Swarm boss breaks down that gross pie-eating scene
Swarm spoilers follow.
Swarm co-showrunner Janine Nabers has weighed in on one of the most bizarre moments of the thriller series, discussing the role food plays to flesh out its protagonist.
Co-created with Atlanta's Donald Glover, Swarm centres on Dominique Fishback's emotionally stunted superfan-turned-serial-killer Dre.
The seven-episode show sees Dre go on a killing spree off the back of her obsession for pop star Ni'Jah (Nirine S Brown), who very much resembles Beyoncé. The series is named after Ni'Jah's intense fanbase called 'The Swarm', another nod to the 'Formation' hitmaker's devoted followers known as 'Beyhive'.
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In the first episode, titled 'Stung', Dre unexpectedly kills her sister Marissa's boyfriend Khalid. Afterwards, a bloody-handed Dre proceeds to eat a cherry pie.
The show's creator noted how some real-life serial killers have been associated with a penchant for food.
In a chat with Variety, Nabers mentioned California murderer Richard Ramirez aka The Night Stalker, known for going through their victims' fridges, as well as Jeffrey Dahmer, who was said to have disposed of bodies in the chocolate vats at the factory he worked at.
"We talked a lot about food," the show's boss continued.
"What's a fun way, and a weird way, and a grotesque way to show her relationship to something that's passionate? And it could be funny. Food was it."
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Alongside the pie scene, Swarm also features a sequence in which Dre eats pretzels as one of her clients masturbates in front of her.
"Dominique is such a disciplined actress in what she eats, and is just so particular, so she came at it with a lot of thought and energy," Nabers said.
"It really feels meme-able, like something that could really stick in terms of the way people talk about her as a character and her 'isms'."
Swarm is available to stream on Prime Video.
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