Time to hit the poles. P-Valley has announced that its third and final season will premiere with two new episodes Friday, December 4, four years after season two ended on August 14, 2022.
Created by Katori Hall, the Starz drama revolves around those who work at The Pynk, a strip club in Chucalissa, a fictitious Mississippi Delta town. But this show isn’t just about the work; it’s a deeper dive into race, gender, sexuality and Southern life.
Never afraid to tell the truth about its community or to be messy, in its second season, P-Valley brought COVID-19 into Chucalissa, showing how the pandemic hit already disenfranchised communities harder: lost income, shuttered businesses and people who didn’t have a life where they could just stay home. That same honesty runs through the series’ portrayals of Black women, sex workers, queer Black Southerners, churchgoers, aspiring rappers and those just trying to survive.
“I’m a Southern gal from Memphis, Tennessee, and I grew up going to strip clubs. So the world wasn’t necessarily foreign to me. It was actually part of my coming of age,” Hall expressed to EBONY in a prior interview.
“I embarked upon a very long journey. I ended up going to 40 strip clubs. I talked to 40 women, because I thought it was incredibly important for me to listen to as many stories as I possibly could. I really wanted to get the portrayal of this world right.”
With the show’s imminent return, EBONY looks back at three iconic moments from season one and two that still run rent free in our heads.
Mercedes Whoops Mama Patrice
Mercedes spends years saving more than $20,000 to leave The Pynk and open a dance gym, only to discover that her mother, Patrice, has taken the money and used it to secure the building for her own church. Mercedes’s response is immediate and unforgettable: she beats her mother in the parking lot, turning years of resentment, manipulation and betrayal into one explosive scene.
Miss Mississippi Dances to Lil Murda’s Song
Keyshawn, a.k.a. Miss Mississippi, finally gets her moment in the spotlight when she takes to the pole and dances to Lil Murda’s music. Outside, Murda hears his song playing and jumps up with pride, even if no one around him quite shares his excitement. It’s a small but telling moment about what it feels like for a Black creative to finally hear his work recognized. That journey culminates in the Season 1 finale, when Lil Murda takes The Pynk stage himself, performing for the crowd as the dancers turn his music into a full-blown show.
Big Teak’s Death
It’s still a moment we can’t let go of, and one of the most devastating in P-Valley. Recently released from prison, Big Teak reconnects with Lil Murda, his longtime friend and former lover, while carrying trauma, depression and a deep inability to imagine a future for himself. Their final day together includes small moments of joy as Murda desperately tries to show Teak that life can still hold something for him. Ultimately, it isn’t enough. Teak dies by suicide while sitting in the car with Murda, and that loss sits heavy, changing Murda and the entire emotional vibe of Season 2.
Lil Murda and Uncle Clifford’s Kitchen Love Scene
By Season 2, Lil Murda and Uncle Clifford’s relationship has moved far beyond secret attraction, and their now-infamous kitchen-table scene makes that unmistakably clear. Set to Future’s “Thought It Was a Drought,” the moment is one of P-Valley’s boldest depictions of Black queer desire, giving Clifford and Murda the same heat and romantic intensity usually reserved for heterosexual couples on TV. It’s sexy, unapologetic and significant without ever feeling like it’s trying to make a statement beyond pure desire. For obvious reasons, you’ll have to head to Starz to watch this one.