Years after beginning her own acting career, starring in HBO shows “The Wire,” “We Own This City” and “The Deuce,” Imani Nia Robinson has created her own show that makes her, and Baltimore, one of its main characters.
The pilot episode for “3 Blind Mice” was posted on YouTube on Aug.4 and was viewed 35,000 times in less than a month, while the trailer for the show received 495,000 views within the same period.
The series, created, written by and starring Robinson, focuses on a group of three college-age Black women in Baltimore finding themselves, emotionally and socially, within the city. The pilot was originally filmed within five days in Baltimore.
Coppin State University, which is the setting of a fictional HBCU in the show, and OK Natural Food Store in Belvedere are used as filming locations in the pilot.
Robinson said she created “3 Blind Mice” so she could show off Baltimore while giving herself, and other actors, a chance to shine.
“I grew up when Disney Channel was at its prime and I loved ‘That’s So Raven’ and I always wanted to have my own show,” Robinson said. “I love Baltimore city so much and I want to showcase the city in a beautiful light. I love the 90s so much and I wanted to bring that 90s nostalgia within the series as well.”
Robinson has pitched the show to multiple television networks, although none have picked it up yet. Robinson and her executive producer, Noni Robinson, decided to produce the show themselves after setbacks like COVID-19, the Writers Guild of America strike in 2023 and networks refusing to pick up the show for production.
Robinson said the idea for the show developed over multiple iterations since she was in high school, beginning as the “Cocoa Cream Show” before becoming “Color Blind” and finally “3 Blind Mice.”
Robinson plays Naeemah, a Black woman adopted and raised by white people, who struggles to fit in with the Black community and transfers colleges to a Baltimore school to find her black identity. The show takes inspiration from 90s nostalgia and TV shows, like “A Different World,” Robinson said.
Although Robinson does not relate to Naeemah’s adopted status, she did base some of her soul-searching on experiences she had while growing up.
“I did grow up in predominantly Black neighborhoods in Baltimore and ironically I went to predominately white schools in Baltimore,” Robinson said. “Oftentimes I was the only black girl in my class. Just navigating that and trying to figure out as a young Black woman at the time and finding my voice and finding my tribe. All of that helped with that backstory.”
In the pilot, Naeemah moves in with her two twentysomething roommates. Muffin, played by Crystal T. Johnson, is a struggling law school student, and Brittanie, played by Natasha M. Gallop, is finding her financial independence after being cut off by her parents. Robinson said she aimed to cover multiple facets of the Black experience rather than a singular point of view.
“You’re going to experience these women as they’re growing and dealing with adulthood in their 20s, so it’s going to be really exciting,” she said. “Baltimore will help shape who they are.”
With the recent virality and media coverage of “3 Blind Mice,” Robinson said preproduction begins soon, with her team starting a writer’s room for the show in December. Filming and production are planned to take place in early 2026.
As the attention on “3 Blind Mice” increases and preproduction begins, Robinson said she is thankful for the love Baltimore has shown the show online and in person. She hopes to work more as an actor and bring more of her ideas to life behind the scenes.
“I’m really hoping that, because ‘3 Blind Mice’ has gotten the attention of people that respect the work that they will stick with my other projects too,” Robinson said. “I really want to create stories for people whose voices aren’t really heard.”
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