''Black Earth Rising'' is a 2018 British television miniseries written and directed by

Hugo Blick Hugo Edgar Maxwell Blick (born 7 December 1964) is a British filmmaker and actor. He has his own production company, called Eight Rooks. Early life Hugo Blick studied in Cardiff at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. Career He ha ...

, about the prosecution of international war criminals. The series is a co-production between BBC Two and

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 fi ...

. The show aired on BBC Two in the United Kingdom starting on 10 September 2018; Netflix began streaming the show internationally outside the UK on 25 January 2019.

Plot

The story centres on Kate Ashby, who works as a legal investigator in the London law chambers of Michael Ennis. When Kate's adoptive mother Eve takes on a case prosecuting a Rwandan militia leader, the story pulls Michael and Kate into a journey that will upend their lives forever.

Cast

Michaela Coel Michaela Ewuraba Boakye-Collinson (born 1 October 1987), known professionally as Michaela Coel, is a British screenwriter and actress. She is best known for creating and starring in the E4 sitcom ''Chewing Gum'' (2015–2017), for which she won ...

as Kate Ashby, a 28-year-old, Rwandan-born British legal investigator *

John Goodman John Stephen Goodman (born June 20, 1952) is an American actor. He gained national fame for his role as the family patriarch Dan Conner in the American Broadcasting Company, ABC comedy series ''Roseanne'' (1988–1997; 2018), for which he rec ...

as Michael Ennis, an American divorced barrister living and working in the UK; employer of Kate Ashby *

Tamara Tunie Tamara Tunie (born March 14, 1959) is an American film, stage, and television actress, director, and producer. She is best known for her roles as attorney Jessica Griffin on the CBS soap opera ''As the World Turns'' (1987–1995, 2000–2007, 2009 ...

as Eunice Clayton, US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs *

Noma Dumezweni Noma Dumezweni (born 28 July 1969) is a British actress. In 2006, she won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Performance in a Supporting Role for her performance as Ruth Younger in ''A Raisin in the Sun'' at the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre. In 2 ...

as Alice Munezero, a Rwandan government official and former general in the

Rwandan Patriotic Army french: Forces rwandaises de défense sw, Nguvu ya Ulinzi ya Watu wa Rwanda , image = Rwanda Defense Force emblem.png , alt = , caption = , image2 = , alt2 = , caption2 ...

Harriet Walter Dame Harriet Mary Walter (born 24 September 1950) is a British actress. She has received a Laurence Olivier Award as well as numerous nominations including for a Tony Award, three Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. In 2011 ...

as Eve Ashby, Kate's adoptive mother, and an international prosecution barrister *

Danny Sapani Danny Sapani (born 15 November 1970) is a British actor who works in British, American, and Indian films. He is best known for appearing in ''Misfits'', '' Doctor Who'', ''Penny Dreadful'', ''The Crown'', '' Star Wars: The Last Jedi'' and '' Bl ...

as General Simon Nyamoya, a former

Tutsi The Tutsi (), or Abatutsi (), are an ethnic group of the African Great Lakes region. They are a Bantu-speaking ethnic group and the second largest of three main ethnic groups in Rwanda and Burundi (the other two being the largest Bantu ethnic ...

corporal who helped bring the Rwandan genocide to an end * Tyrone Huggins as Patrice Ganimana, a Rwandan

Hutu The Hutu (), also known as the Abahutu, are a Bantu ethnic or social group which is native to the African Great Lakes region. They mainly live in Rwanda, Burundi and the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, where they form one of the p ...

who helped implement the Rwandan genocide *

Ronald Guttman Ronald Guttman (born 12 August 1952) is a Belgian actor, theatrical producer and film producer. Career Guttman was born in Uccle. He started appearing in French language productions in Europe in 1975, appearing in his first English-language film ...

as Jacques Antoine Barré, a former advisor to the Élysée Palace between 1987 and 1994 * Aure Atika as Sophie Barré, daughter of Jacques Antoine Barré; CEO of Barré Resources * Abena Ayivor as Bibi Mundanzi; the overwhelmingly well-liked, third-term

president of Rwanda This article lists the presidents of Rwanda since the creation of the office in 1961 (during the Rwandan Revolution), to the present day. The president of Rwanda is the head of state and head of executive of the Republic of Rwanda. The presi ...

