--- description: The obvious comparison is 'Sex and the City,' but this aspirational sitcom about female friends thrives on place, identity and specificity. title: Starz's 'Run the World' Is 'Living Single' for 30-Somethings image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blteb7e5c71cabcd2c7/698a198286f68ee6506eff86/RTW1_101_121819_0019_a_1800x1200.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Television](/tag/television/) ## Television Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Glossy Starz Comedy _Run the World_ Is _Living Single_ for 30-Somethings  by [Judy Berman](/author/judy-berman/)  ## Judy Berman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close TV Critic May 16, 2021 11:00 AM CUT  The cast of 'Run the World' The cast of 'Run the World'Jojo Whilden/Starz  by [Judy Berman](/author/judy-berman/)  ## Judy Berman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close TV Critic May 16, 2021 11:00 AM CUT Girls. That’s who “run the world” in the [Beyoncé](https://time.com/5793791/beyonce-100-women-of-the-year/ "undefined") hit that lends a title to this glossy new comedy about four glamorous, ambitious, 30-something Black women in New York who’ve been friends forever. Whitney ([_The Carmichael Show_](https://time.com/4319136/review-the-carmichael-show/ "undefined") alum Amber Stevens West) is a high-achieving people pleaser who’s planning a wedding, with lots of unwanted help from her fiancé Ola’s (Tosin Morohunfola of _The Chi_) traditional Nigerian family, despite her own private doubts about the relationship. Sondi (Corbin Reid of [_How to Get Away With Murder_](https://time.com/3426753/how-to-get-away-with-murder-influences/ "undefined")) is a PhD student several years into a secret—but otherwise healthy—romance with her mentor Matthew _(Criminal_ Minds’ Stephen Bishop), a single father. After the failure of her first book and a crushing breakup, Ella (Andrea Bordeaux of _NCIS: Los Angeles_) is struggling to get her life back on track, with a job she believes is beneath her at a lifestyle site called Hot Tea Digest. Finally there’s Renee (standout Bresha Webb, recently seen stealing scenes as Mary J. Blige on [_Sherman’s Showcase_](https://time.com/5629222/south-side-shermans-showcase-tv-show-writers/ "undefined")), the flamboyant one. Now that her husband Jason (Jay Walker from _Airport Security Squad_) has quit a corporate job to manage a supposedly up-and-coming band, their volatile marriage is threatening to combust. The [_Sex and the City_](https://time.com/5295820/sex-and-the-city-book-anniversary/ "undefined") parallels are so obvious, there’s a joke about Mr. Big in the premiere. The shows even share a name-brand costume designer in [Patricia Field](http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2110513%5F2110630%5F2110634,00.html "undefined"), who outfits the foursome in individualized wardrobes of bright colors, lush fabrics and door-knocker earrings. And _Run the_ _World_, premiering May 16 on Starz, can certainly be steamy. But it has just as much in common with another classic ’90s sitcom about female friendship: [_Living Single_](https://time.com/5818529/best-hangout-shows-social-distancing/ "undefined"), with which it shares a pioneering executive producer in Yvette Lee Bowser. With creator Leigh Davenport (_Boomerang_) and their charming cast, Bowser recreates both the aspirational thrills of a story about stylish strivers and the intimate comedy that comes out of knowing your best friends better than they know themselves. (Rosie O’Donnell guest stars as the no-nonsense therapist they accidentally share.) _Run the World_ is hardly the most original, high-concept project ever to air on pay TV. Slicker than [_Insecure_](https://time.com/4856245/issa-rae-insecure-hbo/ "undefined"), lighter than [_Dead to Me_](https://time.com/5581711/dead-to-me-netflix-review/ "undefined"), less political than its Starz predecessor [_Vida_](https://time.com/5824773/vida-season-3-starz-review/ "undefined"), it harkens back to an era when viewers turned to television for entertainment and escapism more than art and cultural commentary. When you consider how many current shows’ thematic reach exceeds their grasp, that’s kind of refreshing. But Bowser and Davenport aren’t to be underestimated, either. Beyond the witty dialogue and fashionable outfits, they’ve grounded this appealing series in the specifics of identity and place. Nowhere is that better expressed than in an immersive episode that follows the women through a Saturday in their beloved neighborhood, Harlem—having a heart-to-heart over [nutcrackers](https://www.grubstreet.com/2019/06/on-the-trail-of-nyc-nutcracker-kings.html "undefined"), dancing to an ad-hoc drum circle, sneaking cigarettes outside a tiny local nightspot. Contained in that half-hour is all the wonderful and terrible serendipity of city life, and plenty of fun besides. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6047327/run-the-world-review-starz/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6047327/run-the-world-review-starz/"},"headline":"Glossy Starz Comedy Run the World Is Living Single for 30-Somethings","datePublished":"2021-05-16T11:00:42.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-24T09:56:29.743Z","description":"The obvious comparison is 'Sex and the City,' but this aspirational sitcom about female friends thrives on specificity","url":"https://time.com/6047327/run-the-world-review-starz/","keywords":["Television","review"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blteb7e5c71cabcd2c7/698a198286f68ee6506eff86/RTW1_101_121819_0019_a_1800x1200.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Judy Berman","jobTitle":"TV Critic","url":"https://time.com/author/judy-berman/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blteb7e5c71cabcd2c7/698a198286f68ee6506eff86/RTW1_101_121819_0019_a_1800x1200.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Run the World Season 1 2021","caption":"Run the World Season 1 2021","creditText":"Jojo Whilden/Starz","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/television/","name":"Television"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/6047327/run-the-world-review-starz/","name":"Glossy Starz Comedy Run the World Is Living Single for 30-Somethings"}}]}] ```