Mia Isaac Delivers An Unforgettable Performance in ‘Black Cake,’ Hulu’s New Drama

Mia Isaac has been all the talk since her feature debut in the 2022 drama Don’t Make Me Go, but her role in Hulu‘s new series adaptation of Black Cake is her best one yet.

Based on the hit novel by Charmaine Wilkerson, Black Cake dives into the life of Eleanor Bennett , a mother-of-two who has recently died of cancer, played by Chipo Chung in adulthood.

The series premiered its first three episodes on November 1, 2023, and continues to air on Wednesdays until December 6, 2023.

In the first episode, Eleanor leaves her children, Bryon (Ashley Thomas) and Benny (Adrienne Warren), a flash drive in the wake of her death, and instructs the executor of her will to make her children — who are estranged — listen to it together. 

The flash drive features Eleanor telling the story of her life as a teenager in the late 1960s living in the Caribbean with her family, which surprises her children as she previously told them that she was an orphan.

The two quickly learn that before Eleanor was Eleanor, she was Covey, a fugitive from Jamaica accused of murdering her husband after being forced into an arranged marriage to subdue her family’s debt and improve their societal standing. That’s where Isaac comes along.

As a young girl, Covey was an aspiring professional surfer with a close friendship and a secret love tryst. She also deeply missed her mother, who disappeared and never returned. 

Throughout the series, Covey’s complicated teenage years are brought to life by the 19-year-old Isaac, who plays the character with a delightful complexity as she balances her drive to live an eventful life while also being skeptical of those around her because of her vulnerable position. To survive, Covey must trust those trying to help her, despite her tragic history, which has taught her otherwise.

With only three episodes released to date, Isaac’s performance has already garnered high praise from critics, and recognized as being the best part of an otherwise underwhelming show. Decider’s Joel Keller wrote in his review, “We’re able to forgive some of the missing pieces of the story, given Mia Isaac’s performance as Covey,” and adds that she “plays the teen as a strong person who tells her father in no uncertain terms just how he’s affected her life, but also conveys the complicated emotions involved in going along with the sham marriage to Little Man in order to protect him.” Aramide Tinubu from Variety dubbed her performance “incredible” and CNN’s Brian Lowry wrote that the show “doesn’t possess the sort of consistency that would put it on the top tier of limited series, but during portions featuring Isaac it rises to the occasion.”

Playing with the depths of her character, Isaac sees Covey through multiple stages of her life: as a youthful teen with big ambitions and even bigger feelings, and also as a young woman who dodges unwanted attention, but refuses to let her past get in the way of her future. Her effortless shift between the two is unforgettable, and extremely impressive.

Even though 2022 was Isaac’s breakout summer, it is clear that 2023 will be the year that cements her as one of her generation’s most gifted performers. Black Cake might be a slow build, but Isaac is quickly shooting to the top. 

Black Cake is currently streaming on Hulu.