Mood, BBC
Mood is based on the one woman play: Superhoe, written and performed by Nicole Lecky. In the TV version, Lecky reprises her role as wannabe musician Sasha, and proceeds to embark on an astute look at Gen Z’s obsession with fame, money and the lengths some will go to get them. While this may seem like well-trodden ground, Mood provides an updated and nuanced take on the converging worlds of social media influencing and sex work.
Before she can become a famous singer, Sasha decides she needs to hustle as an influencer in the Love Island mould. The show is in no small part a homage to the reality show. During a sad moment, Sasha asks her friends if they’d like her to “rap and lift the mood a bit” (if you don’t get that reference by now, then you probably won’t want to). Early on in the series, a few Love Island contestants make fleeting cameos, moments that remind us how important the show has become as a cultural touchstone and a crucial talking point in the conversation on fame and its trappings in this country.
Love Island has shown us how superficial the walls between the world of influencing and the world of sex work are. As some former contestants have crossed over into sex work, Sasha herself is seduced into that world when she is taken under the wing of a complicated and mysterious friend, Carly.
Sasha begins by taking pictures of herself for the TV equivalent of Only Fans, before Carly manages to convince her to start sleeping with men for cash. To it’s credit, the show isn’t an entirely negative representation of sex work and is keen to remind the audience that the industry can be body positive and only problematic when consent and agency are lost.
Unfortunately, that line is crossed when Sasha and her friends agree to go on a trip and are held against their will in a villa crawling with entitled and predatory men. It’s a moment that helps Sasha reconnect with her true self, discover the authenticity in her passion to sing and in turn express her true identity.
There is intertextuality in this show, in that, as Sasha makes her mark on the entertainment industry, we are witnessing Nicole Lecky emerging into the public consciousness. Lecky (as is intended in Sasha) has talent - her performance is assured and her accomplished original soundtrack punctuates the show in a unique way when big song and dance set pieces transform the drama into a momentary musical.
One criticism you might level at Lecky and Mood, is the sheer volume of subjects that are introduced all at once. Within one short series, Sasha questions her own identity; contemplates her own historic abuse; has a passionate kiss with Carly that isn’t followed up on; as well as a few other things. The show might have been better served in taking all of its admittedly interesting elements one at a time.
All told, there is enough to like, enough to keep you interested, and enough to make you think in Mood, an impressive bow from Lecky.
