T'Nia Miller

 

Amazon Prime's The Peripheral is a highly entertaining sci-fi series created from the 2014 William Gibson apocalyptic novel of the same name, but it is also a stellar example of diversity and inclusion in television and film.

This is particularly true in the casting of the Black British actress T'Nia Miller as the cold-blooded research institute leader Dr. Cherise Nuland, a woman of science so evil she can turn honeybees into killers to punish a disappointing subordinate.

The casting of Ms. Miller, who is openly lesbian, is one of those rare occasions when a Black female performer gets to play a scene-stealing villainous role that most often have gone to white men.

Ms. Miller, who has appeared primarily in British television series, takes the classic black-caped / moustache-twirling bad guy and turns him into a shaved-headed, bejeweled future-fashionista dominatrix who is as venomous and ruthless as any male actor might be -- and more than any Black woman has been allowed to be on film.

The character is a wonderfully refreshing and encouraging creation.

The Peripheral also stars Chloe Grace Moretz, Jack Reynor and Gary Carr.