Woke is an American drama series that was exclusively released on Hulu. Keith Knight and Marshall Todd co-created it and released it on September 9, 2020. It stars New Girl favourite Lamorne Morris as Keef Knight, who feels ‘woke’ and enlightened about racism after getting into a situation with some armed police officers. In such racially charged times and with the rising popularity of the Black Lives Matters movement, it becomes a beacon of light through some of the darkness. Is the show worth watching? What is it all about? Well, read more to find out!
Woke: Plot and Cast
Lamorne Morris (who played the role of the lovable and goofy Winston Bishop in New Girl) takes on the role of Keef Knight, the creator of a cartoon known as Toast and Butter. He starts to become very successful as a Black cartoonist and is very proud of not taking on any controversial themes in his works. While he does deal with themes of Blackness in his work, they are mostly conventional and derivative instead of being insightful and new.
However, this changes when Knight gets into an encounter with some aggressive police officers who mistake him for a suspect. They point their guns at him and almost arrest him because they were blinded by his blackness instead of seeing him for who he was. This changes Keef’s entire perspective on life.
Keef comes into terms with his own blackness and how it makes him stand out. He sees inanimate objects come to life and talk to him about the consciousness of being a Black man. He sees the microagressions he deal with more clearly now; for example, the lightening of his skin color on photographs or being paid to attend a white Gala so that he can answer questions about being Black.
Woke: Release Date and Trailer
The series was released on September 9, 2020. Watch the trailer below: