WU-TANG: AN AMERICAN SAGA
(Premiering Wed Sept 4, Hulu)
Wu-Tang: An American Saga—which includes Method Man and RZA on its list of executive producers—tells the momentous story of a group of young Black men grappling with their decisions to either pursue an unlikely music career or continue their lucrative-albeit-dangerous adventures in crime. Set in Staten Island at the height of the crack epidemic, the series emphasizes that, despite millennials’ obsessive, nostalgic pining for the music and aesthetics of the ’90s (guilty!), this was a rough time to be a young adult, especially if you happened to be Black or living in an underserved community. Don’t expect any cool graphics to pop up and introduce each character, as was done in Straight Outta Compton—in Wu-Tang, you’re largely left on your own to figure all that out. But in 10 episodes, even a casual viewer can come away with a greater understanding of the intense familial, social, and drug-dealing dynamics that were at play right before Wu-Tang became one of the most influential hip-hop acts of all time. JENNI MOORE