This article recaps the story of Amazon’s Harlem season 1 and will contain spoilers.
When the series of Harlem starts, the four main characters, Camille (Meagan Good), Angie (Shoniqua Shandai), Tye (Jerrie Johnson), and Quinn (Grace Byers), have an unbreakable bond. As for Camille, she is happy being single and satisfied with where her career is heading. But that all changes when her ex, Ian (Tyler Lepley), arrives back in Harlem. Struggling with the prospect of bumping into him, Camille nearly sleeps with one of her students. It’s only made worse for Camille when Dr. Elise Pruitt (Whoopi Goldberg) comes to work at the university. From the get-go, they don’t seem to “hit it off”.
Story Recap – what happened in Harlem season 1?
Quinn goes from bad date to bad date, the worst of which is when her handbag is stolen, and she is left on Long Island with no way to get back home. Whilst she owns her own business, it’s not doing all that well, and her mother (Jasmine Guy) constantly belittles her and the business. In comparison, Tye has designed a winning app and prepares for a Forbes interview. The other member of the “unbreakable gang” is Angie. A failing singer, she at first declines a role in Get Out: The Musical. But after she falls (and un-falls) for Amanuel (Warner Miller), an artist who lives in his car, she reconsiders the role in the musical.
Tye’s luck begins to run out when she goes for the Forbes interview and it’s with a previous one-night stand, Anna (Kate Rockwell). Whilst the interview goes well, Tye does not part with Anna on friendly terms after they go on a few dates. Angie has a similar amount of luck as when she goes to begin work on the musical, she must pay a $600 fee. And so, Angie fakes being a nanny to get the extra cash. For Camille, she eventually comes face-to-face with Ian, although she struggles upon learning that he is now engaged. The matter is made even worse when Camille accidentally protests against the restaurant he is a head chef of.
To clear her mind, Camille goes on a date with Jameson (Sullivan Jones), but as such, she misses a meeting with Dr. Elise Pruitt and finds herself demoted. Quinn finally finds a guy she likes, Shawn (Robert Ri’chard). But she struggles with the fact that he is a stripper with a son, J.J ((Tyler Williams). However, her business does, at last, gain some work. The only issue is that it is to design a wedding dress for Ian’s fiancée Mira (Rana Roy). It nearly causes a fallout with the “unbreakable” gang, but before long they’re all friends again.
This is just as well, as Tye needs them when she collapses and finds herself in hospital. And whilst Tye is ok, the other three are shocked to learn that she has a husband. Hoping to improve her career, Camille visits Dr. Elise Pruitt and asks for her support for the associate position. She is shut down immediately, with Camille being told she isn’t ready.
For the eighth episode, Harlem provides us with a flashback episode. The episode shows us that when Camille and Ian were about to move to Paris, they broke up just as Ian was preparing to propose. Quinn, meanwhile, had a career that made her mother proud. But as it made her miserable, she quit in favor of opening her own business, something that disappoints her mother very much. Tye gets dumped by her girlfriend Melissa (Ebonee Noel) after she reveals all about her husband and how she suddenly left her. In the flashback episode, Angie was an up-and-coming star but when her single failed to achieve any success, she was dropped.
The ending
The final two episodes of Harlem bring us back to the present timeline. After a dress rehearsal of Get Out: The Musical, Tye tells Angie that the musical is terrible. Quinn babysits J.J as a way to bond with her and therefore help her relationship with Shawn. But, as such, Quinn actually ends up bonding with Isabela (Juani Feliz), and Quinn asks Isabela out on a date. Tye tries and fails to have Brandon sign the divorce papers, which may mean that a nasty divorce battle is on its way.
Angie learns that one of the leading stars of Get Out: The Musical has been forced to withdraw. So Angie is promoted to one of the leading stars. But her happiness is short-lived as the musical is soon pulled from production. The first season of Harlem finishes just as Camille and Ian reveal that they love each other still. As they kiss, Ian’s fiancée Mira watches them.
And that’s the story recap — what did you think of Harlem season 1?
