The big C (capitalism) won’t free us from oppression, no matter how flashy and enticing the Kool-Aid may be. This theme rings true throughout writer-director Boots Riley’s new Prime Video original series, I’m A Virgo.

The modern coming-of-age odyssey from Riley, who wrote and directed Sorry to Bother You, uses fantastical elements of sci-fi and comic books to subvert the hypocrisies of the world: capitalism, scarcity/poverty, police brutality/copaganda, and its detrimental effects on the Black community and young Black people like Jharrel Jerome’s Cootie, a 13-foot-tall giant who’s sheltered from the world for the first 19 years of his life.

The 7-episode series, set in Oakland, follows Cootie as his uncle and aunt adopt him and try to protect him from a world that fears him. As an allegory to the “the talk” Black parents must have with their children, Cootie’s sheltering represents an attempted barrier against racist systemic barriers. But Cootie’s interest and curiosity about the outside world ultimately thrust him into a whirlwind odyssey as he learns the world is more complicated than he thought.

While Cootie explores the outside world, he experiences love, loss, and friendship as he learns everything he believed was a curated lie. The hero he looked up to wasn’t there to serve and protect all citizens but instead to oppress marginalized communities to make those in power feel more comfortable in their ivory towers by cutting resources and setting curfews.

Admittedly, discussing capitalism and its oppressive fist can be draining and make many feel defeated. Still, it’s a necessary conversation that Riley packages in entertaining mythical elements of powers and superheroes and villains.

The Prime Video original, on its surface, seems like many moving parts and a bit out there. Still, at its core, it’s about the importance of coming together to fight against corrupt systems, reinforcing the idea that the whole is greater than the few.

Reckon recently caught up with the I’m A Virgo star and co-executive producer Jharrel Jerome to discuss the series. (Note: Riley wasn’t available to speak to Reckon due to the ongoing writers’ strike.)

What was your favorite part about playing this character, Cootie?

Jharrel Jerome: [My] favorite part about playing Cootie [is] that I’ve never seen Cootie on screen anywhere before. I think there was just such an exciting element to the fact that I get to bring something that hasn’t been brought to life before. It came with pressure; it came with nerves. But being able to execute it and going 50/50 with Boots [Riley], it just was so much fun. And by the end, I’m just proud of it all and happy to see it come to life.

Cootie is sheltered most of his life. How does this journey of venturing into the world throughout the series affect him?

Jharrel Jerome: It’s funny. He spent 19 years of his life trapped or not necessarily trapped because often when you hear about stories of somebody kept inside, it’s usually this punishment or torture, but he was lovingly trapped. He was just kept inside because they wanted to protect him.

Then the second he goes outside, it’s almost like he learns more in about a month than in the 19 years he’s spent in that house. And so I think it’s cool to see, throughout the trajectory, one man learns so much. The bright-eyed discovery that he’s often going through in all these different moments, whether it’s an intimate moment, [or] with friends, [or] it’s just out in the street hanging out or driving, it’s always new to him. So, it was fun to play around with that naive, young energy.

What do you hope viewers take with them after watching I’m a Virgo, which is such a fantastical story that analyzes everyday societal norms?

Jharrel Jerome: Boots has a very special way of talking about capitalism. And capitalism is kind of the crutch [for] a lot of the problems that Black people have in America. If we watch another project, a Black story about drugs, crime, and jail, this all falls under the umbrella of what capitalism does to our society and the system. And Boots just goes at the source with it.

So hopefully, after you watch the show, people are willing to have more of a conversation about the system and the politics of it all. Because honestly, it’s boring. When we think of capitalism, the second someone says that in a conversation, I’m out of here. I’m like, “Nah, I don’t want to talk about that.” But it is an incredibly important topic, and Boots knows how to make it fun. And this show is a fun exploration of that entire system.