''Lovecraft Country'' is an American horror

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 by

Misha Green Misha Green (born September 22, 1984, in Sacramento, California) is an American screenwriter, director, and producer. She is best known as the showrunner of the supernatural series ''Lovecraft Country'' on HBO and creator and executive producer ...

based on and serving as a continuation of the 2016 novel of the same name by

Matt Ruff Matt may refer to: *Matt (name), people with the given name ''Matt'' or Matthew, meaning "gift from God", or the surname Matt *In British English, of a surface: having a non-glossy finish, see gloss (material appearance) *Matt, Switzerland, a mu ...

. Starring

Jurnee Smollett Jurnee Diana Smollett (born October 1, 1986) is an American actress. She began her career as a child actress appearing on television sitcoms, including ''On Our Own (1994 TV series), On Our Own'' (1994–1995) and ''Full House'' (1992–1994). Sh ...

and

Jonathan Majors Jonathan Michael Majors (born September 7, 1989)Majors in is an American actor. He rose to prominence after starring in the independent feature film ''The Last Black Man in San Francisco'' (2019). In 2020, he garnered wider notice for portraying ...

, it premiered on August 16, 2020, on

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

. The series is produced by

Monkeypaw Productions Monkeypaw Productions is an American production company founded by Jordan Peele in 2012. The company is known for producing horror films, such as ''Get Out'', '' Us'', '' Candyman'', '' Nope'' and ''Wendell & Wild.'' In 2019, the company signe ...

Bad Robot Productions Bad Robot is an American film and television production company founded on May 27, 1999 and led by J. J. Abrams and Katie McGrath as Co-CEO. Under its Bad Robot Productions division, the company is responsible for the television series ''Alias' ...

, and

Warner Bros. Television Studios Warner Bros. Television Studios (operating under the name Warner Bros. Television; formerly known as Warner Bros. Television Division) is an American television production and distribution studio of the Warner Bros. Television Group division of ...

. The series is about a young Black man who travels across the segregated United States in the 1950s in search of his missing father, learning of dark secrets plaguing a town on which famous horror writer H. P. Lovecraft supposedly based the location of many of his fictional tales. While a second season, ''Lovecraft Country: Supremacy'', was in development, HBO announced in July 2021 that the series had been canceled.

Premise

''Lovecraft Country'' follows "Atticus Freeman as he joins up with his friend Letitia and his Uncle George to embark on a road trip across 1950s

Jim Crow The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws enforcing racial segregation in the Southern United States. Other areas of the United States were affected by formal and informal policies of segregation as well, but many states outside the Sout ...

America in search of his missing father. This begins a struggle to survive and overcome both the

racist Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...

terrors of white America and the terrifying monsters that could be ripped from a Lovecraft paperback". The episodes "

I Am. ''I Am - SM Town Live World Tour in Madison Square Garden'' is a 2012 South Korean documentary film directed by Choi Jin-sung, that is about 32 SM Town K-pop artists on their journey to become the first Asian singers to stage their milestone ''SMT ...

" and " Jig-a-Bobo" establish that the ''Lovecraft Country'' novel exists in the continuity of the series as a novel written by George Freeman II fictionalizing the events of the series, which is retrieved from the future by his father Atticus Freeman in an attempt to change the story's narrative conclusion.

Cast and characters

Main

as Letitia "Leti" Lewis, an old friend and love interest of Atticus, who is a skilled photographer *

as Atticus "Tic" Freeman, a young man who served in the Korean War. Majors also portrays George Freeman II, Tic's future son, in photographs. *

Aunjanue Ellis Aunjanue L. Ellis ( born February 21, 1969) is an American actress. She is best known for her roles in the films ''Men of Honor'' (2000), ''The Caveman's Valentine'' (2001), ''Undercover Brother'' (2002), '' Ray'' (2004), '' The Express: The Erni ...

as Hippolyta Freeman, Atticus's aunt and a star-gazer with an itch for adventure *

Courtney B. Vance Courtney Bernard Vance (born March 12, 1960) is an American actor. Known for his commanding presence Vance started his career on stage before transitioning his career into film and television. He's received various accolades including a Tony Awa ...

as George Freeman, Atticus's warm, funny and well-read uncle. Vance also portrays another George from an

alternate timeline 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, altern ...

in "

". *

Wunmi Mosaku Oluwunmi Mosaku (born 1986) is a Nigerian-born British actress. She is known for her roles as Joy in the BBC Two miniseries ''Moses Jones'' (2009) and Holly Lawson in the ITV series ''Vera'' (2011–2012). She won the BAFTA TV Award for Best S ...

