Sumith Prasad
Starz’s drama series ‘P-Valley’ centers around The Pynk, a strip club run by Uncle Clifford. The existence of The Pynk, along with the lives of the dancers who work at the same, gets threatened when the wealthy and influential Kyle brothers set out to buy the strip club for them to secure the land for The Promised Land Casino and Resort. The series progresses through the events that affect the operation of the strip club while exploring the personal relationships of the club’s dancers. Since the show’s narrative is set in captivating geography and a familiar period, we have taken a detailed look at the same. Let us share our findings!
When Does P-Valley Take Place?
The first season of ‘P-Valley’ seemingly takes place in 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic hit the world. The season primarily explores how big projects like The Promised Land threatens the existence of small establishments like The Pynk, which will jeopardize the lives of a small group of people working at the place. The second season is set in 2020, in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic and the murder of George Floyd, who died on May 25, 2020.
“I felt like strip clubs, it’s a business that’s based on gathering and based on intimacy, so what if this big virus comes in and destroys your business model? Boom, that’s high-stakes drama right there,” creator Katori Hall told THR about her decision to set the show in 2020. Hall also addresses the increased rate of domestic abuse that happened amid the pandemic through the abuse Keyshawn Harris AKA Miss Mississippi suffers from her toxic partner Derrick.
Hall also focuses on the police brutality that threatened the lives of several Black individuals, especially George Floyd. “I think it was very honest the way Katori wrote it into the show. I couldn’t see 2020 being depicted in fiction without adding the aspect of racism and the George Floyd incident and Ahmaud Aubrey and all of those incidents happening as well,” Shannon Thornton, who portrays Keyshawn, told THR in the same interview.
Through the murder of an unnamed Black man and Roulette remembering her dead brother Demethrius, killed by the police, Hall succeeds in addressing one of the most heartbreaking incidents that happened in 2020. “I feel as though this fight towards racial justice is something that has been never-ending, and as a Black person I felt like it would have been irresponsible for me to not address it,” Hall added to THR.
Where Does P-Valley Take Place?
‘P-Valley’ take place in Chucalissa, a fictional Mississippi city conceived by Katori Hall. The name “Chucalissa” is a reference to the eponymous archaeological site located in Memphis, Tennessee, a major prehistoric settlement site of the Mississippian culture, which also means “abandoned house.” The people who live in the city, specifically the major characters, have a history of abandoning or having been abandoned by someone. Mercedes Woodbine, who had to give away her daughter Terricka to Cortez, and Patrice Woodbine, who abandoned Mercedes to follow the way of God, are two of several examples. Ironically, Chucalissa becomes a home for these people, who deal with their abandonment one way or another.
Chucalissa also represents a typical Southern United States city. Hall uses the unignorable presence of religion, Christianity’s conflict with prejudicial immorality, cotton plantations, etc. to present the fictional Chucalissa as part of life in the Southern United States. Even though the fictitious city is in Mississippi, the show is primarily filmed in Atlanta, Georgia.
Read More: What Are Uncle Clifford’s Rules at The Pynk in P-Valley?
