Prime Video’s thriller series “Swarm,” starring Dominique Fishback, gives stan culture a whole new (deadly) meaning, and it chooses an enchanting Beyoncé-like icon as its main subject. The show, which premiered on March 17, is cocreated and executive produced by multihyphenate Donald Glover and “Atlanta” and “Watchmen” alum Janine Nabers. It also stars Fishback alongside notable names like Chloe Bailey and Damson Idris in the drama that follows an “obsessed fan of the world’s biggest pop star who sets off on an unexpected cross-country journey.”
Clearly, a lot of star power is invested in the show, but many are wondering if it has a connection to a real-life story that involves its very apparent inspiration, Beyoncé. So here’s the deal.
In the weeks leading up to its release, many assumptions about “Swarm” buzzed around (pun intended) social media following the release of various trailers and small clips. In them, curious viewers have only seen brief glimpses of the show’s fictional pop star, Ni’Jah (played by Nirine S. Brown), leading them to question the true inspiration behind the show.
“For us, it was really about finding the feeling that someone gives to Black women in America.”
Despite Ni’Jah and her Beyhive-like fan base, called The Swarm, bearing a very close resemblance to Queen Bey’s life, career, and overall aesthetic, Nabers has said that “Swarm” could be about any one of viewers’ favorite icons. “For us, it was really about finding the feeling that someone gives to Black women in America,” she explained to Billboard, refraining from calling Ni’Jah a Beyoncé-like character (though you can be the judge of that). “If you ask [Black women] who is the representation of them in the words of music and song and unapologetic Black girl realness, everyone’s gonna have different answers. It’s really about allowing us to see that Ni’Jah is that person for Dre. We can understand that the feeling is something like who we’re familiar with. We’re putting ‘I feel that for this person’ onto that face.”
Still, it’s almost impossible not to point out the obvious Beyoncé nods throughout “Swarm”‘s seven episodes, all of which are prefaced with the following message: “This is not a work of fiction. Any similarity to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is intentional.”
So, for your viewing pleasure (and as a handy guide), we rounded up all the major Beyoncé Easter eggs you’ll spot in “Swarm” ahead.
