Atlanta Actor Jordane Christie Talks About His Role On The Dark Comedy ‘Why Women Kill’
“Why Women Kill,” the darkly comedic TV drama that quickly became one of streaming platform Paramount Plus’ most popular originals, released its second season this month.
In a twisting crime narrative set in the 1940s, the new season follows private detective Vern Loomis as he investigates a married woman’s lover.
“City Lights” engineer and contributor Shelley Kenneavy spoke with Atlanta native Jordane Christie, who plays the detective.
“It’s a fun, slightly soapy drama — a dramedy, really, so it has both notes of comedy and drama in it,” said Christie. “And it’s just some really rich characters that are fun and relatable, a little over the top sometimes. But it’s escapism, it’s entertainment, and it’s a good watch.”
A period piece, the show’s sets, costumes and throwback style of acting set it apart from many mainstream TV dramas.
“It’s also, in ways, a love letter to a lot of classic films from that golden era of Hollywood in the ’40s. A lot of our characters are inspired by tropes and by characters previously made during some of those times — Humphrey Bogart in ‘The Big Sleep,’ and there’s a lot of allusions to the classic film ‘Sunset Boulevard,’” said Christie.
“During the production of it, I was pretty much on the ride, the way you guys are now. Because we got the next script while we were shooting the previous script. But I had no idea, really, what the fate of the characters would be, where we were going by the end of the episode,” Christie recalled, sharing the rollercoaster experience for viewers, in a storyline that keeps you constantly guessing. “I was like, alright, let me just go with the ride and see how this plays out.”
Alongside his breakout role in “Why Women Kill,” Christie also recently collaborated with director Clarence Williams on the short film “We Can’t Breathe,” a passion project expressing the grief felt by the project’s creators, and by many others, in the aftermath of George Floyd’s killing by police in May 2020.
“It was [a film] that we made in quarantine … it was based upon a couple — a young couple — arguing, essentially, kind of different points. She was biracial and her father was a white police officer, and kind of bumping heads and fighting their points. It was a good time to express all of ourselves in the ways we needed to.”
Christie was born and raised in and around Atlanta, the son of Jamaican immigrants who, at times, resisted his choice to pursue an acting career.
“I had a lot of pressure to go into medicine. My parents are actually both in medicine … just different priorities. Also, generationally, it just seems bohemian and crazy to pursue any career in the arts,” said Christie. “They’ve come around. But to be honest, I think that resistance made me a little bit more focused and driven.”
The two seasons of “Why Women Kill” are currently streaming on Paramount Plus TV.
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