With so much TV being churned out on a daily basis, it’s all too easy to miss the major new sleeper series that’s going to be on everyone’s minds, lips, and tweets for weeks to come. Especially when it’s a psychological horror that’s proven every bit as divisive as Swarm.

Don’t worry, though, boo, because we’ve got you – and we’re here to inform you that this Prime Video series absolutely needs to go on your watchlist ASAP. So long as, y’know, you’re cool with the fact that it’s a horror story about an obsessive fan who is going to live inside your head rent-free for a very long time…

What’s Swarm all about?

Created by Donald Glover and Janine Nabers, Swarm focuses on Dre, a Houston-based sales assistant who spends all of her time thinking, talking and writing online about global music icon Ni’Jah.

As Dre’s obsession deepens, however, her life spirals out of control – and it’s not long before the lonely outcast finds herself going to increasingly violent lengths for her favourite R&B singer.

Watch the trailer for Swarm below:

You’ll undoubtedly have noticed that Ni’Jah bears an uncanny similarity to the one and only Beyoncé – and that the fictional singer’s fanbase, known as The Swarm (hey, like the title!), resembles the Beyhive.

And so…

Is Swarm based on a true story?

The majority of Swarm might be fictional, but parts of the so-called serial killer satire are based on true events.

As creator Nabers puts it in a recent interview with Shondaland: “The pilot episode is based on a true event that existed on the internet. We started the story from there and kind of built off it with real events that happened in America between about 2016 and 2018.”

Nabers continues: “In April of 2016, Lemonade was released. On the same night, there was a rumour about a woman named Marissa Jackson who [died by] suicide after watching this visual album because it basically confirmed that a very powerful man was cheating on one of the most incredibly beautiful and successful pop stars of our time.

“I’m from Houston, Texas, and my very best friend’s last name is Jackson. There was a lot of texting between Houstonians being like, ‘Yo, who is this Marissa Jackson? Is this a true story?’ And that existed on the internet for a while, and people were tweeting really horrible things about this woman who had killed herself and making fun of her.”

Describing the incident as “the catalyst to this show”, Nabers finishes: “That’s when I researched all the crazy stories that we’ve heard online or that have existed in the real world revolving around this particular musician and how we could bring those issues to life and make them our own.”

Who stars in Swarm?

As Andrea “Dre” Greene, Dominique Fishback absolutely dazzles in Swarm. Her portrayal of Dre is as vulnerable as it is malevolent and is thoroughly deserving of the awards buzz that’s already sparked on social media.

She’s joined by Chloe Bailey, Nirine S Brown, Karen Rodriguez – but it’s worth noting that this series features some guest stars with seriously big names. Think Rory Culkin, Paris Jackson, Byron Bowers, and (wait for it) Billie Eilish in her first TV role. In fact, the Bellyache singer’s brief stint in the series (she stars as Eva, a cult leader that takes Dre under her wing) has made waves on social media. 

When you consider the fact that Eilish’s character was inspired by the NXIVM cult and its leader Keith Raniere, who was sentenced to 120 years in prison and fined $1,750,000 in the high-profile sex-trafficking case, it’s little wonder that so many viewers have come unstuck over her.

As Nabers tells The Hollywood Reporter: “There is a cult that existed in the world that was very prominent during that time, and that is the kind of true-crime element to that episode. And I think that when people think of the idea of artists or celebrities, there is this idea of thinking about the cult of Taylor Swift or the cult of the Beatles or whatever.

“What we were really interested in was just seeing someone who worships at the altar of ‘something,’ and [exploring] this idea of what is the cult of the mind.”

What are people saying about Swarm?

As mentioned already, Swarm (which currently boasts an 84% ‘fresh’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes) has proven to be the televisual equivalent of Marmite – by which we mean that some people love it, while others absolutely despise it. The Guardian has damned it as “cold and dull”, The Verge insists that it’s “so close to being brilliant”, and The FT describes it as “darkly compelling”.

Personally, though, this writer is a big fan of Swarm’s boldly creative approach: the show’s vivid aesthetic couldn’t be more at odds with its dark message about toxic fandoms and obsession. I love, too, how the series zags when it ought to zig: indeed, it gives off major anthology vibes in the best possible way, because (light spoilers ahead) Dre’s dark and murderous path takes her all over the United States, and she usually adopts a new name or identity each episode in order to escape the carnage of the one before.

Finally, it would be criminally remiss of me not to mention Swarm’s killer soundtrack. Because Glover (aka Childish Gambino) has released a six-track EP that serves as the show’s original soundtrack, with original music from the show’s fictional artist Ni’jah, who is actually voiced by none other than Grammy award-winning artist Kirby.

Basically, Swarm is the sort of multimedia experience that streaming services have been promising us for ages. So it’s well worth a watch, even if its unique tone isn’t quite for you.

Where can we watch Swarm?

Swarm is streaming now on Prime Video.

Images: Prime Video