Prime Video has released the first look at the upcoming series I’m A Virgo starring Jharrel Jerome and directed by Boots Riley. The mythical coming-of-age comedy is set to premiere this summer exclusively on Prime Video after first debuting as an official selection of SXSW Film & TV Festival on Saturday, March 11.
Created and written by Riley, I’m A Virgo is explained as “a darkly-comedic fantastical coming-of-age joyride about Cootie (Jerome), a 13-foot-tall young Black man in Oakland, CA.” According to the press release, the character was hidden away while growing up, passing time on a diet of comic books and TV shows, he used to escape and experience the beauty and contradictions of the real world.
Through his journey explored in the seven-episode series, Cootie forms friendships, finds love, navigates awkward situations, and encounters his idol, the real-life superhero named The Hero, played by Walton Goggins.
“So it’s an absurdist, fantastical ride with a 13-foot-tall Black man who lives in Oakland, California. It’s called I’m a Virgo. That’s what’s important to him about himself. You see a giant Black man walking down the street, to a lot of people, that’s not important to them, the fact that he’s a Virgo, but that’s what’s important to him. Jharrel Jerome does an amazing job, and people are going to be looking at him with different eyes after this one,” explained Riley to Collider.
“We’ve got, also, Walton Goggins, Mike Epps, Carmen Ejogo, and some other folks that people will see as discoveries; Kara Young, Brett Gray, which a lot of people under the age of 20 won’t think is a discovery, but a lot of people. They’re all doing amazing jobs. Then we even have a lot of really cool cameos from Kendrick Sampson, Elijah Wood, LaKeith [Stanfield]. I mean, it’s just packed full of a lot of cool sh*t. I could keep going. I’m going to forget people.”
I’m A Virgo is co-produced by Amazon Studios and Media Res Studio. Boots Riley and Tze Chun are the series co-showrunners and serve as executive producers, alongside Michael Ellenberg and Lindsey Springer for Media Res Studio, Rebecca Rivo, and Jharrel Jerome.
The series features original music and score by art pop duo Tune-Yards. Take a look at the teaser above and the first-look images below.