Looks like Fox is not looking to be outdone by ABC and its inclusive comedies. Fox is making history by buying an autobiographical comedy Reservations, bringing a Native American story to the forefront of American TV.
So what do you need to know about this groundbreaking comedy? Thanks to Deadline, here are the big three facts you need.
1. Reservations comes from writer Lucas Brown Eyes: Lucas Brown Eyes (pictured above), a member of the Oglala Lakota tribe, got his start with the ABC Disney Writing Program in 2014 and worked on various Disney shows including Freeform’s Young & Hungry, where he worked as a writer and executive story editor, and KC Undercover.
2. Reservations is based on Brown Eyes’ own experiences growing up: The show follows a Native American family “that trades their impoverished reservation for Los Angeles, a move inspired by the dreams of a 14-year-old boy to live in Hollywood.” The move to the glitzy, fame-obsessed town puts the family through an intense (but hilarious) adjustment process.
The story mirrors what Brown Eyes’ family did to help him achieve his writing dreams. As stated in his biography on IMDB, Brown Eyes’ family moved to California so he could study film and television at the Orange County High School of the Arts.
3. The show is brought to us by the people who brought us the new Pennywise: Reservations is the first sale David Katzenberg and Seth Grahame-Smith’s KatzSmith production company has made under their new deal with 20th Century Fox. KatzSmith is proving itself to have an eye for what the zeitgeist want to see; they are behind theIt reboot, and they’re also backing the new Beetlejuice sequel and a film version of Kung Fury.
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Is it just me, or is this second season of The Exorcist trying to become the second coming of Sleepy Hollow?
I say that because it’s been a while since I’ve seen a fantasy/sci-fi show on FOX that was this diverse. Usually, I shy away from watching shows about the devil (despite watching Sleepy Hollow, but it was less about the devil and more about ghosts and demonic imps and stuff), but with a cast that looks this good, I just might try to tamp down my fear of evil and watch this season.
There are some characters from last season that are coming back for this season, such as the three-pronged team of Catholic priests who work together to propel the devil back to Hell. Some familiar faces to Exorcist TV show fans include Alfonso Herrera as Father Tomas and Kurt Egyiawan as Father Bennett, both are seemingly led by veteran exorcist Father Marcus (Ben Daniels).
But the Sleepy Hollow angle comes intimately into play with John Cho. First of all, he’s back on FOX—the last time he was on the network, he was playing Andy Brooks on Sleepy Hollow, a character who got a raw deal in many ways. Secondly, he’s once again playing an Andy—this time around, he’s Andy Kim, a surrogate father to several kids in the foster system. Maybe this could be like an alternate universe in which Andy isn’t seduced by the dark side, wasn’t a cop, and wanted to do good in the world by taking care of kids and protecting them from the devil.
Other newcomers include Li Jun Li as Rose Cooper, a social worker who checks in on Andy and the kids. She also has a history (romantic, I’m assuming) with Andy, and knows something’s bothering him.
This leads us to the kids themselves. It’s a diverse set of kids, including Deadpool’s Brianna Hildebrand as Verity. Other teen/kid actors include Alex Barima as Shelby, Cyrus Arnold as David Johnson III, otherwise known as Truck, Amélie Eve as Grace, and Hunter Dillon as Caleb, a blind character. Ironically, both Dillon and Hildebrand are in Deadpool 2 together. But one thing of note about Caleb is that he’s a character played by a sighted actor. This could have been a good opportunity for a blind or otherwise visually-impaired actor to have.
Still Star-Crossed’s Zuleikha Robinson also stars in this upcoming season as Mouse, who is described by creator/EP Jeremy Slater as a “loyal servant of the church” who is “starting to realize the corruption has spread further than anyone had realized” and is adamant about taking down the church’s patriarchal system.
You can learn more about the new characters and see more pictures at Entertainment Weekly. As for me, I’ll put on my big girl britches and check out at least a couple of episodes from this new season. If it’s too much for me to handle, I’ll have to bow out, but I’ll be cheering for its success on the sidelines.
