''The Good Lord Bird'' is a 2020 American

historical drama A historical drama (also period drama, costume drama, and period piece) is a work set in a past time period, usually used in the context of film and television. Historical drama includes historical fiction and romances, adventure films, and s ...

miniseries A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format ...

, based on the 2013 novel of the same name by James McBride. Focusing on John Brown's attack on American slavery, the series was created and executive produced by

Ethan Hawke Ethan Green Hawke (born November 6, 1970) is an American actor and film director. He has been nominated for four Academy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards and a Tony Award. Hawke has directed three feature films, three off-Broadway plays, and a doc ...

and

Mark Richard Mark Richard is an American short story writer, novelist, screenwriter, and poet. He is the author of two award-winning short story collections, ''The Ice at the Bottom of the World'' and ''Charity,'' a bestselling novel, ''Fishboy'', and ''House ...

. Produced by

Jason Blum Jason Ferus Blum "Jason Ferus Blum was born in LA in 1969 to Shirley Neilsen, an art professor, and Irving Blum, an art dealer" (; born 1969) is an American film and television producer. He is the founder and CEO of Blumhouse Productions, whic ...

, through Blumhouse Television, it premiered on October 4, 2020, on Showtime.

Premise

The series is told from the point of view of Henry "Onion" Shackleford (

Joshua Caleb Johnson Joshua Caleb Johnson is an American child actor. After appearing in several television shows and short films, he gained attention when he starred as Henry 'Onion' Shackleford in the 2020 television series ''The Good Lord Bird ''The Good Lord ...

), a fictional enslaved boy, who is part of John Brown (

) motley crew of

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The British ...

soldiers during the time of

Bleeding Kansas Bleeding Kansas, Bloody Kansas, or the Border War was a series of violent civil confrontations in Kansas Territory, and to a lesser extent in western Missouri, between 1854 and 1859. It emerged from a political and ideological debate over the ...

, eventually participating in the famous 1859 raid on the Federal Armory at Harpers Ferry, Virginia (since 1863, West Virginia). Brown's raid failed to initiate a

slave revolt A slave rebellion is an armed uprising by enslaved people, as a way of fighting for their freedom. Rebellions of enslaved people have occurred in nearly all societies that practice slavery or have practiced slavery in the past. A desire for freed ...

as he intended, but it was one of the events that started the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...

. It is not just the story of Brown but that of those that accompanied him. According to Hawke, "If you really study this character, he asks a lot of you philosophically. He challenges why so many of us accept the unacceptable". Author James McBride was involved in the production and according to him, "John Brown is a real hero to me and to many Black people who are no longer alive. John Brown gave his life and two of his sons' lives to the cause of freedom for Black people, and he started the Civil War. They buried this man's story for a long time....".

Cast

Main

as John Brown * Hubert Point-Du Jour as Bob * Beau Knapp as Owen Brown *

Nick Eversman Nicholas Eversman (born February 15, 1986) is an American actor, best known for his roles as Michael Winstone on the ABC mystery drama ''Missing'' and Liam Jones II on the ABC fantasy adventure drama ''Once Upon a Time "Once upon a time" is a ...

as John Brown Jr. *

Ellar Coltrane Ellar Coltrane Kinney Salmon (born August 27, 1994) is an American actor. They are best known for their role as Mason Evans Jr. in Richard Linklater's film '' Boyhood'', for which they won the Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Young Performer ...

as Salmon Brown *

Jack Alcott Jack Alcott (born March 15th, 1999) is an American actor and model. He is known mostly for two roles on Showtime: as Jason Brown in the miniseries ''The Good Lord Bird'' and as Harrison Morgan on '' Dexter: New Blood''. Career Alcott appeared ...

as Jason Brown * Mo Brings Plenty as Ottawa Jones *

Daveed Diggs Daveed Daniele Diggs (born January 24, 1982) is an American actor, rapper, and singer-songwriter. He is the vocalist of the experimental hip hop group Clipping, and in 2015, he originated the dual roles of Marquis de Lafayette and Thomas Jeffer ...

Frederick Douglass Frederick Douglass (born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, February 1817 or 1818 – February 20, 1895) was an American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. After escaping from slavery in Maryland, he became ...

as Henry "Onion" Shackleford

Recurring

* Wyatt Russell as

First Lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a ...

J. E. B. Stuart James Ewell Brown "Jeb" Stuart (February 6, 1833May 12, 1864) was a United States Army officer from Virginia who became a Confederate States Army general during the American Civil War. He was known to his friends as "Jeb,” from the initials o ...

