Zoe Kravitz is not happy about Hulu pulling the plug on “High Fidelity” after only one season and is calling the network out for nixing one of its few original shows featuring a woman of color lead.
The 31-year-old actress starred in the series as Rob Fleming, a selfish and ambivalent young record store owner who takes a trip down relationship memory lane after breaking up with her longtime boyfriend, Mac played by Kingsley Ben-Adir.
The show served as a gender-bent update to the 2000 romantic comedy film starring John Cusack as Rob, who acted alongside Kravitz’s mom, actress Lisa Bonet, as his short-lived flame, Marie de Salle. The reboot was well-received by critics and fans alike, due to its classic soundtrack and honest look at relationships.
Word hit the internet that Hulu opted not to renew the cult hit for a second season, which disappointed not only fans but the show’s star as well. “I wanna give a shout out to my #highfidelity family. thank you for all the love and heart you put into this show,” Kravitz captioned her farewell post. “i’m in awe of all of you. and thank you to everyone who watched, loved and supported us. ✌🏽 #breakupssuck”
Kravitz put her real feelings on display in her reply to a comment that her friend and “High Fidelity” fan Tessa Thompson left, lamenting about how much she’ll miss tuning in to Rob’s relationship struggles.
“@tessamaethompson it’s cool,” replied the “Mad Max: Fury Road” actress and daughter of singer Lenny Kravitz. “at least hulu has a ton of other shows starring women of color we can watch. oh wait.”
Kravitz isn’t wrong in her observation. One of Hulu’s more recent TV series featuring a woman of color was the successful “Little Fires Everywhere” limited series adaptation, starring Kerry Washington. A few recent others include: “Four Weddings and a Funeral,” starring Nathalie Emmanuel from “Game of Thrones,” and “Devs” starring Sonoya Mizuno. Aside from that, however, TV series that are carried by women of color, and Black women specifically, are few and far between on the network.
Fans loved seeing Zoe call out the streaming service and agreed with her in the comments.
“YESSSSS DRAG THEM,” encouraged one follower.
“I THINK WE SHOULD HAVE THAT CONVERSATION!!!!” exclaimed another.
The actress was originally thrilled to bring the multifaceted, not completely likable music-loving character to a new generation. “The amount of comments, DMs, things on Twitter, articles written about Brown women who love music, were afraid of commitment, who’ve never seen a person like them on television — they feel seen for the first time,” she said during an interview after the show debuted earlier this year.
“Just breaking away from the stereotypes, I feel like people need that,” she explained. “So I feel very lucky to have been able to deliver that, because one of the most important things for me was authenticity and bringing a real world to life. I’ve lived in New York for a long time, and in a lot of ways this was a love letter to New York with all its messiness and diversity.”