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We have a lot of shows coming our way, and a lot of racially-diverse shows at that. I thought it would be cool to take a gander at some of the shows I’m interested in this fall season and guess at what their chances are at garnering a second season. I know these shows haven’t even premiered yet. But we’ve already seen the trailers for the fall season, right? We already have our opinions anyway. So let me start off the opinion-giving by providing my thoughts.
(I must say that even though there are racially-diverse shows this fall-winter season, the shows featured in this particular list showcase shows featuring black leads.)
Luke Cage (Netflix)
I dare say that it’s already a given that Netflix and Marvel’s Luke Cage will be a smash hit. Mike Colter, who will be playing the title character, has already amassed a cult following from playing the character on Netflix’s second Marvel endeavor, Jessica Jones. And, let’s not discount Marvel’s wide and powerful reach; nowadays, almost everything Marvel touches turns to gold. So chances are Luke Cage will be here for a long time.
Lethal Weapon (FOX)
I will be honest; this show seems to have whiffs of Rush Hour all over it. Not the film, mind you, but the CBS TV adaptation of Rush Hour. That show had the diversity quota going for it; just like in the film, the buddy-cop duo was comprised of a black man and an Asian man (with Vine star Justin Hires and British actor Jon Foo taking reins of the Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan roles). But the writing was just too terrible and lackluster for the two leads to carry it. Let’s be clear; just because a show has a diverse cast doesn’t mean it’ll automatically succeed. The writing still has to be good.
Lethal Weapon seems like we could be going down another Rush Hour path. Not only does it look like it’ll be potentially unfunny, but just how relevant is Lethal Weapon these days? A similar question was posed about the Rush Hour TV series; the story is so of its time that it doesn’t resonate with younger TV viewers. But we’ll see how Lethal Weapon does; it is starring Damon Wayans, so the show does have that going for it.
Still Starcrossed (ABC)
First of all, Still Starcrossed is a Shonda Rhimes show. So you can assume success is already in the bag. But secondly, and most importantly, it’s a show that many people, particularly women of color, have been wanting since the dawn of television; a period show featuring people of color who aren’t slaves. Instead, Still Starcrossed, which takes place after the deaths of Romeo and Juliet, showcases a rich, affluent black family in Verona, Italy, who are just as powerful and viable as any other family. That alone will attract viewers who are excited to see a different and much-needed portrayal of the black family in ancient times. Look for several seasons of Still Starcrossed.
24: Legacy (FOX)
As well as the original 24 did, what with it being steeped in post 9/11 paranoia, 24: Legacy will probably do just as well, since politics has gotten even worse since 9/11. However, the fact that politics have become more divisive and stereotype-laden makes me question whether it’s even responsible to bring any iteration of 24 back. As popular as 24 was with its audience, it also was plagued by stereotypes of Middle Eastern Muslims as terrorists. What makes 24: Legacy even more troubling is that there’s the distinct possibility that these same terrorist stereotypes will be juxtaposed against the new hero, Eric Carter (played by Corey Hawkins). If there is an uplifting of one marginalized group at the expense of another marginalized group, then the entire exercise of the show is a problem. Regardless, 24: Legacy would still garner a sizable audience, so it could remain for another season or two.
Pitch (FOX)
Pitch will be a game-changer when it premieres. The show, about a young woman who becomes the first woman signed to a Major League Baseball team, will advance the cause of women in sports by showing that women can play any sport they want to, with the same passion and ability as men. The show has also cast Kylie Bunbury as the lead, which is fantastic; if this show were made just a few years ago, a woman like Bunbury wouldn’t even be considered.
I’m intrigued to see what Pitch will do once it premieres. If it plays its cards right, it could last for a while. It could become the Empire of baseball shows, I think.
What do you think of these shows? Give me your opinions in the comments section below!
