OWN has unveiled a new teaser for their upcoming documentary series The Hair Tales, which will explore the many ways in which Black women wear and care for their hair. Through the personal tales of powerful Black women, the show will examine every aspect of hair, from the history that shaped their style to the craftsmanship that goes into making such complicated and gorgeous hairdos. The clips give a hint at the depth of the discussions to come, which will probe the significance of the women’s hair to their identities and the ways in which these aspects of their lives have been marginalised through time.
This new series by Michaela angela Davis (Hair Tales: The Parlor) and Tracee Ellis Ross (black-ish) will debut on Hulu and OWN on October 22. The film displays a wide variety of Black hairstyles and then explains how the gradual shift in cultural attitudes has made it feasible for these options to existing today. Many Black men and women used to straighten their hair to be “more attractive” or to conform to white beauty standards before the trend became popular.
As a result, a whole generation grew up feeling guilty about their genetic make-up, a sentiment echoed by the series’ guests in their personal anecdotes. Hair Tales’ stories serve as a bridge between hair and humanity for Black women. The second part of the teaser explains the show’s central theme: a celebration of Black women’s identities and the importance that their hair plays in expressing those identities. It’s a celebration of the diversity of women and what their hairstyles reveal about them as people as well as a celebration of the beauty of hair.
Oprah Winfrey, Issa Rae (Insecure, nominated for eight Emmys), Chlöe Bailey and Chika (nominated for Grammys), Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, and black-Marsai ish’s Martin are just a few of the notable guests who will appear in the show’s six episodes to emphasise the uniqueness of its subject matter. Winfrey will not only guest star in one episode but also act as an executive producer with Ross, Davis, Tara Duncan, Raeshem Nijhon, Carri Twigg, and Kisha Imani Cameron. Culture House, Joy Mill Entertainment, Tetravision, and Harpo Films collaborated on the docuseries’ production, with Onyx Collective serving as the third network behind OWN and Hulu.
Davis had already explored this territory with Hair Tales: The Parlor, a micro doc miniseries from 2016 that included Regina King, Tasha Smith, and Mara Brock Akil, among others, and is now revisiting the idea with The Hair Tales. Davis and her buddy Ross partnered together to take Davis’s idea to a bigger audience on OWN, where they could run six one-hour episodes dedicated to Black hair. The first two episodes of The Hair Tales will debut on OWN and Hulu on October 22. After that, every Wednesday at 9 p.m. ET/PT, Hulu will release two brand new episodes, while OWN will broadcast one.