''Robyn Hood'' is a Canadian action drama television series described as a modernized

reimagining A remake is a film, television series, video game, song or similar form of entertainment that is based upon and retells the story of an earlier production in the same medium—e.g., a "new version of an existing film". A remake tells the same ...

of the English legend of Robin Hood. Created by music video director and filmmaker Director X (Julien Christian Lutz), the series stars Jessye Romeo, Nykeem Provo, Idrissa Sanogo, and Daniela Kharlamova. It airs on the

Global Television Network The Global Television Network (more commonly called Global, or occasionally Global TV) is a Canadian English-language terrestrial television network. It is currently Canada's second most-watched private terrestrial television network after ...

and stream on StackTV. Premiering in September 2023 with an eight-episode run, the series follows the young activist rapper Robyn and her anti-authoritarian masked hip-hop band The Hood living in a working class area in the fictional city of New Nottingham as they battle with "the corrupt elite" including a property developer and The Sheriff. Corus Entertainment executive

Troy Reeb Troy Reeb (born November 6, 1969) is a Canadian media executive and former journalist who currently serves as executive vice president of broadcast networks for all Corus Entertainment properties, including the Global Television Network. Reeb was ...

described the series as a "dark and gritty take", featuring "a heroine challenging the status quo and fighting oppression".

Cast

*Jessye Romeo as Robyn Loxley (based on Robin Hood), young rapper and leader of The Hood *Nykeem Provo as Little John, Robyn's right-hand man and member of The Hood *Idrissa Sanogo as Alan A. Dale (based on

Alan-a-Dale Alan-a-Dale (first recorded as Allen a Dale; variously spelled ''Allen-a-Dale'', ''Allan-a-Dale'', ''Allin-a-Dale'', ''Allan A'Dayle'' etc.) is a figure in the Robin Hood legend. According to the stories, he was a wandering minstrel who became a ...

), The Hood's music producer *Daniela Kharlamova as Much (based on Much the Miller's Son), a mechanical genius and The Hood's vocalist *Jonathan Langdon as Tuck (based on Friar Tuck), The Hood's eccentric hacker *Sydney Kuhne as Marian Fitzwalter (based on Maid Marian), a determined lawyer *Ian Matthews as John Prince (based on Prince John of England), a wealthy and villainous real estate tycoon *Kira Guloien as The Sheriff, a strong willed and corrupt sheriff who runs a tight surveillance *Manuel Rodriguez-Saenz as Guy Gisbourne (based on Guy of Gisbourne), a ruthless criminal kingpin and rapper *

Lisa Michelle Cornelius Lisa Michelle Cornelius is a Canadian actress. She is most noted for her role in the web series ''Band Ladies'', for which she was a Canadian Screen Award nominee for Best Lead Performance in a Digital Program or Series at the 9th Canadian Screen ...

as Tressie Loxley, Robyn's mother

Development and production

The series began production on June 20, 2022, and was filmed in the

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

and

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

areas of Canada. It was produced by Corus Entertainment in partnership with Boat Rocker, Creative Rain, Eleventh Hour Films and Luti Media. The decision to change the character of Robin Hood from a man to a young woman was made in 2019 during the development process, when a

sizzle reel A showreel (also known as a demo reel, sizzle reel, or work reel) is a short video showcasing a person's previous work used by many kinds of people involved in filmmaking and other media, including actors, animators, lighting designers, editors, a ...

was presented by Director X to Kathleen Meek, manager of original content at Corus Entertainment, who was said to have liked the idea. Meek said it was "a massive priority for us to get this made", stating that "everything about it — the team, the authenticity — felt like such a fresh way into the Robin Hood legend". Boat Rocker's head of scripted content Kerry Appleyard said the company was "committed to diversity and inclusion in front of and behind the camera", and said the directing team had

gender parity Gender parity is a statistical measure used to describe ratios between men and women, or boys and girls, in a given population. Gender parity may refer to the proportionate representation of men and women in a given group, also referred to as sex ...

. According to Appleyard, the series was entirely financed out of Canada. Funding sources include the Canada Media Fund, Ontario regional tax credits and Corus, who provided a license fee. The writers room for the series was initially in-person but switched to virtual when 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 ...

hit. While the protagonists are

black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

and the antagonists are primarily

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

, Director X stated that the show was not written "with any race in mind". He elaborated by calling it an "all-

show", but said it was not about "being black". He said it was focused on "rich versus poor... we have gay characters and black characters and all this stuff. But it's not what ''Robyn Hood'' is about. They just exist in this world, like we all exist in the normal world... It’s essentially a

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...

show."

Reception

As of October 26, 2023, ''Robyn Hood'' scored 1/10 on

IMDb IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

. The show's creator accused online critics of having rating-bombed the series due to the fact that a Black woman was cast as Robin Hood.

References

External links

* * {{Robin Hood 2020s Canadian drama television series 2020s Canadian LGBT-related drama television series Robin Hood television series Television series by Corus Entertainment Global Television Network original programming 2020s Black Canadian television series 2023 Canadian television series debuts