( ENSPIRE Entertainment ) Octavia Butler’s Groundbreaking Novel “Kindred” is an 8 Part Miniseries
ENSPIRE Contributor: Jacara Watkins
Writer, showrunner, and executive producer Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, along with Joe Weisberg, Joel Fields, Darren Aronofsky, Ari Handel, Courtney Lee-Mitchell, Jules Jackson, Ernestine Walker, and Janicza Bravo have adapted Octavia Butler’s literature work “Kindred” into a television mini-series. Kindred is a sci-fi novel told in a neo-slave narrative. It centers on Dana James, a young black woman who is an aspiring writer from Los Angeles who is suddenly transported into the 19th century, at a plantation, a place where Dana and her ancestors are connected, encounters a young white boy named Rufus who she sees every time she has violently pulled away from the present into the past. Time is running as secrets surrounding her family lineage are discovered and has to find a way to the present.
The novel is set in California, in the year 1976. Following the journey of Dana Franklin, a black writer, and her husband Kevin, who is suddenly transported to the era of the antebellum south. Coming from the 20th century, she must learn to adopt the mindset of a slave. She saves the life of Rufus (her white ancestor) and meets Alice (her ancestor). She must make the ultimate sacrifice to ensure her family’s survival. Octavia Butler made history as the first African American author who broke down the barriers of science fiction that were dominated by white male authors. Her achievement has become an inspiration for Black writers around the world who are not limited to one area of the genre but can expand their creativity. Butler also addressed issues such as discrimination, gender, oppression, and racism presented in her works such as Kindred, classified as science fiction and neo-slave narrative.
“Kindred” is my favorite black sci-fi novel and to see it blossom into a new series is surreal. The show stars Mallori Johnson as Dana James, Micah Stock as Kevin Franklin, Ryan Kwanten as Thomas Weylin, Gayle Rankin as Margaret Weylin, David Alexander Kaplan as Rufus Weylin, Austin Smith as Luke, Sophina Brown as Sarah, and Sheria Irving as Olivia. Kindred will be available on FX and Hulu with eight episodes. The show will premiere on December 13.
Kindred trailer link:
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