as Ruby Baptiste, Leti's estranged older half-sister. Mosaku also portrays Christina Braithwhite having taken Ruby's form. * Abbey Lee as Christina Braithwhite, the sole daughter of the leader of the secret society known as the Order of the Ancient Dawn *

Jamie Chung Jamie Jilynn Chung (born April 10, 1983) is an American actress and former reality television personality. She began her career in 2004 as a cast member on the MTV reality series '' The Real World: San Diego'' and subsequently through her appe ...

as Ji-Ah, a seemingly naïve Korean nursing student whom Atticus had an affair with. She is also possessed by a

kumiho A kumiho or gumiho (, literally " nine-tailed fox") is a creature that appears in the folktales on East Asia and legends of Korea. It is similar to the Chinese and the Japanese . It can freely transform, among other things, into a beautiful woma ...

. * Jada Harris as Diana Freeman, George and Hippolyta's daughter as well as Atticus's younger cousin and Montrose's niece *

Michael K. Williams Michael Kenneth Williams (November 22, 1966 – September 6, 2021) was an American actor. He rose to fame in 2002 through his critically acclaimed role as Omar Little on the HBO drama series ''The Wire''. He has been described as a "singular pr ...

as Montrose Freeman, Atticus's hard-headed and secretive father

Recurring

Jordan Patrick Smith Jordan Patrick Smith (born 18 June 1989) is a Scottish-Australian actor. He gained prominence through his role as Andrew Robinson in the soap opera '' Neighbours'' (2009–2013, 2022). He has since appeared in the film '' Unbroken'' (2014), an ...

as William, Christina's former henchman and lover, whose form she assumes *

Joaquina Kalukango Joaquina Kalukango is an American actor and singer best known for playing Nelly O'Brien in the Broadway musical'' Paradise Square'', for which she won the 2022 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical. She was nominated for Best Actress in a Pl ...

as Hanna, Atticus's slave ancestor, a former cleaning woman in Titus Braithwhite's mansion * Jamie Neumann as Dell / Hillary, whose form Ruby assumes *

Erica Tazel Erica Tazel (born 1977) is an American theatre and television actress best known for the role of US Deputy Marshall Rachel Brooks in the FX television series '' Justified'' (2010–2015). Life and career Tazel holds a B.A. from Spelman College a ...

as Dora Freeman, Atticus's mother, Montrose's wife and George's lover / sister-in-law *

Mac Brandt Mac Brandt is an American actor best known for his roles as C.O. Mack Andrews on the Fox crime drama ''Prison Break'' (2005–06), and as Mac Sullivan on the Audience Network sports drama '' Kingdom'' (2014–17). He is a native of the Lombard ...

as Seamus Lancaster, an Order of the Ancient Dawn leader and Chicago police captain * Deron J. Powell as Tree, a man who attended high school with Leti and Atticus * Lucius Baston as Phil Hodges, the locksmith *

Regina Taylor Regina Annette Taylor
''Film Reference''. (born August 22, 1960) is an American

as Hattie * Rhyan Hill as Emmett "Bobo" Till * Sibongile Mlambo as Tamara * Jonathan Pawlowski as Burke

Guest

* Jamie Harris as Eustice Hunt, the sheriff of Devon County *

Demetrius Grosse Demetrius Grosse (born February 26, 1981) is an American actor and producer. He is best known for his role as Rock in the feature film ''Straight Outta Compton'', Emmett Yawners in the Cinemax television series ''Banshee,'' Errol in the FX televi ...

as Marvin Baptiste, Leti's half-brother *

Tony Goldwyn Anthony Howard Goldwyn (born May 20, 1960) is an American actor, singer, producer, director, and political activist. He made his debut appearing as Darren in the slasher film '' Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives'' (1986), and had his breakthr ...

as Samuel Braithwhite, the arrogant leader of a secret society *

Shangela Chantize Darius Jeremy Pierce, better known as Shangela Laquifa Wadley or mononymously as Shangela (born November 22, 1980), is an American drag queen, reality television personality and actor best known for competing on ''RuPaul's Drag Race''. S ...

Lena Horne Lena Mary Calhoun Horne (June 30, 1917 – May 9, 2010) was an American dancer, actress, singer, and civil rights activist. Horne's career spanned more than seventy years, appearing in film, television, and theatre. Horne joined the chorus of th ...

Monét X Change Monét X Change (born February 19, 1990), stage name of Kevin A. Bertin, is an American drag queen, singer, podcaster, and reality television personality. She is known for competing on the RuPaul's Drag Race (season 10), tenth season of ''RuPaul' ...

Dinah Washington Dinah Washington (born Ruth Lee Jones; August 29, 1924 – December 14, 1963) was an American singer and pianist, who has been cited as "the most popular black female recording artist of the 1950s songs". Primarily a jazz vocalist, she performe ...

