'Black Earth Rising' Trailer: Michaela Coel Tries To Solve The Mystery Of Her Past
I bet you didn't see this coming: Netflix has a new original series! Of course, I'm just funning – Netflix always has a new original series these days. The streaming giant has more or less given up on adding other people's movies and TV shows to their lineup, and are instead all-in on creating their own original content. Their latest is Black Earth Rising, a new limited series starring Michaela Coel and John Goodman. The series blends personal character drama with thriller undertones, resulting in something unique. Watch the Black Earth Rising trailer below.
Black Earth Rising Trailer
It's getting harder to keep up with all the new Netflix originals, so I'll confess I hadn't even heard of Black Earth Rising. But this trailer has me intrigued. The footage here is vague enough to keep things mysterious, while also teasing a bigger, more complex picture. In other words, this is exactly what a trailer should do. Here's the synopsis:
Black Earth Rising is a contemporary thriller that follows the difficult journey of a woman, a Rwandan orphaned by the genocide, raised in London by an adopted mother, trying to discover the truth of her past. The series examines the West's relationship with Africa, set in a world of prosecution of war crimes.
Black Earth Rising actually originated in the UK, and has already aired on the BBC in full. Now, Netflix brings it to an international audience. The series stars Michaela Coel and John Goodman. Hugo Blick, who helmed the spy thriller series The Honourable Woman, directs. "Through the specific prism of this woman's fictional journey towards a deeply personal reconciliation with her past, we explore some of the legal, political and historical tensions that exist between the West and Africa in their mutual pursuit of international war criminals," Blick said, adding:
"Some years back I looked into the Nuremberg trials as part of background research on The Honourable Woman. I consequently became interested in exploring how we pursue International War Criminals today. I began with the International Criminal Court, and was surprised to discover, at the time of my research, that most, if not all, formal indictments were against Africans – black Africans...This then drew me to the Congo. Here not only is the ICC pursuing persecutors of the Rwandan Genocide, but I was further puzzled to find that it is also pursuing individuals who had helped bring the genocide to an end. Both sides were wanted by the ICC for alleged atrocities committed in the DRC after the genocide in the mid-2000s. I wanted to understand why apparent villains and heroes are being pursued. And the more I looked, the further I had to go."
Black Earth Rising launches on Netflix January 25, 2019.