The formulation of this post started at some point between this tweet:
Me an hour and a half after #SleepyHollow #SleepyHolla pic.twitter.com/mVkwy7TAXw
— Monique Jones (@moniqueblognet) April 9, 2016
And this tweet:
What’s amazing is that everyone, fans and critics, feel disappointed & angered beyond belief. We’re all grieving. #SleepyHollow #SleepyHolla
— Monique Jones (@moniqueblognet) April 9, 2016
with some final conclusions coming in at around these tweets:
@BlackGirlNerds I know one thing—I’M about to write for us! I’m getting on my script before the night is out!
— Monique Jones (@moniqueblognet) April 9, 2016
Congrats on a job well done, @NikkiBeharie I’ve been a fan since “42” and I’m looking forward to your next project.
— Monique Jones (@moniqueblognet) April 9, 2016
Indeed, several TV critics on Twitter were aghast at what happened:
I haven’t watched #SleepyHollow since early S2 and tonight’s news still makes me sad. What a waste of a show on all levels. Crikey.
— Ryan McGee (@TVMcGee) April 9, 2016
Been a long time since I watched Sleepy Hollow, but when I liked it, it was for the interplay of the leads. Sounds like a big mess now.
— Alan Sepinwall (@sepinwall) April 9, 2016
Way behind on #SleepyHollow but this (spoilery) news is so sad. Few shows had more potential at one time but now… https://t.co/kj8h7ORX7C
— Mo Ryan (@moryan) April 9, 2016
And several online recaps had the same theme throughout the post: If Abbie and Nicole Beharie are gone, then what’s the point of even watching the show? Just as important: Why on God’s green earth would the writing team as a whole (including the showrunner) go out of their way to lead the fanbase on and act like they were going to give the fanbase what they wanted (which is a final say-so on #Ichabbie) just to turn around and destroy the only thing that made the show worth watching? To quote Vulture’s Rose Maura Lorre, “The latter statements [of Pandora stating in her dying breaths that Ichabod loves Abbie] lead me to believe that, intentional or not, this show’s careless disregaard of its Ichabbie ‘shippers has been fucked up. Make them just-friends or make them more-than-friends, but have a conversation about it and stick to your decision. Don’t keep stringing the ‘shippers along with your hand-kissing and your ‘be still my beating heart’ (which no person has ever said platonically) while you know Abbie’s imminent fate full well.” And as The A.V. Club’s Zack Handlen wrote, “I’m not sure if there were behind-the-scenes issues we are privy to, but Beharie’s a crucial element of the series. Tom Mison is a fine actor, but without the two of them together, what’s the damn point?”
The chemistry between the two leads, Tom Mison and Beharie, was the only thing that kept mostly everyone tuned in. (I say most, because somehow, there are folks out there who think Sleepy Hollow is just Ichabod’s story of time travel. When was he the only lead on this show? I have a lot more to say about this later on in this post.) Sure, the creative elements that made up the show, like the lighting, the set design, the creature makeup and stuntwork, and the time travel/Christian apocalypse madness were amazing and really gave the show its creepy edge. But the glue that stuck all of those disparate parts together were the grounding forces provided by Ichabod and Abbie. Without one or both of them, the show’s just a bunch of junk, to be quite honest about it. So I ask again: Without Abbie, what the f*ck is the point of watching a fourth season?!
I don’t even like using coarse language, but how else am I supposed to get this point across? How much more plainly can I say it? Abbie was the show. Even Mison would agree to that, I’m sure, since he was never without a kind word to say about working with Beharie and being able to share the same breathing air as her. Mison has always stuck up for Beharie and looking back on it, it makes a lot of sense as to why neither Mison nor Beharie have done a lot of press for this season. It’s slowly come out that Beharie was deeply unhappy during S2 and wanted out of her contract, and I don’t blame her for wanting to leave, because as I’ve written before, Abbie was made to be a house slave for Witchy White Feminist Katrina. As far as Mison is concerned, I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if Mison eventually leaves as well. If someone decides to interview Mison about his thoughts on everything, I betcha he’ll reveal his true emotions over this, just like how he did with Ichabod fawning over Katrina in S2. (To paraphrase him from an earlier interview, he had a serious disagreement with the writers about how Ichabod was acting out of character. We already know how he felt about Katrina from some of his DVD commentary, in which he shades Katrina for only being able to lift a stick even though she was supposed to be a powerful witch.)
