''195 Lewis'' (pronounced ''One Nine Five Lewis'') is an American

comedy-drama Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, il ...

web series A web series (also known as webseries, short-form series, and web show) is a series of short scripted or non-scripted online videos, generally in episodic form, released on the Internet (i.e. World Wide Web), which first emerged in the late 1 ...

created by Rae Leone Allen and Yaani Supreme, and co-written with Terence Nance and director Chanelle Aponte Pearson. It follows several

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

queer ''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are non-heterosexual or non- cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against LGBTQ people in the late 19th century. From the late 1980s, queer activists began to ...

women (played by Allen, Sirita Wright, Roxie Johnson, and D. Ajane Carlton) living in

Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn Bedford–Stuyvesant ( ), colloquially known as Bed–Stuy, is a neighborhood in the northern section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. Bedford–Stuyvesant is bordered by Flushing Avenue to the north (bordering Williamsburg), Classon ...

(Bed-Stuy). The series was released online on its website, ''One Nine Five Lewis'', on November 16, 2017. It received the 2018

Gotham Award The Gotham Awards () are American film awards, presented annually to the makers of independent films at a ceremony in New York City, the city first nicknamed "Gotham" by native son Washington Irving, in an issue of ''Salmagundi'', published on ...

for Breakthrough Series and a Special Mention at

Outfest Outfest is an LGBTQ-oriented nonprofit that produces two film festivals, operates a movie streaming platform, and runs educational services for filmmakers in Los Angeles. Outfest is one of the key partners, alongside the Frameline Film Festival ...

2017.

Plot

''195 Lewis'' centers on a close-knit group of Black queer women navigating relationships in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn. The series features topics such as sex positivity and

polyamory Polyamory () is the practice of, or the desire for, romantic relationships with more than one partner at the same time, with the informed consent of all partners involved. Some people who identify as polyamorous believe in consensual non-mon ...

Cast and characters

* Rae Leone Allen as Yuri, an artist and Camille's girlfriend * Sirita Wright as Camille, Yuri's girlfriend who recently completed her PhD * Roxie Johnson as Kris, a recent transplant from Texas and Yuri's former college girlfriend * D. Ajane Carlton as Stacy-Anne, a womanizer and Camille's younger sister * Trae Harris as Harlem, Yuri's love interest

Production

Yaani Lewis and Rae Leone Allen created and wrote the initial script for ''195 Lewis''. The series reflects Lewis and Allen's experiences as Black queer women living in Brooklyn. The title refers to the address where they lived at the time with the street name changed. In 2014, they approached Terence Nance's production company, MVMT, about the project and his business partner Chanelle Aponte Pearson requested to work on it. Pearson received the

Gotham Awards The Gotham Awards () are American film awards, presented annually to the makers of independent films at a ceremony in New York City, the city first nicknamed "Gotham" by native son Washington Irving, in an issue of ''Salmagundi'', published on ...

’ "Spotlight on Women Filmmakers Live The Dream" grant to further develop the series. It is her directorial debut. Allen stated that they had difficulty garnering interest in the project, and most of the crew and actors had little experience in television and film production. Nance and Pearson co-wrote and developed the script, and Jomo Fray was the director of photography.

Filming Cinematography () is the art of motion picture (and more recently, electronic video camera) photography. Cinematographers use a lens to focus reflected light from objects into a real image that is transferred to some image sensor or light-s ...

was on-location in Bed-Stuy. Fray's

cinematography Cinematography () is the art of motion picture (and more recently, electronic video camera) photography. Cinematographers use a lens (optics), lens to focus reflected light from objects into a real image that is transferred to some image sen ...

frequently featured "bright, neon, and stylized" lighting.

Release and reception

The pilot premiered at the

BlackStar Film Festival The BlackStar Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by BlackStar Projects. The festival focuses on films about and by Black, brown and indigenous people from around the world. It takes place each August in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. I ...

in 2014. It was later re-shot and the full five episodes of the series premiered on its website on November 16, 2017. ''195 Lewis'' received positive reception. In a review for '' IndieWire'' Jude Dry wrote, "Director Chanelle Aponte Pearson makes a confident and splashy debut, catapulting her considerable producing skills to a new level." Writing for ''

Vice A vice is a practice, behaviour, Habit (psychology), habit or item generally considered morally wrong in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character trait, a defect, an infirmity, or a bad or unhe ...

'', Emily J. Smith stated, "While ''195'' intentionally tackles complex subjects like polyamory, sex positivity, and misogyny in lesbian culture, it's not in the way you might expect. The cast of characters allows for conflicting perspectives—even in this very specific world—so viewers are invited into a real conversation instead of a lecture."

Awards and nominations

* 2017 –

, U.S. Narrative Special Mention * 2017 –

, Audience Award for Favorite Narrative Feature * 2018 –

, Breakthrough Series – Short Form

References

External links

* * {{Gotham Independent Film Award for Breakthrough Series – Short Form 2017 web series debuts 2017 web series endings 2010s American black television series 2010s American comedy-drama television series 2010s American LGBTQ-related comedy television series 2010s American LGBTQ-related drama television series American comedy web series American drama web series Lesbian-related television shows Fiction about polyamory