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If you’ve been searching for more of the absurdist and fantastical, in the vein of Sorry to Bother You, then we have fantastic news: Boots Riley, the writer, and director of Sorry to Bother You is back with a new series coming soon to Amazon Prime Video. Starring Jharrel Jerome (Moonlight), Walton Goggins (The Hateful Eight), and Olivia Washington (The Little Things) among others, this new show, I’m a Virgo, is a surreal and joyous coming-of-age tale about a 13-foot-tall black man named Cootie.

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When Does I'm A Virgo Release?

Jharrel Jerome shirtless as cootie in I'm a Virgo
Image via Prime Video

I'm a Virgo premiered back in March at the South by Southwest film festival in Austin, Texas, where it was met with rave reviews.

All seven episodes of the series are set to drop on June 23, 2023.

Where Can You Watch I’m a Virgo?

Jharrel Jerome as Cootie in I'm a Virgo
Image via Prime Video

I’m a Virgo is a co-production of Media Res and Amazon Studios and will be streaming exclusively on Amazon Prime. Prime, Amazon’s streaming service often offers free or low-cost trials for those curious about its catalog and offerings. It also offers reduced rates for students and others.

Watch the Trailer for I’m a Virgo:

Scored to Tune-Yards’ “Gangsta”, the trailer begins with a young Cootie, who is already so large that he causes damage to his family home. As Cootie ages he only grows even taller, leading his family to try to keep him from the outside world to protect him from people who might try to exploit him. Cootie’s curiosity and love of adventure take him out of his family home and into the larger world. “Take a fantastical joyride with a young dude on his way to do big things,” the trailer encourages audiences.

The full two-and-a-half minute trailer for I'm a Virgo was released on Prime Video's YouTube channel on May 30, 2023. In the trailer we see Cootie flirting with the cashier at a fast-food restaurant, making friends, and praying with his Aunt Lafrancine and Uncle Martisse. When Cootie says "The people love me," he is told by Lafrancine "You are a 13-foot-tall black man. They fear you." The trailer shows Cootie being pursued by Jay Whittle, a creepy, android-like superhero who goes by the alias The Hero, as well as being taken advantage of by the greedy elitist art scene in Los Angeles.

What Is I’m a Virgo About?

Jharrel Jerome as Cootie going on a joyride in I'm a Virgo
Image via Prime Video

I’m A Virgo focuses on Cootie, a young man played by Jharrel Jerome. Cootie is a pretty average guy in most ways, he’s upbeat, outgoing, and always looking for an adventure since he’s a Virgo and “Virgos love adventure,” as he notes. One major thing that differentiates Cootie from those around him is his height: he’s 13 feet tall. This leads his family to try to shield him from the outside world and from people who might want to take advantage of him. Of course, that can’t last forever, and Cootie eventually leaves his home to explore the larger world of Oakland California. When talking with Collider’s Steve Weintraub, I’m a Virgo’s creator, Boots Riley noted that when others see Cootie they see “a giant Black man” but what is important to Cootie about himself is that he’s a Virgo.

The official plot synopsis from Prime Video reads:

I’m A Virgo is a darkly comedic fantastical coming-of-age joyride about Cootie (Jerome), a 13-foot-tall young Black man in Oakland, California. Having grown up hidden away, passing time on a diet of comic books and TV shows, he escapes to experience the beauty and contradictions of the real world. He forms friendships, finds love, navigates awkward situations, and encounters his idol, a real-life superhero named The Hero, played by Walton Goggins (The Hateful Eight, The Righteous Gemstones). I’m A Virgo is a mythical odyssey that questions the purpose of the mythical odyssey.

Who Is in the Cast of I’m a Virgo?

jharrel jerome in i'm a virgo
Image via Prime Video

I’m a Virgo stars Jharrel Jerome, who viewers may remember from his award-winning turn as teenage Kevin in Barry Jenkins’s Moonlight. He also played Korey in Ava DuVernay’s Netflix series When They See Us, for which he won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie. Jenkins and DuVernay have both spoken glowingly of Jerome’s talent, with Jenkins telling the LA Times that

“When you watch Jharrel in that movie, he’s not a guy who’s been over-rehearsing. That’s a dude learning by doing. It’s amazing”

DuVernay praised his ability to understand and convey emotions:

“The human things…the care that he gave to the parts that were more quiet, the moments that another actor might have glossed over. He knew the little stuff is the big stuff.”

Walton Goggins plays “The Hero,” a literal superhero who is Cootie’s role model. He won a Critics Choice Award for his role in the darkly comedic Vice Principals. He will also be starring in Prime Video's television adaptation of the video game series Fallout, which is due to hit the streamer later this year.

The rest of the cast includes Olivia Washington as Flora, Mike Epps (The Uphaws) as Martisse, Carmen Ejogo (True Detective) as Lafrancine, Brett Gray (On My Block) as Felix, Kara Young (The Punisher) as Jones, and Allius Barnes (Cruel Summer) as Scat.

When talking with Collider, Riley mentioned some of the cameos viewers can look forward to which include LaKeith Stanfield (Sorry to Bother You), Elijah Wood (The Lord of the Rings), and Kendrick Sampson (Insecure).

Who Is the Crew Behind I'm a Virgo?

Boots Riley and Steven Yeun working together on set Sorry to Bother You
Image via Annapurna

I’m a Virgo is written and directed by Boots Riley. The multitalented Riley is in musical groups including The Coup and Street Sweeper Social Club and has worked tirelessly as an advocate for racial and economic justice. Of course, he is best known to most for his brilliant surrealist film Sorry to Bother You. There is every reason to think that Riley’s distinctive style and unapologetically anticapitalist politics that made Sorry to Bother You so memorable will come through in I’m a Virgo as well.

Tze Chun is Riley’s co-showrunner. Chun has previously worked as a writer on series including Fox’s Gotham, and ABC’s Once Upon a Time and Cashmere Mafia. Chun will also act as a showrunner on the Max animated series Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai.

Riley’s group The Coup will be providing the soundtrack to I’m a Virgo, much like they did with Sorry to Bother You, and the Oakland-based project Tune-Yards will provide the score. Tune-Yards were also behind the score for Sorry to Bother You.

The executive producers include Riley, Chun, Jerome, Rebecca Rivo (Zombieland: Double Tap), and Michael Ellenberg and Lindsey Springer of Media Res.

When and Where Did I'm a Virgo Film?

Walton Goggins as The Hero holding an oversized Deed in I'm a Virgo
Image via Prime Video

Filming for I'm a Virgo primarily took play in New Orleans, Louisiana. Back in May 2022, Tze Chun officially announced that filming for the series had wrapped.