''5th Ward The Series'' is an American television

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

series written, produced, and created by director Greg Carter and premiered on Urban Movie Channel on March 2, 2018. The series is based on director Greg Carter's first movie '' Fifth Ward'' (1997). It is centered around the life of Mina, a single mother of two struggling to make ends meet; as well as several additional locals and town officials residing in the historical district of

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

's Fifth Ward and serves as a

prequel A prequel is a literary, dramatic or cinematic work whose story precedes that of a previous work, by focusing on events that occur before the original narrative. A prequel is a work that forms part of a backstory to the preceding work. The term " ...

with season one consisting of six episodes airing weekly. It stars Carl Anthony Payne and

Mýa Mya Marie Harrison (; born October 10, 1979), (stylized as Mýa), is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actress. Born into a musical family, she studied ballet, jazz, and tap dance as a child. Initially, Mýa began her career as a VJ ...

with a feature

ensemble cast In a dramatic production, an ensemble cast is one that is composed of multiple principal actors and performers who are typically assigned roughly equal amounts of screen time.Random House: ensemble acting Linked 2013-07-17 Structure In contrast to ...

of Brittany Bullock, Corr Kendricks,

Nephew Tommy Thomas "Nephew Tommy" Miles is an American comedian, actor and producer. He currently co-hosts ''The Steve Harvey Morning Show'' during which he frequently makes prank phone calls. He is the nephew of comedian Steve Harvey, which is where his st ...

, Christopher Jefferson, Chris O'Neal,

Gary Sturgis Gary Anthony Sturgis is an American actor, musician, writer, director, producer, teacher and entrepreneur, known for his role as Bar Patron and other characters in the television series '' America's Most Wanted'', and for providing the voice of E ...

and

Lew Temple Lew Temple (born October 2, 1967) is an American actor, known for his roles as Locus Fender in the action film, ''Domino'', Cal, the diner manager in the comedy-drama ''Waitress'', and Axel in the third season of '' The Walking Dead''. Early li ...

. ''5th Ward The Series'' along with other UMC's original series had a preview screening at the 26th Annual Pan African Film Festival on February 10, 2018. The series was renewed for a second season which premiered on July 30, 2020.

Background

'' Fifth Ward'' was indie director Greg Carter's first feature film which he wrote, produced, edited, and shot on

35mm 35 mm may refer to: * 135 film, a type of still photography format commonly referred to as 35 mm film * 35 mm movie film, a type of motion picture film stock * 35MM 35 mm may refer to: * 135 film, a type of still photography format ...

. It won awards at a number of festivals, but had a mixed reception when selected into the

SXSW Film Festival South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Te ...

. The movie was later distributed by York/Maverick Entertainment and released nationwide in March 2000 to

Blockbuster Blockbuster or Block Buster may refer to: *Blockbuster (entertainment) a term coined for an extremely successful movie, from which most other uses are derived. Corporations * Blockbuster (retailer), a defunct video and game rental chain ** Bl ...

and

Hollywood Video Hollywood Entertainment Corp. (Nasdaq: HLYW), more commonly known as Hollywood Video, was a home video and video game rental shop company started in 1988. The chain was the largest direct competitor to Blockbuster Video until it was purchased ...

Synopsis

"In Houston's historically black neighborhood known as the "5th Ward," long-time resident, Mina (Mýa), has been struggling to make ends meet – especially since the death of her husband two years ago. Now a single mother of two sons, James and older brother Ray Ray, Mina fears for their safety after an argument at a local convenience store leaves a young girl dead. When James is taken away from her following a police raid on her home that results in the arrest of her new boyfriend, Mina battles with the idealism of remaining on the straight and narrow and the reality of what difficult decisions her circumstances will require her to make."

