How to Watch 'Them': Lena Waithe and Little Marvin's New Horror Anthology Streams April 9

Amazon Studios

Published: 3:01 PM PDT, April 9, 2021

The new horror anthology explores terror in America, and premieres on Amazon Prime on April 9.

Set in the 1950s during a period in American history known as the Great Migration, a Black family moves from North Carolina to an all-white neighborhood in Los Angeles, California, to escape ongoing racial segregation and discrimination in the Southern states where Jim Crow laws were still upheld.

Not long after settling into the sunny California suburb, the family’s idyllic new home soon becomes the center of both real-life and otherworldly forces that threaten to destroy parents Henry (Ashley Thomas) and Liva (Deborah Ayorinde), and their two daughters, Ruby (Shahadi Wright Joseph) and Gracie (Melody Hurd).

“The 1950s, for me, came because I really wanted to explore the roots of the American Dream. And there's nothing more emblematic of that to me than home ownership,” Little Marvin tells ET about the idea behind season 1, dubbed Covenant.

He adds, “In the 1950s, you had a thriving middle class. And that was really the beginning of that great, big suburban boom, which as we know, was not a boom at all for Black folks. So it just so happened that that decade was sort of emblematic of both that dream of homeownership, but also the nightmare that undermines it.”

While the series may recall HBO’s Lovecraft Country, or even Watchmen, in the way that it’s uncovering overlooked or buried Black history in America and using that to amplify the storytelling, the creator says each series totally unique in exploring its own vision. “What I think is really interesting and unique though,” he muses, “is that there is obviously a moment happening where horror and particularly genre filmmaking is the go-to spot for telling Black stories.”

To watch Them on Amazon Prime, you have to be a Prime subscriber, which grants you access to all of the services Prime Video titles. New subscribers can begin their subscription with a free 30-day trial, at which point plans start at $8.99 per month for Prime Video, or 12.99 a month/$119 a year for a full Prime membership which comes with a variety of other benefits, including two day shipping.