The 1990s Black Sitcom Was Both a Promise and a Trap

Camille Acker’s debut novel A Very Special Episode is part sinister satirical thriller, part laugh track. It’s like watching your favorite show and finding yourself inside an episode where every joke suddenly feels like life or death. 

Set in Washington, DC, the story follows Nina Johnson, newly elected leader of The Tenth, a prestigious Black social organization founded by her ancestors after Emancipation. After wrestling The Tenth from her mother, Dolores, Nina pledges to bring the organization into the future: “I...