* Rafael Casal as John Cook * McKinley Belcher III as Broadnax *

Steve Zahn Steven James Zahn (; born November 13, 1967) is an American actor and comedian. His film roles include ''Reality Bites'' (1994), ''That Thing You Do!'' (1996), ''Stuart Little'' (1999), '' Shattered Glass'' (2003), ''Sahara'' (2005), '' Chicken Li ...

as Chase * Victor Williams as Coachman Jim * Quentin Plair as

Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother ( ...

* Miles Mussenden as

Dangerfield Newby Dangerfield F. Newby (c. 1820 – October 17, 1859), described as a "huge mulatto", was the oldest of John Brown's raiders, one of the five black raiders. He died during Brown's raid on the federal armory in Harpers Ferry, Virginia. Life As was ...

* Ali Amin Carter as Lewis Leary *

Orlando Jones Orlando Jones (born April 10, 1968) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He is known for being one of the original cast members of the sketch comedy series '' MADtv'', for his role as the 7 Up spokesman from 1999 to 2002, and for his role ...

as Hayward Shepherd (The Rail Man) * Brooks Ashmanskas as

Lewis Washington Lewis William Washington (November 30, 1812 – October 1, 1871) was an American planter and great-grandnephew of President George Washington. He is most remembered today for his involuntary participation in John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry ...

Guest

* Zainab Jah as

Harriet Tubman Harriet Tubman (born Araminta Ross, March 10, 1913) was an American abolitionist and social activist. Born into slavery, Tubman escaped and subsequently made some 13 missions to rescue approximately 70 slaves, including family and friends, u ...

Maya Hawke Maya Ray Thurman Hawke (born July 8, 1998) is an American actress and singer-songwriter. The daughter of actors Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke, she began her career in modeling. She made her screen debut as Jo March in the 2017 BBC adaptation of '' ...

as Annie Brown *

David Morse David Bowditch Morse (born October 11, 1953) is an American actor, singer, television director, and writer. He first came to national attention as Dr. Jack "Boomer" Morrison in the medical drama series ''St. Elsewhere'' (1982–88). His film ca ...

as Dutch Henry Sherman *

Alex Sharp Alexander Ian Sharp (born 2 February 1989) is an English actor. He is known for originating the role of Christopher Boone in the Broadway production of '' The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time''. After graduating from the Juilliard ...

as Preacher *

Gia Crovatin Gia Alessandra Crovatin is an American actress and producer. She is best known for her film roles as Dylan in the 2015 comedy film '' Dirty Weekend'' and Sasha in the comedy film ''I Feel Pretty''. Her television roles include Drew in the comedy ...

as Martha *

Killer Mike Michael Santiago Render (born April 20, 1975), better known by his stage name Killer Mike, is an American rapper, actor, and activist. Mike made his debut on Outkast's 2000 LP '' Stankonia'', and later appeared on their Grammy-winning single "T ...

as Clarence *

Keith David Keith David Williams (born June 4, 1956) is an American actor. He is known for his signature deep voice and commanding screen presence in over 300 roles across film, stage, television, and interactive media. He has starred in such films as '' T ...

as Herbert

Episodes

Music

Music in the miniseries is composed of Black musical genres:

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the ...

, and

spirituals Spirituals (also known as Negro spirituals, African American spirituals, Black spirituals, or spiritual music) is a genre of Christian music that is associated with Black Americans, which merged sub-Saharan African cultural heritage with the ex ...

. Most is performed by Black artists or groups, with the theme song "Come On Children, Let's Sing", a gospel song, sung by

Mahalia Jackson Mahalia Jackson ( ; born Mahala Jackson; October 26, 1911 – January 27, 1972) was an American gospel singer, widely considered one of the most influential vocalists of the 20th century. With a career spanning 40 years, Jackson was integral to t ...

. Songs featured in the series include: * Episode 1 # The Zion Travelers, "Am I a Soldier of the Lord?" #

Elmore James Elmore James ( Brooks; January 27, 1918 – May 24, 1963) was an American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter, and bandleader. Noted for his use of loud amplification and his stirring voice, James was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ...

, "Shake Your Money Maker" # The Zion Travelers, "The Blood" #

, "I'm On My Way to Canaan" * Episode 2 #

Nina Simone Eunice Kathleen Waymon (February 21, 1933 – April 21, 2003), known professionally as Nina Simone (), was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and civil rights activist. Her music spanned styles including classical, folk, gospel, blu ...

