Jason Blum’s production house Blumhouse Productions is brimming with wonderful ideas for movies and shows this year. While they already have Welcome to Blumhouse lined up, they also plan to release a miniseries adaptation of The Good Lord Bird, a novel by James McBride. Mark Richard and Ethan Hawke are executive producing the show, with the latter also playing the lead role. This is all set to be another one of Ethan Hawke’s far ranging roles as a strong-willed and deeply personal character. Is the series worth watching? When does it come out? Well, read more to find out!
The Good Lord Bird: Plot and Cast
The miniseries is set before the time of the American Civil War and is partly fictional in nature. It tells the story of an enslaved black boy, who goes by the name of Onion. John Brown, a famous abolitionist of his time, tried to create an army to end slavery in America. He believed that speeches and peaceful riots would achieve nothing and violence was the only answer.
Onion was one of the boys who joined his crew. Together with his army, John Brown participated in the Bleeding Kansas War. This involved a series of conflicts between 1854 to 1861 due to a difference in political ideologies relating to slaves. His army also participated in the 1859 raid at Harpers Ferry, West Virginia.
John Brown may not have succeeded in achieving the abolition of slavery as he intended, but it was because of his efforts that slavery was abolished through the Civil War.
Ethan Hawke stars as abolitionist John Brown, Joshua Caleb Johnson as Onion, and Wyatt Russell as First Lieutenant J.E.B. Stuart. Daveed Diggs plays the role of Frederick Douglass. McKinley Belcher III plays Broadnax while Rafael Casal plays Cook.
The Good Lord Bird: Release Date and Trailer
The miniseries is set to come out on Showtime on October 4, 2020. Watch the trailer below: