‘I’m a Virgo’ Trailer: Boots Riley’s Surreal Superhero Series Debuts on Prime Video
Jharrel Jerome and Walton Goggins lead the fantastical Oakland-set series, out June 23.
Virgos love adventure, and who doesn’t want a dash of superhero sci-fi in a surreal coming-of-age story?
Writer-director Boots Riley (“Sorry to Bother You”) debuts Prime Video series “I’m a Virgo,” which premiered at 2023 SXSW, this summer.
Per the official synopsis, the series is a darkly comedic fantastical coming-of-age joyride about Cootie (Jharrel Jerome), a 13-foot-tall teenager in Oakland, California. Having grown up hidden away, passing time on a diet of comic books and TV shows, he escapes to experience the beauty and contradictions of the real world. He forms friendships, finds love, navigates awkward situations, and encounters his idol, the real-life superhero named The Hero (Walton Goggins).
Riley wrote and directed all seven episodes of the series, which had a budget of $53 million as Riley confirmed to IndieWire. The filmmaker previously shared in 2020 that the series focuses on a group of teens who, “because they’re Black, are not allowed to be kids. They’re not allowed to come of age. It’s about the way the world sees them.”
Riley added, “For me, it’s really experiential. How do I keep you interested and wanting to keep watching, and how do I get you do feel something? I don’t want you to keep watching because I have done this easy, manipulative thing that makes you have to press ‘watch the next one’ again. I hate stories that don’t end…I’m not saying how many seasons it will be, but there’s a story that ends.”
IndieWire critic Ben Travers wrote in the SXSW review, “‘I’m a Virgo’ is a treat, and even when its comedy veers into darkness, the first four episodes find joy through each character, their stories, and Riley’s exuberance in telling them.”
“I’m a Virgo” premieres June 23 on Prime Video. Check out the trailer below.