“Stan Culture” is a combination of a stalker and a fan, with the term first making its way to the mainstream in the early 2000s and really taking off with the progression of the internet. Rapper Eminem brought the word to the forefront with a song on his album, The Marshall Mathers LP. The rapper’s song detailed the story of a fan whose obsession with Eminem took a deadly turn over time.
Initially, being a “stan” was not a compliment, but as social media brought celebrities closer to their fans, the term has since become a badge of honor for some groups. Popular stan groups include the Navy (fans of Rihanna), Barbz (Nicki Minaj fans), Swifties (fans of Taylor Swift) and the Beyhive (Beyoncé fans).
Co-creators and executive producers Janine Nabers and Donald Glover explored the dark side of stan culture with their original series, Swarm. The series consists of seven episodes that range in length from 27 to 39 minutes. Swarm follows Dre, who is a super-fan of a fictional pop star named Ni’Jah. A personal loss sends Dre on an unexpected cross-country journey full of lies, music and murder. Season one of the series takes place between 2016-2018 as Dre travels to various states, including Texas, Tennessee and Georgia.
Many viewers speculate that the series is loosely based on Beyoncé since Ni’Jah is a top-selling artist with a rapper husband and a cult-like loyal fan base called the Swarm. The show opens with a message teasing that the series is not a work of fiction and goes a step further to inform viewers that “any similarity to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is intentional.”
The series’ main character, Dre, is portrayed by Dominique Fishback, who also serves as a producer on the show. Viewers will notice several familiar faces in the series, including Leon, Chlöe Bailey, Damson Idris and Billie Eilish. Those interested in watching Swarm can binge-watch the first season with a Prime Video subscription. There has not been any word on whether there will be a season two of the series at this time.
