Release Date, Cast, Renewed or Canceled

By clockspider Last updated Mar 21, 2021

‘She’s Gotta Have It’ is an American comedy-drama web television series created by the brilliant Spike Lee, who is known for movies such as ‘Do The Right Thing’ (1989), ‘Malcolm X’ (2005), and the recent ‘BlacKkKlansman’ (2018), all of which are mature explorations of political issues such as racism and discrimination faced by the African-American community.

‘She’s Gotta Have It’ airs on Netflix and is based on Lee’s own movie of the same name, which was released in 1986 and marked his directorial debut. The movie has a rich history of its own – shot on a shoestring budget of $175,000, it was one of the movies which led to the birth of the American independent film movement of the 1980s. The movie was also one of the first ones in America to portray African-American people as upscale urbanites with hopes and dreams, instead of lowlife gimps and whores that they were typically portrayed to be at the time.

Like the movie, the show follows an African-American woman who is juggling three male lovers at the same time. The show’s exploration of themes remain the same as the movie, but the story itself is set in a more modern context, considering that ‘She’s Gotta Have It’ is a very recent show. Season 1 of the show premiered on November 23, 2017, and was received favorably by television critics. Viewers, however, had mixed reviews. Regardless, on January 1, 2018, renewed ‘She’s Gotta Have It’ for its second season, which premiered on May 24, 2019. Now the question is whether the show will come back for third season. Here’s everything we know about it.

She’s Gotta Have It Cast: Who is in it?

In the show, DeWanda Wise plays the main protagonist Nola Darling, who is an African-American painter living in Brooklyn.

Her three lovers, the mature and stable Jamie Overstreet, the eccentric and fun-loving Mars Blackmon, and the narcissistic and shallow Greer Childs, are played by Lyriq Bent, Anthony Ramos, and Cleo Anthony, respectively. Additionally, Chyna Layne plays the role of Nola’s friend Shemekka Epps, and that wraps up the main cast of the show. One slight change in season 2 vis-a-vis season 1 is the increase in the portfolio of supporting star Chyna Layne, who was promoted to the main cast for Season 2.

Additionally, there are dozens of recurring cast members, and some of the include Elise Hudson as Rachel, Joie Lee as Septima, Margot Bingham as Clorinda Bradford, Ilfenesh Hadera as Opal Gilstrap, and De’Adre Aziza as Raqueletta Moss.

If and when season 3 happens, the main cast is expected to return in the whole. Wise, Ramos, Bent, and Anthony are all expected to assume their original positions and reprise their roles from the previous seasons.

Read More in TV Preview: For the People | American Gods | Wafku

She’s Gotta Have It Plot: What is it about?

The show revolves around the life of Nola Darling, a sexually liberated woman in gentrified Brooklyn whose openness about her sexuality makes other people (mostly males) uncomfortable. She is shown to be an embodiment of protest against the patriarchal control of female sexuality, juggling three relationships with three men – Jamie Overstreet, Mars Blackmon, and Green Childs – of contrasting personalities.

While the show is indeed comic, it also takes an intersectional approach, and explores a character who is of the gender that has historically been denied sexual agency, and comes from a community that has been historically denied sexual expression. While this exploration was also present in the original movie, the show gives it a modern spin by incorporating contemporary developments such as the gentrification of Brooklyn and the Black Lives Matter movement.

Commenting on remaking his original ‘She’s Gotta Have It’ movie into a show, Spike Lee had told feminist scholar and The New York Times columnist Salamishah Tillet that the show had as much relevance today as the movie did in the 1980s – “I’m 30 years older, and the world has changed. I think that Nola’s character is such a strong character. She is a woman who is juggling three men, and I think there are more women like that now. But the way those women are judged hasn’t necessarily changed as far as men go,” Lee had said.

In terms of reception, ‘She’s Gotta Have It’ has received an outstanding response from critics, and Season 1 enjoys a solid score of 88% on Rotten Tomatoes, with the critics’ consensus reading, “Fun, fascinating and feminist, Spike Lee’s classic is born again for a new generation.” For some reason however, the show has failed to strike a chord with viewers, and it has a mediocre rating of 6.7/10 on IMDb.

She’s Gotta Have It Season 3 Release Date: When will it premiere?

‘She’s Gotta Have It’ season 2 premiered on May 24, 2019. As far as the next season goes, we have bad news for the fans. On July 18, 2019, Netflix announced the cancellation of the show.

“Spike Lee is one of the greatest filmmakers of all time and we’re thrilled he brought the series She’s Gotta Have It (1986, based on his first feature film) to Netflix,” said Ted Sarandos, Chief Content Officer, Netflix. “While this is our last season, we’re very proud that it will be on our service for years to come, and excited to be working with Spike on his upcoming Netflix film Da 5 Bloods.”

Though, fans shouldn’t feel disappointed yet, because there are reports that the show might get picked up by some other network. If that happens, rest be assured that we will keep you updated about ‘She’s Gotta Have It’ season 3 release date.

She’s Gotta Have It Trailer:

While we wait for any positive news on ‘She’s Gotta Have It’ season 3, check out the season 2 trailer to remind you that the show is full of drama, humor, and critical commentary on important questions of gender and race in our times. If you haven’t seen the show yet, head over to Netflix to catch all the episodes of the previous seasons.

Read More: Best African-American Comedies on Netflix