, "I Shall Be Released" #

Shuggie Otis Johnny Shuggie Otis (born Johnny Alexander Veliotes, Jr.; November 30, 1953) is an American singer-songwriter, recording artist, and multi-instrumentalist. Otis's composition " Strawberry Letter 23" (as recorded by The Brothers Johnson) toppe ...

, "Sweet Thang" * Episode 3 #

Brother Joe May Brother Joe May (November 9, 1912 – July 14, 1972) was an American gospel singer. He was sometimes billed as "The Thunderbolt of the Middle West", and has been described as "arguably the greatest male soloist in the history of gospel music. ...

and the Bye & Bye, "Afterwhile" # Shuggie Otis, "Sweet Thang" # The Redemption Harmonizers, "

Amazing Grace "Amazing Grace" is a Christian hymn published in 1779 with words written in 1772 by English Anglican clergyman and poet John Newton (1725–1807). It is an immensely popular hymn, particularly in the United States, where it is used for both ...

" * Episode 4 #

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the " King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. His ener ...

, "Where Could I Go but to the Lord" #

Taj Mahal The Taj Mahal (; ) is an Islamic ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in the Indian city of Agra. It was commissioned in 1631 by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan () to house the tomb of his favourite wife, ...

, "She Caught the Katy and Left Me the Mule to Ride" * Episode 5 # The Ragged Jubilee, "In the Valley II" #

Joe and Eddie Joe and Eddie was an American gospel folk group. During their careers, the African-American duo composed of Joe Gilbert and Eddie Brown toured the United States and Canada, appeared on more than 20 major television shows, and recorded eight a ...

and the Les Braxter Chorus, " Michael, Row the Boat Ashore" * Episode 6 # Mahalia Jackson, "Trouble of the World" * Episode 7 # Spirit of Memphis Quartet, "Walking with Jesus" # Cast, " Wayfaring Stranger"

Production

Development

and

adapted the 2013 novel, ''

The Good Lord Bird ''The Good Lord Bird'' is a 2013 novel by James McBride about Henry Shackleford, an enslaved person, who unites with John Brown in Brown's abolitionist mission. The novel won the National Book Award for Fiction in 2013 and received generally po ...

'', for a limited series that premiered on October 4, 2020, on Showtime. The series was created and executive produced by Hawke and

. Jason Blum, via Blumhouse Television, served as a production partner on the miniseries.

Albert Hughes Albert Hughes and Allen Hughes (born April 1, 1972), known together professionally as the Hughes brothers, are American film directors and producers. The pair, who are twins, are known for co-directing visceral, and often violent, movies, inclu ...

Kevin Hooks Kevin Hooks (born September 19, 1958) is an American actor, and a television and film director; he is notable for his roles in '' Aaron Loves Angela'' and '' Sounder'', but may be best known as Morris Thorpe from TV's '' The White Shadow''. Ea ...

, Darnell Martin, and Haifaa al-Mansour, Michael Nankin, and

Kate Woods Kate Woods is an Australian film and television director who has directed and produced mini series, television shows, pilots and feature films. Career Woods made her feature film directorial debut with the film '' Looking for Alibrandi'' ( ...

each directed an episode.

Casting

In August 2019,

and Wyatt Russell signed on to portray

and

. In July 2019,

and Rafael Casal joined the cast as Henry "Onion" Shackleford and John Cook.

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 ...

for the series began in July 2019, in Powhatan, Virginia, near Richmond.

Reception

Critical response

For the series,

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 ...

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 Wan ...

reported an approval rating of 98% based on 52 reviews, with an average rating of 8.5/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Ethan Hawke dazzles in ''The Good Lord Bird'', an epically irreverent adaptation that does right by its source material's good word." On

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that 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 average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

, the series has a weighted average score of 84 out of 100 based on reviews from 25 critics, indicating "universal acclaim." In response to John Lahr's profile of Ethan Hawke, ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

'' published a letter to the editor, written by Marty Brown, a descendant of John Brown. In the letter, Marty Brown welcomes the effort to bring John Brown's story to a wider audience but notes that his characterization in the series does not reflect the work of Brown's historians and biographers.

Accolades

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Good Lord Bird, The (miniseries) 2020 American television series debuts 2020 American television series endings 2020s American drama television miniseries Cultural depictions of Frederick Douglass Cultural depictions of Harriet Tubman Cultural depictions of John Brown (abolitionist) English-language television shows Peabody Award-winning television programs Primetime Emmy Award-winning television series Showtime (TV network) original programming Television episodes about slavery in the United States Television shows based on American novels Television shows set in Kansas Television shows set in Ontario Television shows set in Virginia