''I'll Fly Away'' is an American television drama series that aired on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

from October 7, 1991, to February 5, 1993. Set during the late 1950s and early 1960s, in an unspecified Southern U.S. state, it stars Regina Taylor as Lilly Harper, a

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

housekeeper for the family of

district attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represen ...

Forrest Bedford, played by

Sam Waterston Samuel Atkinson Waterston (born November 15, 1940) is an American actor. Waterston is known for his work in theater, television, and film. He has received numerous accolades including a Primetime Emmy Award, Golden Globe Award, and Screen Actor ...

(the character's name is a twist on the name of

Confederate Army The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fi ...

General

Nathan Bedford Forrest Nathan Bedford Forrest (July 13, 1821October 29, 1877) was an List of slave traders of the United States, American slave trader, active in the lower Mississippi River valley, who served as a General officers in the Confederate States Army, Con ...

, an early leader of the

Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to KKK or Klan, is an American Protestant-led Christian terrorism, Christian extremist, white supremacist, Right-wing terrorism, far-right hate group. It was founded in 1865 during Reconstruction era, ...

). As the show progresses, Lilly becomes increasingly involved in the Civil Rights Movement, which eventually pulls in her employer as well.

Overview

''I'll Fly Away'' won two 1992

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

s ( Eric Laneuville for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Directing in a Drama Series for the episode "All God's Children", and for series creators Joshua Brand and John Falsey for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing in a

Miniseries In the United States, a miniseries or mini-series is a television show or series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. Many miniseries can also be referred to, and shown, as a television film. " Limited series" is ...

or a Special), and 23 nominations in total. It won three

Humanitas Prize The Humanitas Prize is an American award for film and television writing, presented to writers whose work explores the human condition in a nuanced and meaningful manner. It began in 1974 with Father Ellwood "Bud" Kieser—also the founder of ...

s, two

Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Janua ...

s, two NAACP Image Awards for Outstanding Drama Series, and a

Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Foster Peabody, George Peabody, honor what are described as the most powerful, enlightening, and in ...

. However, the series was never a ratings blockbuster, and it was cancelled by NBC in 1993, despite widespread protests by critics and viewer organizations. After the program's cancellation, a two-hour film, ''I'll Fly Away: Then and Now'', was produced, to resolve dangling storylines from season two, and provide the series with a true finale. The movie aired on October 11, 1993, on

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

. Its major storyline closely paralleled the true story of the 1955 murder of

Emmett Till Emmett Louis Till (July 25, 1941 – August 28, 1955) was an African American youth, who was 14 years old when he was abducted and Lynching in the United States, lynched in Mississippi in 1955 after being accused of offending a white woman, ...

in Money, Mississippi. Thereafter, PBS began airing repeats of the original episodes through 1995. The series also aired on PAX. The series takes its name from a Christian hymn written in 1929 by Albert E. Brumley. In 1999, ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media In mass communication, digital media is any media (communication), communication media that operates in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital content can be created, vi ...

'' ranked Lilly Harper number 15 on its list of 50 Greatest TV Characters of All Time. In 2013, it ranked the series #9 on their list of 60 shows that were "Cancelled Too Soon".

Cast

Regular cast

Recurring cast

* Mary Alice as Marguerite Peck *

Wayne Brady Wayne Alphonso Brady (born June 2, 1972) is an American comedian, actor, and singer. He is a regular cast member on the American version of the improvisational comedy television series '' Whose Line Is It Anyway?'' He was the host of the daytim ...

as Damon Rollins * Roger Aaron Brown as Reverend Henry * Cara Buono as Diane Lowe *

Vondie Curtis-Hall Vondie Curtis-Hall (born September 30, 1950) is an American actor, film director, and television director. As an actor, he is known for his role as Dr. Dennis Hancock on the CBS medical drama '' Chicago Hope'' created by David E. Kelley and as ...

