Cast: Ernest Kingsley Jr., Eddie Karanja, Tom Ellis, Sterling K Brown, Rupert Graves, Billy Boyd, Ntare Guma Mbho Mwine, Charles Dance

Streaming Service: Hulu

Length: 8 episodes

Audio Description Produced By: Credit Needed

Written By: Credit Needed

Narrated By: Credit Needed

What is it?: The story of an aspiring inventor, from his days as a slave, to becoming an apprentice, who then became a pirate, and then got to see the world. But at what cost?!

What Doesn’t Work: I usually like to lead with the positive, but I struggled with Washington Black, which seems to have been given infinite latitude. I’m not sure an eight episode order was the best thing for this show, as it just left room for meandering, and cluttering the plot with a bunch of stories and ideas the deviate from the (perhaps) initial concept. We have a young black boy who was born a slave, plucked out of it by an aspiring inventor and abolitionist, who doesn’t see him as beneath him. their relationship is far from perfect, but he’s introduced to this very specific life, which the ideas then seem to have consumed him as an adult.

in and around this are dozens of adventures, random family members, bounty hunters, pirates, and a really complicated love story. It is packed full to the brim with so much it overflows, and the whole thing is shot like it was prepared for the Wonderful World of Disney in the 90’s. It lacks the grit of several recent limited series that focused on the same period, for example Amazon’s Underground Railroad. There’s an odd sheen to this show, like it was meant for kids, but it tackles some adult material. It’s a very odd concoction that seems at odds with itself.

Honestly, I struggled to get through this, but I did finish it. It isn’t awful television by any means, but it is so flawed and imperfect, it can’t be considered good either.

What Works: There are some good performances here, mostly from the younger version of Wash, and some side characters. Almost everyone appears as a caricature of something done better before. Tom Ellis is so hokey, Sterling K Brown is sleepwalking through this. So, their best discovery is a child actor asked to command a lot of attention and screen time, which is exactly what Disney did in the 90’s. If this was a film, you could pair it with Iron Will and feel the same vibe. It is a historical drama with the presumption of teeth, but it actually never reaches the level of so many projects like it.

The Audio Description: i did love this track, though Hulu was bound to keep me from finding out who did it. A wonderful choice of narrator, and an attention to detail that helped this show move forward.

Why You Might Like it: You like historical dramas, a lot. Also, representation matters, and while there’s slavery in this, and some difficult subject material, this is far from trauma porn.

Why You might Not Like it: it feels lost to time. This feels like Disney found this unreleased in their vault, and is just now putting it out. It really just doesn’t stylistically match any other show I’m watching, and that’s not in a good way. It reminds me of Perfect Harmony, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Ruby Bridges, and a host of 90’s Disney movies.

Final Thoughts: There’s something in Washington Black that just doesn’t work, and likely never did in this format. yet, it persisted into an eight episode limited series that is as saccharine as can be, and features a notable performance from its child co-lead, who outperforms the adults around him. Considering the talent involved, Washington Black is a rare miss.

Rotten: 4.4/10