Swarm co-creator claims Beyoncé knows about the wild new horror series – and has watched it, too
Swarm creator Janine Nabers has said Beyoncé has seen the show -which is based around her (Amazon Prime, Kevin Winter/Getty Images for Coachella)
Amazon Prime’s gripping new horror series Swarm follows an obsessive fan who will do anything to meet her musical idol – who is inspired by none other than Beyoncé.
Co-created by Janine Nabers and Donald Glover, the series, which is set in 2016, follows a young woman, Dre (Dominique Fishback), whose obsession with pop star, Ni’Jah, takes a horrifyingly sinister turn.
A central motif of the series is the sound of a swarm of bees – did anyone say “Beyhive”?
Ni’jah’s fanbase is also called The Swarm, and viewers have been quick to point out the similarities between the fictional and non-fictional pop megastars when the trailer first dropped.
Now that the series has premiered, complete with a surprise appearance by Billie Eilish as a queer cult leader, Nabers has said she’s convinced that Queen B knows about the show.
“She has, actually,” she told Entertainment Weekly.
“She knows about the show,” she continued, reportedly citing co-star/Beyoncé disciple Chloe Bailey’s involvement in the project.
Interestingly, most episodes of Swarm begin with the disclosure, “This is not a work of fiction”; and because Nabers insists that everything was “cleared legally”, there’s a very good chance that information about the series did indeed reach the ears (and eyes) of one Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter.
“The legal stuff we did was very calculated, purposeful, and thoughtful,” Nabers continued. “If it happens, you can write about it. When things happen out in the world and you’re a public person — legally, we’re not lying.”
Nabers also revealed that she wrote Beyoncé a letter prior to the release of the series.
“I wrote her a letter basically [saying], ‘Yo, you’re great. I love you. This is a show that we’re working on. These are the people that are writing it’,” Nabers said.
“She’s worked with a lot of the people who have worked on our show. It’s a family.
“This is not a crusade to tear down anyone’s reputation. I know it’s extreme, and I know our character is doing a lot of crazy sh*t, but this is a love letter to Black women.”
A reply, it seems, is not forthcoming, or maybe it’s just lost in the post…
Swarm (not starring Beyoncé) is streaming on Amazon Prime now.
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