Women_of_the_Movement
Women of the Movement
US historical drama television series
Women of the Movement is an American historical drama miniseries that premiered on ABC on January 6, 2022. Created by Marissa Jo Cerar, the series centers on Mamie Till-Mobley, played by Adrienne Warren, who devoted her life to seeking justice for her murdered son Emmett, played by Cedric Joe. Tonya Pinkins also co-stars as Alma Carthan, Emmett's grandmother.
| Women of the Movement | |
|---|---|
| Genre | |
| Created by | Marissa Jo Cerar |
| Based on | Emmett Till: The Murder That Shocked the World and Propelled the Civil Rights Movement by Devery S. Anderson |
| Starring |
|
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of episodes | 6 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
|
| Running time | 43–54 minutes |
| Production companies |
|
| Budget | $39.5 million[1] |
| Original release | |
| Network | ABC |
| Release | January 6 (2022-01-06) – January 20, 2022 (2022-01-20) |
The series is based on the book Emmett Till: The Murder That Shocked the World and Propelled the Civil Rights Movement by Devery S. Anderson. In August 2021 during post-production, the book Death of Innocence: The Story of the Hate Crime That Changed America by Mamie Till-Mobley and Christopher Benson, was also added to the project.
In 1955, Mamie Till-Mobley's son Emmett Till was murdered in Mississippi during the Jim Crow era. Her fight to get justice for him and to make sure he would not be forgotten would ultimately help to spawn the civil rights movement.
Main
- Adrienne Warren as Mamie Till-Mobley
- Tonya Pinkins as Alma Carthan, Mamie's mother and Emmett's grandmother
- Cedric Joe as Emmett Louis "Bobo" Till
- Glynn Turman as Rev. Mose Wright, Mamie's uncle
- Ray Fisher as Gene Mobley. Mamie's boyfriend
- Chris Coy as J. W. Milam, Roy's half-brother
- Julia McDermott as Carolyn Bryant, Roy's wife
- Carter Jenkins as Roy Bryant
- Gary Basaraba as Sheriff Clarence Strider
Recurring
- Jamir Vega as Simeon Wright, Emmett's cousin
- Joshua Caleb Johnson as Wheeler Parker Jr.
- Leslie Silva as Ruby Hurley, the South-Western Director of the NAACP
- Chris Butler as Rayfield Mooty, a well-networked steel worker from Chicago who takes up Mamie's cause.
- Alex Désert as Dr. Theodore Roosevelt Howard
- Miles Fowler as Simeon Booker
- Sharon Perry as Clotye Murdock Larsson
- Tongayi Chirisa as Medgar Evers
- Jason Turner as James L. Hicks
- Daniel Abeles as Chet Packton
- Timothy Hutton as Jesse J. Breland, the prosecuting lawyer in Mississippi
- Gil Bellows as Gerald Chatham
- Vivian Fleming-Alvarez as Elizabeth "Lizzie" Wright, the wife of Mose
- Dan Byrd as Dan Wakefield
- Kevin Cutts as Sheriff Smith
- Jason Gaines as Johnny Whitten
- Jason Horgan as J.W. Kellum
- Ted Welch as Harvey Henderson
- Chip Lane as Judge Curtis Swango
- Deja Dee as Willie Mae
- Luke Hardeman as Maurice Wright
- Hudson Hurley as Roy Bryant Jr.