Cast and characters

Main

as Mina Kennedy – A single mother of three and aspiring singer. Prior to the show, her husband is killed. Mina is a loving, good natured but firm mother who had enjoyed singing on her church's choir until it was discovered she was dancing in the strip club. The church's congregation voted to have her removed from the church. With nothing left, she continues to dance in Blue's night club in order to support her family financially. During Season 1, Mina discovers she's pregnant and contemplates whether or not to keep the baby. In the midst of her dilemma, Mina and Blue become romantically closer and develop feelings for each other. In Season 2, Mina and Blue continue their relationship while awaiting the birth of their first child together. During the season, her and Blue open a jazz night club together as well as rejoin the church's congregation. In the finale, it is uncertain if her and Blue's baby survive after Lexus's revenge plot. *Christopher Jefferson as Ray Ray Kennedy – Mina's eldest son and a talented, aspiring singer/rapper. He falls in love with Jazmine much to the dismay of his friend, Bam. In Season 2, Ray Ray continues his relationship with Jazmine until it is discovered by her parents and he's arrested for rape allegations. However, he's eventually set free and placed on house arrest after Jazmine's parents and Mina come to an agreement the two will never speak or see each other again. During the season, he meets a new student, Neisha who has a romantic interest in him, much to Jazmine's dismay. In the finale, Ray Ray and Jazmine decides to skip their high school graduation, leave 5th Ward altogether to pursue his music career and elope. *

as Robert Kennedy – A police officer, Mina's brother in law and Ray Ray's and James' estranged uncle. Throughout Season 1, Robert has a strained relationship as well with his wife Wanda. In Season 2, he and his partner Sones are under investigation by Internal Affairs after the truce meeting goes awry while awaiting the birth his first baby with his wife Wanda. * Carl Anthony Payne as Councilman Kendrick Davis – A corrupt, manipulative elected official with hidden, dark secrets and Blue's little brother. During Season 1, Councilman Davis carries on an affair with his one-time office manager, Marcie, and has fathered a child with the local church's reverend's daughter. In Season 2, throughout Councilman Davis is harassed and threatened by an array of messages. It is revealed in a flashback, crooked police officer Gibson planted and set him up for the death of the reverend's daughter Tina. * Chris O'Neal as Bam – Ray Ray's friend and aspiring rapper. He doesn't approve of Ray Ray's relationship with Jazmine. In Season 2, Bam discovers a family secret after the death of his grandmother. It is revealed one time crime boss Seth is Bam's biological father. He's in a relationship with Jazmine's friend Jaylene. *

as Odell "Blue" Davis – A club owner with a romantic interest in Mina and Kendrick's older brother. Throughout Season 1, Blue continuously pursues Mina much to the dismay of his now ex-girlfriend Lexus. In Season 2, he continues his relationship with Mina, while awaiting the birth of their first child together. He and Mina decides to open a jazz club and rejoin the church's congregation. In the finale, it is uncertain if him and Mina's baby survive due to his former ex-girlfriend Lexus's revenge plot. *

as Mayor Bob Coletti– A corrupt elect official with a hidden agenda of his own as well. *Corr Kendricks as Ace – One of Seth's former lackey who betrays Seth during an organized truce meeting against Seth's rivals. He's killed at the end of the season finale. (Season 1)

Supporting

*Cayden Wilson as James Kennedy – Mina's youngest son and Ray Ray's little brother. A talented, gifted artist as well. In Season 2, he's placed in a juvenile correctional facility for stealing art supplies and carrying a gun to help out with his older brother Ray Ray's bail. Eventually, he's let out after his friend takes the fault for all charges. *Allison Nguyen as Jazmine Tran – Huong's and Dat Tran's eldest daughter, My Hahn's older sister, and Ray Ray's

love interest ''Gli Innamorati'' (, meaning "The Lovers") were stock characters within the theatre style known as commedia dell'arte, who appeared in 16th century Italy. In the plays, everything revolved around the Lovers in some regard. These dramatic and pos ...

. She falls in love with Ray Ray and encourages him to continue to do music whenever he begins to doubt himself. Her friends are Jaylene and Darien. In Season 2, Jazmine continues to her relationship with Ray Ray until it is discover by her parents. After her parents convinced her to testify against Ray Ray in court for rape allegations, he's arrested. However, he's eventually set free and placed on house arrest after Jazmine's parents and Mina come to an agreement the two will never speak or see each other again. Consumed by guilt, Jazmine opts to commits suicide but rescued in time by her friends. In the finale, her and Ray Ray skip their high school graduation, leave 5th Ward altogether to pursue Ray Ray's music career and elope. *Derrick "D-Reck" Dixon as Seth – Fifth Ward's

crime boss A crime boss, also known as a crime lord, Don, gang lord, gang boss, mob boss, kingpin, godfather, crime mentor or criminal mastermind, is a person in charge of a criminal organization. Description A crime boss typically has absolute or nearl ...

