“Insecure” has dropped an official trailer for “Looking For Latoya,” a true crime show-in-show featuring SZA (real name Solána Rowe) in the role of the missing LaToya Thompson.
The video opens with a family portrait of SZA with a man and a woman who are presumably her parents (played by Kandi Burruss, and Carl Payne). Providing a voice over, show host Rose Cranberry (Terri J. Vaugh) states, “On the afternoon of July 23, 2019, a 26-year-old LaToya Thompson walked into a Red Lobster, but she never quite made it to those warm, Cheddar Bay Biscuits. Is LaToya just missing or was she murdered?”
Playing the role of LaToya’s roommate and friend, “Real Housewives of Atlanta” cast member Porsha Williams states, “She told me she and her boyfriend was having problems. I know he knows something. Did he do it?”
In an interview, Ray J (real name Williams Ray Norwood) in the role of LaToya’s boyfriend, Rufus, tells Rose, “I didn’t kill her though. I mean…I killed the pussy though. My condolences to her moms and pop.”
Rose goes on to interview a couple who finger LaToya’s acting coach, a white man, who they imply she was having an affair with. Meanwhile, the local police can’t seem to distinguish between LaToya and a stolen Toyota.
More than just a show about a missing young woman, according to Issa Rae, the mini-show serves in part as a metaphor for the demise of Issa Dee (Rae) and Molly Carter’s (Yvonne Orji) friendship.
The series is also in part a critique of the true crime series genre. In an interview with ET, Rae explained, “One of the things a lot of these true crime podcasts and true crime shows in general have in common is that they’re always looking for missing white girls. ‘Looking for LaToya’ exposes the idea that none of these are centered around black girls, and what it would look like if it were and finding the dark humor in that.”
Check out the trailer below.