- Todd Barnett as Robert Smith
- Charlotte Haynes Hazzard as Mandy Bradley
| No. | Title [2] | Directed by | Written by | Original air date [2] | U.S. viewers (millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Mother and Son" | Gina Prince-Bythewood | Marissa Jo Cerar | January 6, 2022 (2022-01-06) | 3.12[3] |
| 2 | "Only Skin" | Tina Mabry | Marissa Jo Cerar | January 6, 2022 (2022-01-06) | 3.12[3] |
| 3 | "Let the People See" | Tina Mabry | Erica L. Anderson | January 13, 2022 (2022-01-13) | 3.08[4] |
| 4 | "Manhunt" | Julie Dash | Teleplay by : Cristian Martinez Story by : Cristian Martinez & Sylvia Franklin | January 13, 2022 (2022-01-13) | 3.08[4] |
| 5 | "Mothers and Sons" | Julie Dash | Hayley Tyler | January 20, 2022 (2022-01-20) | 2.95[5] |
| 6 | "The Last Word" | Kasi Lemmons | Marissa Jo Cerar | January 20, 2022 (2022-01-20) | 2.95[5] |
Development
Jay-Z, Will Smith and Aaron Kaplan of Roc Nation, Overbrook Entertainment and Kapital Entertainment first tried to produce an untitled miniseries based on the life of Emmett Till at HBO in 2016.[6] While at HBO, the group merged with Rosanna Grace and Nicole Tabs of Serendipity Group Inc, John P. Middleton and Alex Foster of The Middleton Media Group, and David Clark of Mazo Partners. When the project left HBO it was reconceived to focus on women during the civil rights movement. The series, now titled Women of the Movement, began development in April 2020.[7]
On August 28, 2020, on the 65th anniversary of Emmett Till's murder, ABC gave the official green light to the series, with Marissa Jo Cerar coming on board as the writer and Gina Prince-Bythewood confirmed to direct the first episode of the series.[8]
Casting
On October 16, 2020, Adrienne Warren was cast in a leading role of Mamie Till-Mobley.[9][10][11] On November 13, 2020, Niecy Nash joined the series as Alma Carthan, Emmett Till's grandmother.[12] On December 3, 2020, Cedric Joe joined the series as Emmett Till.[13] On December 9, 2020, Glynn Turman joined the series as Mose Wright, Emmett Till's great uncle.[14] On December 17, 2020, Ray Fisher joined the series as Gene Mobley, Mamie's husband.[15] On January 6, 2021, it was announced that Tonya Pinkins had replaced Nash in the role of Alma Carthan.[16] On January 11, 2021, Chris Coy, Julia McDermott and Carter Jenkins joined the series as J. W. Milam, Carolyn Bryant and Roy Bryant, respectively.[17] On March 10, 2021, Joshua Caleb Johnson was cast in a recurring role.[18] On April 13, 2021, Leslie Silva, Chris Butler, Alex Désert, Miles Fowler, Tongayi Chirisa, Jason Turner, and Daniel Abeles joined the cast in recurring roles.[19] In June 2021, Gary Basaraba joined the cast.[20] In August 2021, Timothy Hutton was cast in a recurring role.[21]
On October 21, 2021, ABC released a teaser trailer for the miniseries.[22] The first two episodes premiered on January 6, 2022.[23]
Critical response
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported an 89% approval rating with an average rating of 6.8/10, based on 19 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "Women of the Movement enlivens the tragedy of Emmett Till with solid storytelling and a deeply moving pair of performances by Adrienne Warren and Cedric Joe."[24] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 71 out of 100 based on 15 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[25]
Ratings
| No. | Title | Air date | Rating (18–49) | Viewers (millions) | DVR (18–49) | DVR viewers (millions) | Total (18–49) | Total viewers (millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1–2 | "Mother and Son" / "Only Skin" | January 6, 2022 | 0.4 | 3.12[3] | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| 3–4 | "Let the People See" / "Manhunt" | January 13, 2022 | 0.5 | 3.08[4] | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| 5–6 | "Mothers and Sons" / "The Last Word" | January 20, 2022 | 0.4 | 2.95[5] | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
Accolades
| Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Recipient(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Golden Trailer Awards | October 6, 2022 | Best BTS/EPK for a TV/Streaming Series (Under 2 minutes) | ABC for “Mobley Tribute” | Nominated | [26] |
| Black Reel Awards | February 28, 2022 | Outstanding Supporting Actor, TV Movie/Limited Series | Glynn Turman | Won | [27] |
| Outstanding Directing, TV Movie/Limited Series | Gina Prince-Bythewood | Nominated | |||
| NAACP Image Awards | February 25, 2023 | Outstanding Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special | Women of the Movement | Nominated | [28] |
| Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series | Kasi Lemmons for "The Last Word" | Nominated | |||
| Gina Prince-Bythewood for "Mother and Son" | Nominated | ||||
| Outstanding Writing in a Dramatic Series | Marissa Jo Cerar for "Mother and Son" | Won | |||
| Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Television Movie, Limited-Series or Dramatic Special | Glynn Turman | Nominated |
- Civil rights movement in popular culture
- Till, also released in 2022
- "Fastlane NextGen: Initial Certification Search" (Type "Women of the Movement" in the search box). Louisiana Economic Development. Archived from the original on June 15, 2020. Retrieved August 20, 2020.
