I know it’s been months since I’ve watched it, but ‘Champion’ is finally on global Netflix, so now my international friends get to enjoy the show that captured my heart. There were so many moments in this show that highlighted the modern Black Caribbean British household dynamic in a way that hasn’t been explored in this way outside of comedy in this country.

I’m so passionate about having art that showcases everyone’s walk of life, especially my own as a 2nd generation Black British woman of Jamaican heritage. I saw my nan in Aria and my grandad in Beres, although neither of my grandparents is as bad as those two, and I saw my uncles and aunties and myself and my cousins in Bosco and Vita.

This show showcased many things, primarily dysfunction, but it’s what was needed. Bosco and Vita’s first bullies were at home, and we explored why. For their parents, their children represented their failures as musicians and failures in their relationships. The choices in each of their kid’s storylines show how their failures as parents. For Vita, we see how patriarchy has her wasting her time trying to be Bosco’s assistant and then manager when she is the only reason he has a career in the first place. The way her parents treated her has made it so that her life will always be wrapped around her brother. The only time Vita gets to understand what she wants is when Bosco’s gone, and then she walks away from being the girl who never gets credit and becomes an artist neither Bosco nor her parents could have ever dreamed of being themselves.

This is an excellent representation of patriarchal systems in a community where most systems are matriarchal. I’ve noticed that as much as men like Beres want to act like they lead their homes, it’s the mothers and grandmothers who are always leading the pack, just like Aria. That’s why it’s so dysfunctional for the Champion family; they’re trying to prop up something they’re not following. And I think that gets in the way of Aria and Lennox’s relationship. As I watched, I noticed that he always followed her lead, and although they weren’t perfect, Lennox was. Lennox felt like he was written for women by women. Lennox was who she needed, and I hate that she didn’t know that; she let go of her dreams and held onto Beres to be a wife and mother, and I don’t think Aria learnt to let go until she learnt from what happened in Jamaica.

All this mix-up has created Bosco, who has the weight of the world on their shoulders because they have been taught that it’s all on him. Bosco can’t lean on their friends and family, and that’s why he ended up in prison in the first place, I’m guessing. That’s why he ran away to a place where he felt safe and had no contact with his family. I have so much sympathy for his character and all the people in real life who are affected by the backwardness of how mental health is treated in our community, which I guess means us all. Although Bosco perpetuated the problem with how he treated his sister, I’m happy that he was in a better place. Looking back, all of his stresses were deeply routed from the family dynamic; as he was rotting in prison, his dad was living lavishly in apartments Bosco was paying for until there was no money left, and when he came back, look what happened. I think it happens often, especially with immigrant parents. They want to save face even when it’s going to shit; see, for Beres, he was living the dreams of himself and those who came before him before Bosco went to prison, and he continued to even though his son couldn’t afford it. I’m guessing Bosco couldn’t afford it before he went to prison, and then it was all up to Bosco and Vita to get him back to the top. His ego got in his way, and that was why Beres neglected his father and the son he left his dad to raise in Jamaica to seek a better life for himself in England, and it’s why when he went back to Jamaica with nothing, he left with nothing. Beres is the true villain in all of this because it was evident throughout all of this that he only cared about HIS money, only cared about Vita when she was getting big, only cared about Bosco when he had money, and in the end, sold his own son out because all he loves is money. I don’t think I can think of a parent worse than Beres Champion, and I’m not even blaming patriarchy cause Beres is just a dick. He always wants what he can’t have: fame with his failing radio station, money with his failing recording contracts and Aria, who sacrificed her own career to prop him up, and it still failed.

As much as this seems negative, I loved this show. I’m passionate about each of these characters because the show is so good.

I’m really hoping for a second series of this show. Still, I know that the Screen industry loves to take their sweet time with renewals in this country, so 2026 at this point, especially with the writer of the show Candice Carty-Williams having an adaptation of her bestseller ‘Queenie‘ coming to

If you haven’t watched Champion yet, I recommend you watch it as soon as possible. It’s now available on Netflix for all those in and outside of the UK.