who owns a chop shop. He's double crossed and shot by his former lackey in the organized truce meeting. In Season 2, it is revealed he is Bam's biological father. *Louis Gusemano as Greg Sones – Robert's second in command in the police department. Sones and Robert decides to organize a truce meeting between Seth's and Carlos' crew however the truce meeting goes awry and Sones is shot in the crossfire. In Season 2, Sones spent six months in a coma after the truce meeting fiasco and under investigation by Internal Affairs. After his rehabilitation, Robert and him assemble a special task team to decrease gun weaponry in 5th Ward. It is revealed in a flashback, Sones was shot by crooked police officer Gibson at the truce meeting. *Mandy Carrasco as Allyson Lathan – A local television reporter working with the FBI investigating suspicious activity against Councilman Davis. Unbeknownst, she's married to Lavell, Councilman Davis mysterious protege. *

Junie Hoang ''Hoang v. Amazon.com, Inc. et al.'' (initially filed as ''Doe v. Amazon.com, Inc. et al.'') is a lawsuit brought by actress Junie Hoang in October 2011 against IMDb.com and its parent company Amazon.com for revealing her true date of birth, which ...

as Huong Tran – Jazmine's and My Hahn's strict mother. She doesn't approve of her daughter's relationship with Ray Ray. *Kendrick Smith as Gibson – A crooked police officer working for the mayor. *Jalene Mack as Wanda Kennedy – A nurse. She is Robert's wife, Mina's sister in law and Ray Ray's and James' aunt. She and her husband Robert have a strain relationship due to the fact she wants children but he doesn't. *Brittany "Just Brittany" Bullock as Lexus – Blue's now ex-girlfriend and Mina's former colleague. She develops a personal vendetta against Mina because of Blue's interest in her and decides to sets her up to get

date rape Date rape is a form of acquaintance rape and dating violence. The two phrases are often used interchangeably, but date rape specifically refers to a rape in which there has been some sort of romantic or potentially sexual relationship between ...

at a bachelor's party. *Golden Rice as Dat Tran – Jazmine's and My Hahn's father. He owns the neighborhood local convenience store. *Nayeli Escamillia as Lettie Sones – A lawyer and Sones' wife. Her and Sones met while in college and have a daughter. *Micheal Anthony Jackson as Lavell – Councilman Davis' sneaky, mysterious, and dangerous protege. Unbeknownst, he's married to the local television reporter Alyson and working with the FBI investigating suspicious activity against Councilman Davis. *Denisha Hardeman as Jaylene Ward – One of Jazmine's friends. She doesn't care for Jazmine and Ray Ray's relationship. *Michael Myles Hayes as Lil T– Mina's youngest son.

Recurring

*Leslie Steele as Marcie Wiggins – Councilman Davis' one time office manager and part-time lover. Following her dismissal, she vows to seek revenge against her former lover Councilman Davis. *Neshia Brathwaite Farhangi as Mrs.Jackson – A CPS worker. (Season 1) *Savannah Phan as My Hahn Tran – Jazmine's little sister and Huong's and Dat's youngest daughter. *Tasha Denise as Kiki – Mina's friend and colleague at the strip club. *Amelia Jefferies as Loretta Davis – Councilman Davis' wife. *Justin Mabrie as Tony – Mina's incarcerated boyfriend. Mina and Tony share one child together, Little T. He's release from prison at the end of the season finale. * Mista Roe as Mike Batts – Seth's cousin who is killed by an unknown assailant. (Season 1) It is revealed in Season 2 he was killed by crooked police officer Gibson. *Cat Tebo as Darien Mack – One of Jazmine's friends.

Guest stars

Hawthorne James Hawthorne James is an American character actor and director, known for his role as Big Red Davis in the 1991 film ''The Five Heartbeats''. He is also known for his role as Sam, the injured bus driver, in ''Speed'' and for films and television se ...

as John – Mina's father and Ray Ray's and James' grandfather. Mina and her father have a strain, estranged relationship. * Scarface as OG Jeffrey – an incarcerated inmate with Mina's boyfriend. *

Willie D William James Dennis is an American rapper, best known as a member of the Houston rap group the Geto Boys, alongside Bushwick Bill and Scarface. He maintains and regularly uploads to his YouTube channel, posting social commentary videos. As of ...

