‘Little Fires Everywhere’ Blazed a Path for a Real Convo on Race and Class
The hit show took on the intersections of racism, White privilege, and motherhood
Warning: spoilers ahead.
Hulu’s limited series Little Fires Everywhere is a deliciously venomous treat for television lovers everywhere. Based on the novel of the same name by Celeste Ng, and starring powerhouse actresses Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington, the tense period drama fits mountains of story into just eight episodes. The show tackles issues of race and class in keeping with its source material. But the story’s main focus is the obligations of motherhood and the ties that bind — and the show’s decision to cast a Black lead pushes that theme into sharp focus.
The show begins as a mystery about a recent crime. Who burned down the perfect home of Elena Richardson (Reese Witherspoon)? Through flashbacks, we are introduced to Elena’s husband and four children, and we watch as she fixates on the arrival of Mia Warren (Kerry Washington) and her teenage daughter Pearl (Lexi Underwood). As a Black and apparently low-income mother, Mia sticks out like a sore thumb in the affluent White neighborhood of Shaker Heights, Ohio. Elena goes out of her way to “adopt” Mia and her daughter in an act of misplaced benevolence, and their…