Darryl Stephens Darryl Stephens is an American actor and author. He is best known for playing Noah Nicholson on the television dramedy ''Noah's Arc''. Film career Back in L.A., Stephens appeared on the sexy late-night serial '' MTV's Undressed'', the short-li ...

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday had an innovative influence on jazz music and pop si ...

James Kyson James Kyson (born December 13, 1975) is a South Korean-born American actor best known for his television work. Best known for his role as Ando Masahashi on the NBC television series '' Heroes'', his guest appearances on television series include ...

as Byung-Ho * Monique Candelaria as Yahima, two-spirit *

Matthew Alan Matthew Alan (born Matthew Gerbig, c. 1979) is an American actor. Early life Alan was raised in Evansville, Indiana, where he graduated from Reitz High School in 1996. He went on to obtain a degree from Western Kentucky University in 2000. His p ...

as Deputy Eastchurch

Episodes

Production

Development

On May 16, 2017, it was announced that

had given a series order to ''Lovecraft Country''. Executive producers include

, Jordan Peele,

J. J. Abrams Jeffrey Jacob Abrams (born June 27, 1966) is an American filmmaker and composer. He is best known for his works in the genres of action, drama, and science fiction. Abrams wrote and produced such films as '' Regarding Henry'' (1991), '' F ...

, and

Ben Stephenson Benjamin Stephenson is a television executive, formerly controller of drama at the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and currently Head of Television at Bad Robot Productions in the United States. Personal life Stephenson attended The ...

. Additionally, Green serves as the series'

showrunner A showrunner (or colloquially a helmer) is the top-level executive producer of a television series production who has creative and management authority through combining the responsibilities of employer and, in comedy or dramas, typically also th ...

and wrote the pilot episode. Production companies involved in the series include

, and

Warner Bros. Television Warner Bros. Television Studios (operating under the name Warner Bros. Television; formerly known as Warner Bros. Television Division) is an American television production and distribution studio of the Warner Bros. Television Group division of ...

. It was reported that Peele originally brought the project to Bad Robot Productions and enlisted Green to develop the show. On March 5, 2018, it was announced that

Yann Demange Yann Demange (born 1977) is a French film director of French and Algerian parents, who grew up in London. After directing the well-received television series ''Dead Set'' (2008) and ''Top Boy'' (2011), he made his directorial film debut with the cr ...

would direct and executive produce the pilot episode. While a second season had yet to be officially greenlit for production, by February 2021, HBO's president of programming Casey Bloys announced that Misha Green had begun writing and was in early planning stages. On July 2, 2021, HBO announced that the series would not be returning for a second season. In James Andrew Miller's book ''Tinderbox: HBO's Ruthless Pursuit of New Frontiers'', several writers of the show claimed it was allegedly cancelled due to Green's creation of a toxic work environment.

Casting

On April 26, 2018, it was announced that

had been cast as the series' female lead. On May 2, 2018, it was reported that

had joined the main cast as the series' male lead. A day later, it was reported that

had also been cast as a series regular. On June 19, 2018, it was announced that

and

Elizabeth Debicki Elizabeth Debicki (born 24 August 1990) is an Australian actress. After studying drama at the Victorian College of the Arts, she made her film debut with a brief role in the Australian comedy ''A Few Best Men'' (2011). Debicki's role in Baz Lu ...

had been cast as series regulars and that

had joined the series in a recurring capacity. On October 10, 2018, it was reported that

Michael Kenneth Williams Michael Kenneth Williams (November 22, 1966 – September 6, 2021) was an American actor. He rose to fame in 2002 through his critically acclaimed role as Omar Little on the HBO drama series ''The Wire''. He has been described as a "singular pre ...

had been cast in a leading role. On June 14, 2019, it was reported that Abbey Lee had replaced

in the role of Christina Braithwaite, while

and

had been cast in recurring roles. On June 20, 2019, it was announced that Jamie Neumann,

, and

had been cast in recurring capacities. In July 2019,

joined the cast.

Filming

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...

for the series began on July 16, 2018 in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

. Filming also reportedly took place at the Chicago Cinespace Film Studios in

Elburn, Illinois Elburn is a village in Kane County, Illinois, United States. The population was 5,602 as of the 2010 census, up from 2,756 at the 2000 census. It is located at the intersection of Illinois Route 38 and Route 47. Elburn is a town situated west ...

and

White Pines State Park White Pines Forest State Park, more commonly referred to as White Pines State Park, is an Illinois state park in Ogle County, Illinois. It is located near the communities of Polo, Mount Morris and Oregon. The park contains the southernmost rem ...