as FBI Bureau Director Broussard – He's investigating Councilman Davis. *

Golden Brooks Golden Brooks is an American actress. She began her career with starring role in the Showtime comedy series, ''Linc's'' (1998–2000), and later has appeared in films ''Timecode'' (2000) and ''Impostor'' (2001). From 2000 to 2008, Brooks st ...

as Erica Ward – Jaylene's mother. * R.J. Atkins as a hospital orderly who finds Detective Sones walking the hallways after waking up from a coma. (Season 2)

Episodes

Season 1 (2018)

Season 2 (2020)

Production

Development and conception

As a longtime resident of

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, ''5th Ward The Series'' finds Carter expanding on themes from his first feature film – titled '' Fifth Ward'' – which he made 20 years ago. The son of a minister, Carter moved to

from

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

when he was a child. Although he was only in Fifth Ward a short time, the neighborhood left an impression on Carter. Initially, Carter went to

Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

to study

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

, however he took a detour into drama. After the completion of school, Carter was ready to tell his Fifth Ward story. ''Fifth Ward'', Carter's debut film was featured in the

and set Carter on a path writing, directing and producing feature films. Over the years, he kept developing a Fifth Ward story. "I wanted to tell a story that was bigger than just one about being black, about being who I am," he commented. Carter's vision was to capture the oft-changing demographic makeup of a neighborhood with a long history dating back to the end of the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, when it was largely settled by freedmen. For the series, Carter wanted to infuse the show with a feeling of authenticity, so he prefaced his episodes with documentary-style interviews with residents, "people who were models in appearance and story to the four main characters on the show," he commented. "I wanted to give it that feeling, 'This is Houston.' " Among Carter's storylines are one about a Pakistani family and one about a

Vietnamese Vietnamese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia ** A citizen of Vietnam. See Demographics of Vietnam. * Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam ** Overse ...

family. Leading actress Mýa stars in another narrative about a struggling single mother with two sons and aspiring singer. With his series, Carter hopes viewers unfamiliar with the neighborhood's history may find information threaded through the show. For ''5th Ward The Series'' opening credits, Carter combed through archival photos and music, old and new. "If a kid sees it and doesn't know who

Mickey Leland George Thomas "Mickey" Leland III (November 27, 1944 – August 7, 1989) was an anti-poverty activist who later became a congressman from the Texas 18th District and chair of the Congressional Black Caucus. He was a Democrat. Early years Leland w ...

is, I hope he'll want to find out," he says of the late congressman. "And the music tells a story, too. I wanted some

ragtime Ragtime, also spelled rag-time or rag time, is a musical style that flourished from the 1890s to 1910s. Its cardinal trait is its syncopated or "ragged" rhythm. Ragtime was popularized during the early 20th century by composers such as Scott ...

in the opening sequence: That feeling of the past going back to

Reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology *Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *'' Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Unio ...

and then move it forward to a

trap beat Trap is a subgenre of hip hop music that originated in the Southern United States during the 1990s. The genre gets its name from the Atlanta slang word "trap", a house used exclusively to sell drugs. Trap music uses synthesized drums and is ch ...

like kids would listen to today. I want it to revolve around a vernacular particular to Houston and its culture."

Music

Director Greg Carter and his Nexus Entertainment partnered with Melissa Harville-Lebron of E2 Northeast Motorsports, Inc. (

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...

) and Coutrá Music Group, Inc. to release the free soundtrack

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active us ...

playlist for the show on March 2. Additionally, E2 Northeast Motorsports, Inc. unveiled the 5th Ward- UMC

vehicle as part of the

Camping World Truck Series The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is a pickup truck racing series owned and operated by the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, and is the only series in NASCAR to race production pickup truck based stock cars. The series is one of th ...

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

on March 2 as well. Charlie Mac created the theme song and took on the role as music supervisor. Additional music was contributed by Mac A Million Dollar Man Musick, Mýa, Just Brittany, Christopher Jefferson, Chris O' Neal, Corr Kendricks, Cierra Denise Carter, Mista Roe, J. Marie, Jamie Sparks, and more. Scott Szabo is the composer for the series and contributed to the soundtrack as well.

Track listing

Release history

References

External links

* *{{IMDb title, tt7914168, 5th Ward 2010s American drama television series 2018 American television series debuts 2020 American television series endings English-language television shows Serial drama television series Television shows set in Texas Live action television shows based on films Urban Movie Channel original programming