When it comes to the latest 2023 TV releases, I’m sure there are plenty that have been on our minds. During January and February, many were constantly thinking of The Last of Us (which just finished its first season), or maybe Ted Lasso Season 3 on Apple TV+. But, how about I turn you on to a brand new show that is like a combination of Stephen King’s fantastic novel, Misery, mixed with today’s pop culture? Welcome to Swarm, a show co-created by the talented Donald Glover and Janine Nabers, telling the story of a young woman who is obsessed with a modern-day popstar (who is a lot like our real-life Beyoncé) and takes the love she has for her to a whole new level.
The new horror/thriller series on Amazon is likely to become one of the best Amazon Prime shows, and with a small but very talented cast, I’m sure you’ve most probably plenty of these actors before. Let’s get into where else you might have seen the Swarm cast.
Dominique Fishback (Dre)
First up on this list is Dominique Fishback, who portrays Dre in Swarm, the aforementioned obsessed character that we follow, and see just how far her love for the popstar goes. Fishback is certainly not new to the world of television and movies, and has done so much that you might have recognized her from before her starring role.
Check out our review for Judas and the Black Messiah if you want to see Dominique Fishback again.
In terms of movies, Fishback has appeared in films like Judas and the Black Messiah, The Hate U Give, Project Power, and is going to be featured in the upcoming Transformers: Rise of the Beast. She was also in the film Night Comes On.
She has also had plenty of success in television. Besides guest roles on big shows such as The Affair and The Americans, among others, Fishback had a recurring role on Show Me A Hero, and portrayed Darlene on The Deuce. The star also had a main role on The Last Day of Ptolemy Grey.
Chlöe Bailey (Marissa)
Moving on with this cast, we take a look at Chlöe Bailey, who plays Marissa, Dre's sister and someone who is obviously not as obsessed with this popstar as she is. That last name might sound very familiar, as Bailey is actually known for a lot of her music with her sister, Halle Bailey (who is portraying Ariel in the live-action The Little Mermaid), professionally known as Chlöe x Halle.
However, she has also done plenty in movies and television as well. In terms of movies, she appeared in the musical films, Joyful Noise and Let It Shine, as well as Jane in 2022, and Meet the Browns, among other smaller films. Bailey also was a part of the main cast of Grown-ish, had a guest role on Black-ish, and guest starred on several other TV shows.
Damson Idris (Khalid)
Next up on the list is Damson Idris, who portrays Khalid, Marissa’s boyfriend. Idris is primarily known for his role on the hit drama, Snowfall, but he’s done plenty of other work in the world of movies and television. With movies, he’s had big roles in films like the Liam Neeson-led, The Commuter, as well as the Netflix original film, Outside the Wire. He also appeared in Farming and Astral.
With television, he had a guest role on the Jordan Peele TV show, The Twilight Zone, as well as a guest role on Black Mirror, and a guest role in Doctors, Miranda, and Casualty. It’s awesome to see him in a main role such as this.
Rickey Thompson
Moving on, we have Rickey Thompson in Swarm, who has mainly been on television prior to his role in the Amazon Prime show. Thompson was in the YouTube Original series Foursome from 2016 to 2018, and also was in the film, Good Mourning.
Paris Jackson
The next cast member we’re talking about is Paris Jackson, who is actually the daughter of famed musician Michael Jackson. The actress has been breaking into acting more over the last few years, and her role in Swarm will be more proof of that. Jackson hasn’t been in that many movies, with her only roles so far being in Gringo, The Space Between, Habit, and Sex Appeal, but she’s starting to do more in TV.
Besides the guest roles where she played feature herself, she had a special recurring role on Star, and was a part of the American Horror Stories Season 1 cast for several episodes, so we’ve already seen her dive into some interesting horror – specifically, the Ryan Murphy horror world.
Rory Culkin
Besides Macaulay and Kieran, Rory Culkin is another one of the siblings who has since continued his career from child acting and appeared in many movies and TV shows – the latest now being Swarm.
Culkin has appeared in a plethora of big movies you may have seen, such as Richie Rich, You Can Count On Me, the horror film, Signs, Mean Creek, The Zodiac, The Night Listener, Scream 4 of the Scream franchise, Jack Goes Home, Intruders, Lords of Chaos, Materna, and more. He also had a guest role in The Job on television, a recurring role on Castle Rock, and was in the miniseries Under the Banner of Heaven.
Kiersey Clemons
Moving on, we take a look at Kiersey Clemons, who is a guest star on Swarm. Clemons has done so much in the world of movies, including Hearts Beat Loud alongside Nick Offerman, Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising, Sweetheart, Zack Snyder’s Justice League, Flatliners, Dope, Amazon's recent film Somebody I Used To Know, and so many more.
Clemons also had a recurring role on the series Transparent, and had big roles on both Extant and Easy. Most recently, she had a main role in 2018 on the show Angie Tribeca.
Byron Bowers
Last but not least, we have Byron Bowers, another guest star in the new series. Byron is primarily known for his comedy, but he’s done plenty of acting in both film and television. Some of the highlights of his career include appearances and roles on The Eric Andre Show, the Showtime series, The Chi, Honey Boy, No Sudden Move, The Pete Holmes Show, Viceland, and so many more.
Now, if you hadn't seen these actors before, you've found something new to watch them in. And, hopefully, you won’t get as obsessed with them as Dre does in Swarm.
