Paramount+ SPOILER ALERT: The following story contains plot details from the Season 2 finale of “Diarra From Detroit” now streaming on Paramount+.
With the Paramount-Warner Bros. merger hanging in the balance and a presidential administration that is persistently hostile to diversity, Black-led series like Natasha Rothwell’s well-reviewed Hulu comedy “How to Die Alone,” Issa Rae’s HBO Max series, “Rap Sh*t” and even the NBC drama “Found” have all been given the ax. Black stories are rarely being greenlit on streamers and networks. Still, Paramount+’s “Diarra From Detroit,” a stellar blend of mystery, drama and romance, is shining high in its second season. Yet, the show’s endurance hasn’t been without its challenges. The series, which debuted in 2024 on BET+ to rave reviews, took a two-year hiatus before returning for its second season on Paramount+ this past July. (BET+ was shuttered last spring, with its programming being merged into Paramount+). Created by star and executive producer Diarra Kilpatrick, this season, set amid a classic boiling-hot Detroit summer, finds Diarra trying to find her footing in her newfound relationship with Chris (Shannon Wallace), who is still reeling from his traumatic past. Without a summer school assignment, Diarra decides to use her free time to officially launch her P.I. business. However, being tasked with finding Chris’ uncle’s armoire (which actually turns out to be a desk) leads Diarra, Chris and the school teacher’s best friends Tea (Bryan Terell Clark) and Aja (Dominique Perry) into the underbelly of Detroit, chasing a treasure trove and evading some diabolical gangsters all while trying to iron out all of their personal drama and chaos in between. “We love a gumbo; I love complexity,” Kilpatrick tells Variety. “It pisses me off when work that has a Black woman at the center of it doesn’t respect the audience. We’re not talking about good or bad. That’s a judgment that I’m not interested in. But do you respect the audience? Did you like this woman? I don’t want Black female work to be synonymous with low craftsmanship or low budgets or bad lighting. I want us to be honored. In the medium, in the space. It’s really dawning on me as people are asking me, how does it feel not to be a household name with a whole-ass show at a huge conglomerate where my show is being mentioned in the same breath as ‘Furious’ and ‘Lioness.’ Do you know how much those shows cost to produce? They have some of the biggest stars in the world in them. There was a moment when there was all this niche storytelling happening, and now I’m one of the last people standing.” As “Diarra From Detroit” Season 2 comes to a close, Variety spoke with Kilpatrick about what it took to bring the second season to the small screen, why Black stories matter and her hopes for a possible Season 3.
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