I could just go on rambling, but I’m going to use my favorite writing tools—bullets—to boil down my points into easy-to-follow chunks.
If you remember a few months ago, I talked about some remodeling I was doing to the site. You can read about it at length here, but one of the changes was no more focus on recaps. The only recap I wrote I’d continue was Sleepy Hollow, and that those recaps would be exclusively for the Black Girl Nerds community. In case you are new to the site and heard about me and my recaps and are surprised not to see any new recaps here, just head over to Black Girl Nerds to read what I’ve got to say!
The latest recap is of the midseason premiere, and I have a lot to say about everything that went down, including Ichabod basically proposing to Abbie without Abbie even being in most of the episode. Here’s a snippet:
I had been waiting to see Ichabod finally be beside himself with grief, and I got what I was looking for. Ichabod has finally let go of some of his decorum and is now outwardly showing his feelings for Abbie. Well, by “outward,” I mean telling wedding vows he usually reserves only for talks with Abbie to someone else. It’s probably because Foster indirectly reminds Ichabod of Abbie that he was able to say how he actually feels about Abbie, and it could also be because Foster’s a stranger; I still think he’d have enough decorum to not blurt this private talk to Jenny. But the fact that he’s willing to confess to someone else that he truly believes Abbie is his better half, the person that makes him better just by being in his life, means he’s got a more complete handle on what his feelings for her are. Sometimes the person you love has to go away in order for you to realize what they mean to you, and even though Ichabod has generally shown how much he appreciates Abbie, this seems like the first time he’s realized exactly how important she is to him. It’ll be highly interesting to see how he acts when they finally get back together[.]
…Their relationship down the road will get really, really fascinating, seeing how he still hasn’t broken up with Zoe. We completely forgot about Zoe in this episode. That says a lot about her character. (Full admission: I had to go back and edit this article to write “Zoe” instead of “Caroline.” That shows just how much I forgot about Zoe and how much of an impact Caroline made. She’s still effective, and she’s been dead since Season 2. We still miss you, Caroline! Zoe’s an evil replacement!)
Read the rest at Black Girl Nerds, and make sure to catch me and Black Girl Nerds’ Jamie Broadnax on the Sleepy Addicts’ Hollow Hangout event this Friday, Feb. 9, at 9 p.m. ET, right after the airing of the latest Sleepy Hollow episode!
Don’t miss #HollowHangout 9pET following #SleepyHollow w/special. guests @JamieBroadnax @moniqueblognet @BGNPodcast pic.twitter.com/3XTXlJIsk6
— Sleepy Hollow Addict (@SleepyAddicts) February 10, 2016
Sleepy Hollow‘s midseason finale, “Novus Ordo Seclorum,” has left many people in shambles. To be frank, the double billing of Sleepy Hollow and How to Get Away with Murder‘s mideseason finales have left many people in shambles twice over. But let’s talk about what sent people over the edge during “Novus Ordo Seclorum”—Abbie’s sacrifice.
What a fascinating episode of Sleepy Hollow, right? The episode, “The Art of War,” could have also been called, “Talk to Her,” since that was the subtext of the night.
Sleepy Hollow gave me tons of good vibes with the latest episode, “This Red Lady of Caribee.” It was a black woman extravaganza—Abbie kicking butt, Jenny tag-teaming with Joe, and a powerful black villain who was part fashionista woman, part bug. This episode was also written by a black woman, Shernold Edwards (kudos to her). I also received my fair share of bad or annoying vibes, but we’ll get to that when we get to it. Let’s get to the recap, and then some bullet points.