, and adoptive sister of Alice Munezero *

Lucian Msamati Lucian Gabriel Wiina Msamati (born 5 March 1976) is a British-Tanzanian actor. He played Salladhor Saan in HBO series ''Game of Thrones'', and was the first black actor to play Iago in the Royal Shakespeare Company's 2015 production of ''Othel ...

as David Runihura, special advisor to the Rwandan president *

Mimi Ndiweni Mimî Michelle Ndiweni (born 31 August 1991), since 2021 credited as Mimî M. Khayisa, is a British-Zimbabwean actress. She is best known for playing Fringilla Vigo in Netflix's ''The Witcher'', Tilly Brockless in the television series ''Mr S ...

as Mary Mundanzi, daughter of Bibi Mundanzi and David Runihura *

as Blake Gaines, a successful, unscrupulous defence barrister and rival of Ennis; hired to defend Patrice Ganimana *

Kathryn Hunter Aikaterini Hadjipateras ( el, Αικατερίνη Χατζηπατέρας; born 9 April 1957), known professionally as Kathryn Hunter, is an American-born British actress and theatre director, known for her appearances as Arabella Figg in th ...

as Capi Petridis,

prosecutor of the International Criminal Court The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court is the officer of the International Criminal Court whose duties include the investigation and prosecution of the crimes under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court, namely genocide, ...

* Serge Hazanavicius as Marc Previeau, a senior French based in Paris * Emmanuel Imani as Florence Karamera, a mysterious man aiding and protecting Kate *

Julian Glover Julian Wyatt Glover (born 27 March 1935) is an English classical actor with many stage, television, and film roles since commencing his career in the 1950s. He is a recipient of the Laurence Olivier Award and has performed many times for the ...

as Mark Viner, a retired barrister and Eve Ashby's former boss * Malou Coindreau as Hana Ennis, Michael's daughter and a former financial analyst, who has been in a coma for three years * Michael Gould as Harper Hopkinson, a book illustrator and Hana Ennis's stepfather

Episodes

Series 1 (2018)

Production

The series was commissioned as ''Black Earth Rising'' in 2017. For some time during production it was known as ''The Forgiving Earth'', but it went back to its original title by April 2018. During a night shoot of a car stunt scene in

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

, camera operator Mark Milsome was killed. The production used a private residence in

Sevenoaks Sevenoaks is a town in Kent with a population of 29,506 situated south-east of London, England. Also classified as a civil parish, Sevenoaks is served by a commuter main line railway into London. Sevenoaks is from Charing Cross, the traditio ...

, Kent for some of the filming; the swimming pool of the residence doubled for a spa hotel in Paris.

Bill Murray William James Murray (born September 21, 1950) is an American actor and comedian. He is known for his deadpan delivery. He rose to fame on ''The National Lampoon Radio Hour'' (1973–1974) before becoming a national presence on '' Saturday Nig ...

, Dan Aykroyd,

Steve Martin Stephen Glenn Martin (born August 14, 1945) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and musician. He has won five Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and was awarded an Honorary Academy Award in 2013. Additionally, he was nominate ...

George Wendt George Robert Wendt Jr. (born October 17, 1948) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for playing Norm Peterson on the television sitcom '' Cheers'' (1982–1993), which earned him six consecutive nominations for the Primetime Em ...

Chevy Chase Cornelius Crane "Chevy" Chase (; born October 8, 1943) is an American comedian, actor and writer. He became a key cast member in the first season of ''Saturday Night Live'', where his recurring ''Weekend Update'' segment became a staple of the ...

Jim Belushi James Adam Belushi (; born June 15, 1954) is an American actor. He is best known for the role of Jim on the sitcom ''According to Jim'' (2001–2009). His other television roles include ''Saturday Night Live'' (1983–1985), '' Total Security'' ...

and Jason Alexander were all considered for the role of Michael Ennis before John Goodman was cast.

Reception

Critics were overwhelmingly positive. The miniseries has a score of 79% positive reviews on review aggregator

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 ...

, with the consensus: ''"Black Earth Rising'' is an exceptional political thriller, confronting relevant challenges and deep-seated geopolitical problems with storytelling verve and a wise refusal to provide any easy answers."

References

External links

* *
''Black Earth Rising''
at

{{DEFAULTSORT:Black Earth Rising 2018 British television series debuts 2018 British television series endings 2010s British drama television series 2010s British television miniseries BBC television dramas Works about the Rwandan genocide Works about the International Criminal Court English-language Netflix original programming Television series by BBC Studios Television shows set in Africa Television shows set in London Television shows set in the Netherlands Television shows filmed in Ghana