I follow a lot of audio drama related accounts over on Twitter, as you might imagine. I first became aware of Margaritas & Donuts when one of the accounts, I forget which, retweeted some tweets from BlackAudioDramasExist. As their name suggest, they are dedicated to promoting audio drama produced by black creators. Though, I initially misread the name as BlackAudioDramaSexist. I took a quick look at it. The premise seemed potentially interesting, and it was only six episode long, clocking in at about two hours. So, I decided to give it a try, and it was love at first listen.
I liked how Margaritas & Donuts had a very down to earth feel to it, but was also fun and entertaining. It never felt like I was listening to the story of two overly quirky and impossibly attractive people who could only be falling in love in the magical land of Hollywood. Well, obviously, there is no visual component to audio dramas, beyond the occasional bit of character art, but Josephine and Malik felt like two real people who were letting us in on their love story.
Josephine struggles with the fact that she is still dating into forties. I can relate to that. Now, shocking as I'm sure this will be to many of you, I am not, nor have I ever been, a black woman. However, as of this writing, it is only a few weeks from my twenty-eighth birthday, and I'm still single. My birthday is New Year's Eve, for those wondering. Someday I think, "Shit, my parents were already engaged when they were my age!" I often worry that I might wind up having to date well into my forties. As you can see from how frequently I post these reviews, I'm not exactly a social butterfly. Still, if Josephine can find love, perhaps there is hope for me yet.
Josephine's best friend Katrina is a notable third primary character in the audio drama. She serves as the Greek Chorus, in that she comments on Josephine and Malik's romance, and encourages Josephine to fully commit to a relationship with Malik. Katrina specifically describes Malik as a unicorn, which the other characters, even Malik himself, eventually take up. That is, he's a charming, handsome, educated, financially stable black man who has his life together, and he's still on the market. Katrina has a husband named Ron and has two daughters named Daphne and Lucy, all of whom make minor appearances throughout the audio drama.
Now, you're probably wondering how margaritas and donuts factor into this. Well, Josephine and Malik's first so-of-kinda date is to the local coffee shop, which produces fresh donuts on certain days of the week. Malik's personal favorite are sour cream donuts. At first, I thought he'd gone crazy. Was the icing made of sour cream? But then I looked it up and apparently sour cream is added to the dough before baking. Okay, not as crazy as I was thinking. And yes, Josephine and Malik do have margaritas on their first official date. The podcast ran a promotional deal with an actual donut shop in Nashville. I'd always get very excited when I'd hear those ads, but then I'd remember that it only applied to Nashville residents. Though, they did eventually offer a deal for listeners outside of Nashville.
We have audio dramas that deal with heavy topics relating to the black experience; Harlem Queen and Bronzeville are two that immediately spring to mind. There is definitely a place for these sorts of shows, but I also think that it is equally important to get more black representation in more lighthearted fare. I maintain that one of the best examples of diversity in media is the original Magic School Bus. Just hear me out, it features a diverse cast of characters, but it never draws attention to this fact. It is just a normal accepted part of how Ms. Frizzle' class works. The same, I think, can be said of Margaritas & Donuts. It has a predominately black cast, but it never draws attention to this fact, or feels that need to justify it. I can't remember that last time I saw a romantic comedy with black leads; it is good that Margaritas & Donuts is being the change it wants to see in the world.
For what is, I would assume, a first attempt at audio drama, Margaritas & Donuts is quite well-written and well-acted. I do hope that series creator Faith McQuinn try's her hand at more audio drama someday. If this podcast is anything to go off of, we can expect great things from her in the future. The entire voice acting team gave outstanding performances, and I loved the little bits of jazzy piano music at the beginning and end of each episode.
Okay, I've put it off for as long as I could. We need to discuss some spoilers. So, if you don't want any of that, turn back now.
Last chance, you sure you want to continue?
Well, okay, if you're still here, let's get into it.
So, Josephine begins to suspect that Malik just might be a little too good to be true. I began to ponder the possibilities myself. There was always something that seemed slightly off about the way Malik spoke. I wondered if perhaps it would turn out that he had Asperger's or some other form of high-functioning autism. But no, that ultimately wasn't the case. Obviously, it wouldn't be anything too crazy. Malik wasn't going to turn out to be a serial killer, or a space alien, or anything like that. He also probably wasn't going to turn out to be gay, unless he was exceptionally good at faking attraction to Josephine. What could it be?
On the surface, Malik is a charming, handsome gentleman with a great job, and who has his life together. Beneath the surface...that's exactly what he is. The issue is actually with Josephine. She used to have a fiancé named Eddie, and he was basically perfect...up until he cheated on her. Oh, Eddie tried to break off the affair after he and Josephine got engaged...but then his mistress got pregnant, and he couldn't stand the idea of not being part of his new daughter's life. Well, I guess I ought to give him points for taking responsibility for his actions. Of course, that's all rather mitigated by the fact that he shouldn't have been having affairs in the first place.
Naturally, this had a big impact on Josephine, and made her wary of men who seem too good to be true. Thankfully, Josephine gets over this by realizing that Malik has numerous small flaws and imperfections. For example, pancakes are the only thing he can cook with competence. Really, Malik, you couldn't have used as a basis for figuring out how to cook eggs? But, if his flaws make Josephine happy, I guess that's what matters in the end.
The main show is followed by a special bonus episode that gives an update on the lives of the characters. Specifically, how they are dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. I thought it was a very nice episode, and it was good to get to visit the characters again, and see how they were doing. Like I said, I do hope Faith McQuinn write more audio dramas someday. Hey, I'm not the target audience for Margaritas & Donuts and I loved it to pieces. That alone should speak to her talent as a writer.
Well, I don't think there is much more for me to add. Margaritas & Donuts is an excellent romantic comedy with a predominately black cast. It is cute, fun, and I can't recommend it enough. Listen today, you'll be glad that you did.
Well, I think that should do it from me for now. I will see you guys next time.
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