“Black faces make money. Black culture makes money. But who controls what those faces do and say, and who benefits?”
That’s the question at the core of director Justin Simien‘s (Dear White People, Haunted Mansion) four-part MGM+ documentary series Hollywood Black.
Inspired by Donald Bogle’s 2019 book Hollywood Black: The Stars, the Films, the Filmmakers, Hollywood Black (premiering Sunday, Aug. 11, at 10pm ET/PT) explores Black representations onscreen and Black creators behind the scenes, and how both evolved over the past century of cinema history.
Opening in the Silent Era when white actors often wore Blackface, the premiere episode, “Built on Our Backs,” follows early independent film pioneers like Oscar Micheaux, actors like Hattie McDaniel (1939’s Gone With the Wind), and commanding performers like Dorothy Dandridge and Sidney Poitier.
“The Defiant Ones” (Aug. 18) explores the new age of Black cinema emerging in the 1970s and ’80s, with Blaxploitation action stars, comedians like Richard Pryor and Whoopi Goldberg, and directors like Spike Lee and John Singleton.
“The Price of Admission” (Aug. 25) looks at Black filmmakers and stars who thrived in mainstream Hollywood, even as stories by female and independent movie makers received little recognition.
The finale, “Dear Black People” (Sept. 1) charts the rise of talents like Ava DuVernay (Selma), Jordan Peele (Get Out) and Ryan Coogler (Black Panther) in the 21st century.
The series features commentary from Simien, Coogler and DuVernay, plus W. Kamau Bell, Issa Rae, LaKeith Stanfield, Gabrielle Union, Lena Waithe, Forest Whitaker and others.