‘P-Valley’ Creator Katori Hall Says Cotton Scene Was Based on Real Experience
P-Valley debuted its first episode on Starz on July 12, introducing us to Uncle Clifford, Autumn Night, Mercedes, and everyone else who knows all about The Pynk.
With storylines that go beyond the strip club atmosphere, the show touches on religion, politics, survival, trauma, and money. Race and a different blend of “Southern charm” also play a role, as exemplified in a scene with Andre, a lawyer who’s trying to seal a deal.
What’s P-Valley about?
Set in the Mississippi Delta, the series is based on a stage play by Katori Hall and centers on a Black strip club and the colorful characters in the local community.
Only two episodes of the series are out, but P-Valley hooked fans in with rich cinematography, spicy interactions, slick dialogue, and the characters. Uncle Clifford, the strip club’s owner, is the fan favorite right now. But due to financial problems, she’s having problems holding the place down.
Mysterious newcomer Autumn Night is trying to make money while battling PTSD, and OG Mercedes is hustling so she can quit, open a dance school, and get her sanctimonious, money-hungry mother off her back.
In other parts of town, a corporation is buying up land to build a casino. That’s how Andre Watkins connects to the plot.
Scene with Andre and brothers based on truth
There are many things we can recap about season 2, but before that steamy scene between Andre and Autumn/Hailey toward the end, there was an interaction with some locals.
Andre visited two brothers to close out the Promised Land casino deal. He stood and surveyed the land they own, which was covered in cotton stalks.
“Pick it,” one of them called out to him. Andre, who’s black, turned around to find the white brothers encouraging him to pick cotton. “Excuse me?” he said, but flipped the conversation and said he wanted to check the acreage.
P-Valley showrunner Katori Hall took to Twitter and stated that scene was based on a real situation she encountered while doing research.
“The owner of the land rolled up behind me in a pick-up truck and yelled those exact words to me. Chilling as it is true…,” she wrote.
Andre and the brothers will probably face off again
Later in the episode, it was revealed the brothers’ half sibling is a character named Corbin, their father’s son with the Black maid. Sibling rivalry doesn’t describe the deep-rooted rift between the three.
Corbin is the third co-owner of the land, and he would rather lease the land and make more money. He wants Andre to help him broker the deal, but the outsider just wants to wrap up the job that brought him to town.
Although he turned down Corbin’s bribe, Andre may change his mind after that hot exchange with Hailey. Will the deal keep him in town, or will the girl be the cause? Corbin isn’t budging and Andre has to close things out with the brothers on the casino’s behalf.
There is no doubt viewers will see them again, but let’s see if Andre and Corbin double-team them to check their ignorant behavior. Watch P-Valley on Starz each Sunday at 8 p.m. EST.
