Showtime's newest miniseries, 'The Good Lord Bird,' will premiere on Sunday, October 4 at 9/8c. The series will consist of 7 episodes.
Trailer
Based upon the National Book Award-winning novel by James McBride, 'The Good Lord Bird' is told from the point of view of Onion, a fictional enslaved boy who becomes a member of Brown's motley family of abolitionist soldiers and eventually finds himself participating in the famous 1859 raid at Harpers Ferry. 'The Good Lord Bird' uniquely and unpredictably spotlights the complicated racial, religious and gender roles that make up the American identity.
Cast
Joshua Johnson-Lionel as Onion
Ethan Hawke as John Brown
Daveed Diggs as Frederick Douglass
David Morse as Dutch Henry Sherman
Ellar Coltrane as Salmon Brown
Orlando Jones as The Rail Man
Rafael Casal as Cook
Steve Zahn as Chase
Wyatt Russel as Jeb Stuart
Reviews
The Hollywood Reporter said:Much of the joy of The Good Lord Bird comes from watching everybody's wheels spinning, on-screen and behind-the-scenes, trying to figure out how to approach John Brown's place in this tragicomic history. Brown is the stuff of tall tales, Paul Bunyan wielding Bible quotes instead of an axe. Seven hours of The Good Lord Bird left me both clear-eyed about John Brown as a historical figure and curious to learn more. Above all, it left me with zero doubts about Hawke's ever-evolving talent.
Rolling Stone said:Shifting the perspective allows Hawke to go mountainous with his performance. He is a sweaty, manic, delusional wonder to behold, giving the story a jolt whenever he appears. He is also, in something of a rarity in his career, incredibly funny.
Mashable said:Over the course of 7 episodes that thrive on Ethan Hawke's speeches, The Good Lord Bird tries to answer the question of whether John Brown and his rebel army made a difference. Did they create the spark that lit up the fires of the Civil War? The show leaves you to interpret the journey. And what a refreshingly layered perspective to reflect on history with.
The Playlist said:"The Good Lord Bird" shouldn't work, but somehow the evocatively shot series leaps from the pages of history. And though it might lose its way, in the same meandering fashion as one of Brown's prayers, writers never forget that the goal is seeing Black people fighting for their freedom. And if you never knew anything of Brown, and the event which most believe began the Civil War, then "The Good Lord Bird" is the right place to start.