as Joe Clay and Howard Yearwood * Michael Dolan as Francis Vawter * Ed Grady as Judge Lake Stevens *

Dorian Harewood Dorian Harewood (born August 6, 1950) is an American actor, best known for playing Jesse Owens in '' The Jesse Owens Story'' (1984), Det. Paul Strobber on '' Strike Force'' (1981–1982), and Rev. Morgan Hamilton in '' 7th Heaven'' (1996–2003 ...

as Clarence "Cool Papa" Charleston *Deborah Hedwall as Gwen Bedford * Tommy Hollis as Oscar Wilson *Rebecca Koon as Eileen Slocum * Elizabeth Omilami as Joelyn * Scott Paulin as Tucker Anderson * Harold Perrineau as Robert Evans *

Amy Ryan Amy Beth Dziewiontkowski (born May 3, 1968), known professionally as Amy Ryan, is an American actress. She began her professional stage career in 1987 and made her Broadway debut in 1993 as a replacement in the original production of Wendy W ...

as Parky Sasser * Sonny Shroyer as Bobby Slocum * N'Bushe Wright as Claudia Bishop

Setting

The series takes place in the fictional town of Bryland, in fictional Bryland County. The state in which Bryland is located is never specified. At various points, the

District of Columbia Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

and these Southern states were mentioned in ways that eliminate them as possible settings:

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, and

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

. Mentions of "counties" in the state eliminate

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

, which instead has

parishes A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

. In "Freedom Bus", Forrest Bedford is described as a new U.S. Attorney "in the Fifth District", presumably a reference to the Fifth Judicial Circuit of the federal court system. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, the Fifth Circuit comprised Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas,

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

, and the

Panama Canal Zone The Panama Canal Zone (), also known as just the Canal Zone, was a International zone#Concessions, concession of the United States located in the Isthmus of Panama that existed from 1903 to 1979. It consisted of the Panama Canal and an area gene ...

. Because the first five states listed can be eliminated on the basis of statements made by characters throughout the series, the likeliest setting for the series is Georgia.The notion that Georgia is the setting for the series finds credence in several episodes. In "The Third Man" (season two, episode 10), Forrest Bedford coerces a Klan infiltrator into maintaining his cover by threatening to have him imprisoned in the Atlanta Federal Penitentiary. In "State" (season two, episode 16), Lilly Harper, while discussing a freedom school to be opened in Bryland, mentions the possibility of using students from

Morehouse College Morehouse College is a Private college, private, Historically black colleges and universities, historically black, Men's colleges in the United States, men's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Atlanta, Georgia, ...

, a

historically black college Historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of serving African Americans. Most are in the Southern U ...

in Atlanta, as teachers. Moreover, in the final scene of "State", two black students, one male and one female, integrate the local state university, with federal troops protecting them from a mob of jeering white students. The scene is reminiscent of the 1961 integration of the

University of Georgia The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...

by Hamilton E. Holmes and Charlayne Hunter. Finally, in the series finale, ''I'll Fly Away: Then and Now'', Lilly reads from a novel she has written, which is based on her life. The protagonist of the novel states that she was born in "a small Southern town located on a parched southwestern plot of Georgian soil."

Episodes

Season 1 (1991–1992)

Season 2 (1992–1993)

TV film

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * {{Navboxes , title = Awards for ''I'll Fly Away'' , list = {{NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Drama Series {{NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special {{Producers Guild of America Award for Best Episodic Drama {{TCA Award for Outstanding Achievement in Drama {{WritersGuildofAmericaEpisodicDramaScreenplay 1990s American drama television series 1991 American television series debuts 1993 American television series endings American English-language television shows PBS original programming Peabody Award–winning television programs Primetime Emmy Award–winning television series Television series by Lorimar Television Television series set in the 1950s Television series set in the 1960s Civil rights movement in television Television series created by Joshua Brand Television series created by John Falsey Television series about prosecutors NBC television dramas