- "Shows A-Z –Women of the Movement on ABC". The Futon Critic. Retrieved December 14, 2021.
- Metcalf, Mitch (January 10, 2022). "ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Thursday Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals: 1.6.2022 Updated #2". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
- Metcalf, Mitch (January 14, 2022). "ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Thursday Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals: 1.13.2022 Updated". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved January 14, 2022.
- Metcalf, Mitch (January 24, 2022). "ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Thursday Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals: 1.20.2022 Updated #2". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
- Andreeva, Nellie (September 22, 2016). "Emmett Till HBO Miniseries From Jay-Z, Will Smith & Aaron Kaplan Finds Writer". Deadline. Retrieved October 22, 2021.
- Andreeva, Nellie (April 13, 2020). "ABC's 'Women of the Movement' Anthology Series From Jay-Z, Will Smith & Aaron Kaplan Opens Virtual Writers Room". Deadline Hollywood.
- "Adrienne Warren To Star As Mamie Till-Mobley In ABC Limited Series". Blackfilm.com. October 16, 2020.
- Andreeva, Nellie (October 16, 2020). "Adrienne Warren To Star As Mamie Till-Mobley In ABC Limited Series 'Women of the Movement'". Deadline Hollywood.
- Andreeva, Nellie (November 13, 2020). "'Women Of The Movement': Niecy Nash Joins ABC Limited Series". Deadline Hollywood.
- Andreeva, Nellie; Petski, Denise (December 3, 2020). "'Women Of The Movement': Cedric Joe To Play Emmett Till In ABC Limited Series". Deadline Hollywood.
- Andreeva, Nellie (December 9, 2020). "'Women Of The Movement': Glynn Turman To Co-Star In ABC Limited Series". Deadline Hollywood.
- Andreeva, Nellie (December 17, 2020). "Ray Fisher Joins 'Women Of The Movement' ABC Limited Series". Deadline Hollywood.
- Andreeva, Nellie (January 6, 2021). "'Women Of The Movement': Tonya Pinkins Joins ABC Limited Series As Niecy Nash Departs". Deadline Hollywood.
- Andreeva, Nellie (January 11, 2021). "'Women Of the Movement': Chris Coy, Julia McDermott & Carter Jenkins Join ABC Limited Series". Deadline Hollywood.
- Petski, Denise (March 10, 2021). "'Women Of The Movement': Joshua Caleb Johnson Joins ABC Limited Series As Recurring". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 10, 2021.
- Petski, Denise (April 13, 2021). "'Women Of The Movement': Seven Added To Recurring Cast Of ABC Limited Series". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
- Petski, Denise (June 17, 2021). "Gary Basaraba Joins Apple's 'Killers Of The Flower Moon', ABC's 'Women Of The Movement'". Deadline Hollywood.
- Petski, Denise (August 20, 2021). "'Women Of The Movement': Timothy Hutton Joins Recurring Cast Of ABC's Limited Series". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
- Iannucci, Rebecca (October 21, 2021). "Women of the Movement: ABC Sets Premiere for Emmett Till Miniseries". TVLine. Retrieved October 22, 2021.
- Del Rosario, Alexandra (October 21, 2021). "'Women of the Movement': ABC Sets Premiere Date, Shares Preview Clip For Limited Series". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 21, 2021.
- "Women of the Movement: Season 1". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved January 20, 2022.
- "Women of the Movement: Season 1". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved January 9, 2022.
- Davis, Clayton (2022-08-02). "Golden Trailer Awards: 'The Batman' and 'Top Gun: Maverick' Among Nominees, Disney Leads for Studios (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 2022-10-23.
- Complex, Valerie (2022-06-16). "6th Annual Black Reel Television Awards Nominations Announced". Deadline. Retrieved 2022-07-09.
- Jackson, Angelique (January 12, 2023). "'Abbott Elementary,' 'Black Panther: Wakanda Forever' and 'The Woman King' Dominate NAACP Image Award Nominations". Variety. Retrieved January 13, 2023.
