''Confederate'' was a planned American
alternate history 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 ...
television series developed for the network
HBO by
David Benioff
David Friedman (; born September 25, 1970), known professionally as David Benioff (), is an American writer, director and producer. Along with his collaborator D. B. Weiss, he is best known as co-creator and showrunner of '' Game of Thrones'' (2 ...
and
D. B. Weiss
Daniel Brett Weiss (; born April 23, 1971) is an American television writer, director, and producer. Along with his collaborator David Benioff, he is best-known as co-creator of ''Game of Thrones'' (2011–2019), the HBO adaptation of George R. ...
, who had previously developed the HBO series ''
Game of Thrones''.
The series was to be set in a
timeline
A timeline is a display of a list of events in chronological order. It is typically a graphic design showing a long bar labelled with dates paralleling it, and usually contemporaneous events.
Timelines can use any suitable scale representi ...
where the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
ended
in a stalemate. The announcement of ''Confederate'' was followed by anger and criticism on
social media
Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social medi ...
with some describing it as slavery
fan fiction.
This led to the hashtag #NoConfederate, which trended number one in the United States and number two worldwide on
Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
in mid 2017.
Although development of the series continued after the controversy, plans for the series were ultimately confirmed as cancelled in January 2020.
Premise
''
Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...
'' reported that ''Confederate'':
chronicles the events leading to the Third American Civil War. The series takes place in an alternate timeline, where the southern states have successfully seceded from the Union, giving rise to a nation in which slavery remains legal and has evolved into a modern institution. The story follows a broad swath of characters on both sides of the Mason-Dixon Demilitarized Zone – freedom fighters, slave hunters, politicians, abolitionists, journalists, the executives of a slave-holding conglomerate and the families of people in their thrall.
Show developer
David Benioff
David Friedman (; born September 25, 1970), known professionally as David Benioff (), is an American writer, director and producer. Along with his collaborator D. B. Weiss, he is best known as co-creator and showrunner of '' Game of Thrones'' (2 ...
said he was inspired to explore this concept by "the famous story of when
Robert E. Lee was invading the North. Not the Gettysburg invasion, but
an earlier one. And the set of orders got misplaced and were found by a Northern soldier. And it ended up ruining Lee's invasion. A lot of people think if the orders hadn't been lost, things might have been different: the Confederates might've sacked Washington, D.C., it's possible the South could've won the war". Co-creator
D. B. Weiss
Daniel Brett Weiss (; born April 23, 1971) is an American television writer, director, and producer. Along with his collaborator David Benioff, he is best-known as co-creator of ''Game of Thrones'' (2011–2019), the HBO adaptation of George R. ...
added "it goes without saying slavery is the worst thing that ever happened in American history. It's our original sin as a nation. And history doesn't disappear. That sin is still with us in many ways. ''Confederate'', in all of our minds, will be an alternative-history show."
Production
Conception and development
![D](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/ba/D._B._Weiss_and_David_Benioff.jpg)
On July 19, 2017,
David Benioff
David Friedman (; born September 25, 1970), known professionally as David Benioff (), is an American writer, director and producer. Along with his collaborator D. B. Weiss, he is best known as co-creator and showrunner of '' Game of Thrones'' (2 ...
announced that he and
D. B. Weiss
Daniel Brett Weiss (; born April 23, 1971) is an American television writer, director, and producer. Along with his collaborator David Benioff, he is best-known as co-creator of ''Game of Thrones'' (2011–2019), the HBO adaptation of George R. ...
would begin production on a new HBO series, titled ''Confederate'', after the
final season of ''
Game of Thrones'' aired in 2019. Benioff and Weiss said, "We have discussed ''Confederate'' for years, originally as a concept for a feature film... But our experience on ''Thrones'' has convinced us that no one provides a bigger, better storytelling canvas than HBO." Joining as executive producers would be
Nichelle Tramble Spellman
Nichelle D. Tramble Spellman (born February 11, 1967) is an American people, American television producer and writer.
Career
In 2017, Spellman, and her husband, Malcolm Spellman began to co-produce and co-write an alternate history television ...
,
Malcolm Spellman
Malcolm Spellman is an American screenwriter and producer best known for his work on ''Empire'' (2015) and ''The Falcon and the Winter Soldier'' (2021).
Career
In March 2010, Spellman started his career by writing the screenplay for the film ' ...
,
Carolyn Strauss
Carolyn Strauss (born July 13, 1963) is an American television executive and producer. She was the president of the Home Box Office network's entertainment division until 2008 and was responsible for commissioning series like ''The Sopranos'', '' ...
, and
Bernadette Caulfield
Bernadette Caulfield is an American television producer. She worked on the supernatural drama series ''The X-Files'' and the HBO drama series ''Big Love'' and '' Game of Thrones''. She was nominated for the Emmy Award for outstanding drama serie ...
.
The series would be written by Benioff, Weiss, Nichelle Tramble Spellman, and Malcolm Spellman.
The Spellmans, who are Black, indicated initial hesitance to work on this project before concluding that the show would benefit from having Black writers. Malcolm Spellman stated "Me and Nichelle are not props being used to protect someone else", adding there would be "no whips and no plantations" in this show.
On February 6, 2018
Lucasfilm announced Benioff and Weiss as the writers and producers of a series of new ''
Star Wars
''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...
