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- 2018
- TV-MA
- BBC Two
- 2018
- TV-MA
- BBC Two
Summary When barrister Eve Ashby (Harriet Walter) takes on a case against General Simon Nyamoya (Danny Sapani), a Rwandan militia leader at the International Criminal Court, it opens up secrets from her past including those of her adopted daughter Kate Ashby (Michaela Coel) and fellow barrister Michael Ennis (John Goodman) in this thriller from ...
- 2018
- TV-MA
- BBC Two
- 2018
- TV-MA
- BBC Two
Black Earth Rising
Season 1 Premiere: Sep 10, 2018
59
4.9
Where to Watch
Summary When barrister Eve Ashby (Harriet Walter) takes on a case against General Simon Nyamoya (Danny Sapani), a Rwandan militia leader at the International Criminal Court, it opens up secrets from her past including those of her adopted daughter Kate Ashby (Michaela Coel) and fellow barrister Michael Ennis (John Goodman) in this thriller from ...
Where to Watch
All Seasons
Top Cast
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 9 Critic Reviews
59
44% Positive
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
44% Mixed
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
11% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 9 Critic Reviews
59
44% Positive
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
44% Mixed
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
11% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
If you’re hoping to be simultaneously challenged and made deeply anxious, look no further. And if the quest for rightness in a world that too often makes rightness impossible compels you, Black Earth Rising is well worth your time. Just give yourself something to grab, or touch, or press while you watch it. The steadiness will help.
Like David Simon, Blick is the kind of storyteller who's drawn to a form of bleak realism because that's where the tough stories that need to be told reside. In that sense, his work requires something of a commitment from viewers, but Black Earth Rising and Blick's previous work illustrate that it's one worth making.
The truth of Kate’s childhood isn’t as shocking as Black Earth Rising’s writers seem to believe it is. The series effectively defines both the real villains of its story and who Kate is, so much so that what she is, by the end, feels poignantly immaterial.
Black Earth Rising is overly confident in all the wrong places and lacks trust in all the right ones. The legal thriller’s frustrating bundle of potential never quite makes its case, despite the courage of its convictions.
Black Earth Rising’s focus on moving outward, on widening the scope of the investigations and recriminations to put the whole system on trial, is admirable, but in so doing, the series loses sight of its lead character. The story starts and ends with Kate, but after eight hours, we still have little sense of how she’s coping with survivor’s guilt, mental illness, navigating two cultures, or any of the fallout from challenging rich white men who live on estates with driveways the size of football fields.
Suspenseful but uneven drama. ... While the eight-part series deftly unpacks difficult questions about neocolonialism and the effect of geopolitics on the pursuit of justice, it’s less successful in forging a strong bond between viewers and the characters on screen.
[Black Earth Rising] squanders the audience’s goodwill with ill-conceived narrative turns, a reliance on cliché, and, worst, dialogue that defies belief. Its potential resonances as a story about how we metabolize, and prosecute, the worst of crimes ends up, soon enough, squandered as the audience loses faith in the story and its telling. ... Which raises questions about why Black Earth Rising exists at all, so inept is it at conveying the struggle at its center.
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 21 User Ratings
4.9
43% Positive
9 Ratings
9 Ratings
19% Mixed
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
38% Negative
8 Ratings
8 Ratings
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 21 User Ratings
4.9
43% Positive
9 Ratings
9 Ratings
19% Mixed
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
38% Negative
8 Ratings
8 Ratings
There are no user reviews yet. Be the first to add a review.
Production Company:
- Forgiving Earth
- British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
- Drama Republic
Initial Release Date: Sep 10, 2018
Number of seasons: 1 Season
Rating: TV-MA
Genres:
Awards
Royal Television Society, UK
• 1 Win & 4 Nominations
Black Reel Awards for Television
• 1 Nomination
Bafta TV Craft
• 1 Nomination
