It to happen.