'' films, to begin production "as soon as the final season of ''Game of Thrones'' is complete", casting doubt on if and when ''Confederate'' would be produced. In April 2018, ''
Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' reported the future of ''Confederate'' is uncertain. In July, HBO president Casey Bloys confirmed the series was still in development, and hoped it would resume once Benioff and Weiss finished their ongoing commitments, but stated in May 2019 that it was "not on the front burner".
Reactions
Upon announcement, ''Confederate'' received backlash on
Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
over its featuring a modern-day
Confederate States
The Confederate States of America (CSA), commonly referred to as the Confederate States or the Confederacy was an unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United States that existed from February 8, 1861, to May 9, 1865. The Confeder ...
in which slavery is legal.
April Reign
April Reign is a media strategist and advocate for diversity and inclusion, known for creating the movement #OscarsSoWhite. Reign is credited with starting "the hashtag that changed the Oscars," a movement that prompted the Academy of Motion Pict ...
, who created the protest hashtag #OscarsSoWhite, created the hashtag #NoConfederate, which became the number one trending topic during the airing of an episode of ''Game of Thrones''. Jake Nevins of ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' was concerned the show would act as wish fulfillment for
white supremacists
White supremacy or white supremacism is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races and thus should dominate them. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White s ...
. He also cited the lack of diversity on ''Game of Thrones'' as a foundation for their concerns.
Reign questioned the intent of the show, asking: "Who is the intended audience? It can't possibly be black people, right? Because then what you're saying is, 'Hey, black people, we know slavery is bad, but we want to show you how bad it was'."
''The Guardian'' reported that the announcement of the show led to "widespread anger on social media".
MSNBC
MSNBC (originally the Microsoft National Broadcasting Company) is an American news-based pay television cable channel. It is owned by NBCUniversala subsidiary of Comcast. Headquartered in New York City, it provides news coverage and political ...
host
Joy Reid
Joy-Ann M. Lomena-Reid (born December 8, 1968), known professionally as Joy Reid, is an American cable television host, MSNBC national correspondent, liberal political commentator, and author. She hosted the weekly MSNBC morning show, ''AM Joy' ...
commented on the show, saying: "It plays to a rather concrete American fantasy: slavery that never ends, becoming a permanent state for black people. Repugnant."
Ta-Nehisi Coates
Ta-Nehisi Paul Coates ( ; born September 30, 1975) is an American author and journalist. He gained a wide readership during his time as national correspondent at ''The Atlantic'', where he wrote about cultural, social, and political issues, parti ...
, writing for ''
The Atlantic
''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science.
It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...
'', said "African-Americans do not need science-fiction, or really any fiction, to tell them that this 'history is still with us'", and criticized its lack of originality because "'What if the white South had won?' may well be the most trod-upon terrain in the field of American
alternative history
Alternate history (also alternative history, althist, AH) is a genre of speculative fiction of stories in which one or more historical events occur and are resolved differently than in real life. As conjecture based upon historical fact, alter ...
." Author and activist
Roxane Gay
Roxane Gay (born October 15, 1974) is an American writer, professor, editor, and social commentator. Gay is the author of ''The New York Times'' best-selling essay collection ''Bad Feminist'' (2014), as well as the short story collection ''Ayiti ...
described ''Confederate'' as "slavery fan fiction", adding "if it's not being made for people of color, then that means this is made for white folk. Why, as a white person, would you want to see that unless it appeals to your base desire to see people enslaved and in pain?"
Weiss and Benioff with executive producers Nichelle Tramble Spellman and Malcolm Spellman defended the show in an interview with
Vulture.com in which they asked critics to defer judgment until the show aired.
At the
Television Critics Association
The Television Critics Association (TCA) is a group of approximately 200 United States and Canadian television critics, journalists and columnists who cover television programming for newspapers, magazines and web publications. The TCA accepts app ...
press tour, Casey Bloys acknowledged that the announcement of the show was poorly executed, but stood behind the decision to green-light the show.
After the
Unite the Right rally
The Unite the Right rally was a white supremacist rally that took place in Charlottesville, Virginia, from August 11 to 12, 2017. Marchers included members of the alt-right, neo-Confederates, neo-fascists, white nationalists, neo-Nazis, ...
in Charlottesville, Virginia, on August 12, 2017, KJ Whittaker worried that ''Confederate'' could intensify hate groups in America. HBO representatives responded to these concerns on August 15 with a statement to ''The New York Times'':
"HBO has a long history of championing intelligent storytelling and we will approach this project with the same level of thoughtfulness that has always defined our programming. We recognize the sensitivity of this project and will treat it with the respect that it deserves. Our creative partners should be given time to develop the series rather than face prejudgment."
In February 2019, Bloys said the series was still in development and not affected by the controversy.
However, in August 2019, it was announced that Benioff and Weiss had closed a multi-million dollar deal with
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
, and it was reported that the deal "wipes ''Confederate'' off HBO's books." In January 2020, Bloys confirmed that the project had been officially canceled.
See also
*''
The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeiffer
''The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeiffer'' ( ) is an American sitcom that aired on UPN from October 5 to October 26, 1998. Before it was even debuted, the series set off a storm of controversy because of a perceived light-hearted take on the issue ...
''
*''
C.S.A.: The Confederate States of America''
References
{{David Benioff
2017 controversies in the United States
Alternate history television series
American Civil War alternate histories
American speculative fiction television series
HBO original programming
Television controversies in the United States
Television series created by D. B. Weiss
Television series created by David Benioff
Unaired television shows
Works by Malcolm Spellman