Mount Morris, Illinois Mount Morris is a village in Mt. Morris Township, Ogle County, Illinois, Mount Morris Township, Ogle County, Illinois, Ogle County, Illinois, United States. The population was 2,998 at the 2010 census, down from 3,013 in 2000. Geography Mount Mor ...

, at Blackhall Studios in Atlanta, Georgia and

Macon, Georgia Macon ( ), officially Macon–Bibb County, is a consolidated city-county in the U.S. state of Georgia. Situated near the fall line of the Ocmulgee River, it is located southeast of Atlanta and lies near the geographic center of the state of Geo ...

Music

Laura Karpman Laura Anne Karpman (born March 1, 1959) is an American composer, whose work has included music for film, television, video games, theater, and the concert hall. She has won five Emmy Awards for her work. Karpman was trained at The Juilliard Scho ...

composed the music for the show. Due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, Karpman and her composing team had to score the show individually from their residences in eastern Europe, with Karpman adding some music tracks of her playing piano, keyboards, and other instruments. Karpman reflected on how difficult it was composing the show with the pandemic's restrictions, due to not being able to have immediate interaction with the musicians. She felt satisfied with the finished result.

Release

''Lovecraft Country'' premiered on August 16, 2020, on HBO and

HBO Max HBO Max is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in the United States on May 27, 2020, the service is built around the libraries of HBO, Warner Bros., Cartoon Netw ...

, and consists of ten episodes.

Home media

The complete series was released on February 16, 2021, on

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...

and

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

Reception

Critical response

''Lovecraft Country'' has received positive reviews. On

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, the series holds an approval rating of 88% based on 367 reviews, with an average rating of 8.05/10. The site's critics consensus reads: "Anchored by Jurnee Smollett-Bell and Jonathan Majors' heroic performances, Misha Green's ''Lovecraft Country'' is a thrilling take on Lovecraftian lore that proves the Elder Gods aren't the only thing that goes bump in the cosmos." On

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

, the series has a

weighted average The weighted arithmetic mean is similar to an ordinary arithmetic mean (the most common type of average), except that instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others. The ...

score of 79 out of 100, based on 42 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Writing for ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...

'', Shannon Miller lauded the show's ability to balance Lovecraft's more problematic political views with "an appreciation for isunparalleled vision". Brian Tallerico of '' RogerEbert.com'' pointed to the show's use of genre storytelling "to peel back layers of American history to reveal the systemic problems underneath it", while also describing it as "marvelously entertaining". Hugo Rifkind of ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' described the show as "brutal and righteously furious". The ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

''s Michael Phillips, in reference to earlier, less successful attempts at adaptation of Lovecraft's works, said the show "succeeds where others have not" and commended the show on its themes, despite calling the five episodes available for early review "uneven". ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''s Mike Hale credited Green's "impressively seamless job... in wielding the cultural metaphors" as part of the show's strength. In a review for ''

The Dispatch ''The Dispatch'' is an American conservative subscription-based and advertisement-free online magazine founded by Jonah Goldberg, Stephen F. Hayes, and Toby Stock. Several of ''The Dispatchs staff (including Hayes) are alumni of the defunct ...

'', Alec Dent praised the show's success at "examin ngracism in America's past through an unexpected genre", calling it a good reminder that "oftentimes true evil takes a normal guise". In a more critical review, Daniel D'Addario of ''

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), ...

'' wrote that "the violence of Lovecraftian horror is so extreme ..that even the most evil impulses of humanity seem an inadequate counterweight". In an analysis of the series, Maya Phillips of ''The New York Times'' criticized it for "exploiting

he past He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...

for the purposes of its convoluted fiction", despite a promising premise. She accused the show's creators of using historical events purely "to get points for relevance", notable examples of this being the funeral of Emmett Till and the

Tulsa race massacre The Tulsa race massacre, also known as the Tulsa race riot or the Black Wall Street massacre, was a two-day-long massacre that took place between May 31 – June 1, 1921, when mobs of white residents, some of whom had been appointed as deput ...

, both of which are featured in the show.

Awards and nominations

Notes

References

External links

* * {{HBONetwork Shows 2020 American television series debuts 2020 American television series endings 2020s American black television series 2020s American drama television series 2020s American horror television series 2020s American LGBT-related drama television series 2020s American supernatural television series Adaptations of works by H. P. Lovecraft American horror fiction television series English-language television shows HBO original programming Horror drama television series Racism in television Fiction about secret societies Television series about monsters Television series about parallel universes Television series by Bad Robot Productions Television series by Warner Bros. Television Studios Television series set in 1955 Television series set in the 1920s Television series set in the 1950s Television shows based on American novels Television shows filmed in Atlanta Television shows filmed in Illinois Television shows set in Chicago Television shows set in Massachusetts Works about the Tulsa race massacre