In the midst of the furor of HBO‘s upcoming drama Confederate, Amazon is readying their own alt-history series. Black America will imagine the world where Black people rule a number of southern states ahead of an epic clash with the United States.
Deadline exclusively reports:
Another alternate history drama series, which has been in the works at Amazon for over a year, also paints a reality where southern states have left the Union but takes a very different approach. Titled Black America, the drama hails from top feature producer Will Packer (Ride Along, Think Like A Man franchises, Straight Outta Compton) and Peabody-winning The Boondocks creator and Black Jesus co-creator Aaron McGruder. It envisions an alternate history where newly freed African Americans have secured the Southern states of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama post-Reconstruction as reparations for slavery, and with that land, the freedom to shape their own destiny. The sovereign nation they formed, New Colonia, has had a tumultuous and sometimes violent relationship with its looming “Big Neighbor,” both ally and foe, the United States. The past 150 years have been witness to military incursions, assassinations, regime change, coups, etc. Today, after two decades of peace with the U.S. and unprecedented growth, an ascendant New Colonia joins the ranks of major industrialized nations on the world stage as America slides into rapid decline. Inexorably tied together, the fate of two nations, indivisible, hangs in the balance.
As noted in Deadline’s report, the series has been in the works for over a year with Packer initially resistant to the idea before reaching out to McGruder.
The reaction to the new series on Twitter has been growing since the news was announced Tuesday morning (August 1). We’ve collected the best of the reactions below and on the following pages.
Black America is still in its early stages and a definitive date for its debut has not been released.
https://twitter.com/IWriteAllDay_/status/892431805965631489
https://twitter.com/MorganJerkins/status/892418143108333569
https://twitter.com/MatthewACherry/status/892442083042050048
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Photo: WENN.com
