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2 • January 31 - February 6, 2021 Screen & Stream By Kyla Brewer TV Media W ith so many people stuck at home these days, television can be a welcome dis- traction, featuring shows that make us laugh or cry or both. Some TV programs go beyond mere entertainment to educate and inspire, and one such minise- ries is headed to prime time thanks to PBS. A woman recounts her life as a slave on a sugar cane plantation in early 19th-century colonial Ja- maica in Masterpiece's "The Long Song," premiering Sunday, Jan. 31, on PBS. Based on the novel of the same name by Andrea Levy, the three-part miniseries stars Tamara Lawrance ("King Charles III," 2017) as young slave July and Hayley Atwell ("Agent Carter") as her abusive mistress, Caroline Mortimer, the sister of the planta- tion's owner. Doña Croll ("EastEnders") por- trays the older version of July, ef- fectively serving as the program's narrator as she writes her memoir about her transition from slave to free woman around the time of the Christmas Rebellion of 1831, a slave uprising that marked the beginning of the end of slavery in Jamaica. July recalls how she was ripped away from her mother, Kitty (Sharon Duncan-Brewster, "Bad Girls"), as a child to train as a lady's maid for Caroline. "The Long Song" has already captivated U.K. audiences as the miniseries aired on BBC in December 2018 and received rave reviews. The novel was adapted for the small screen by Sarah Williams ("Wallis & Edward"), who also adapted Levy's "Small Island" into an Emmy-winning miniseries in 2009. The late Levy, who died in 2019 after battling breast cancer for more than a decade, was taken with Lawrance from the get-go, as she explained in an interview posted on the BBC's website. "The first time I saw Tamara Lawrance's face, I said, 'Yes, her. She's July. That was it,'" Levy said. "And then I saw her audition tapes, and I said, 'Yes, yes, yes, that's July moving. That's her. You've got her.'" Young British actress Law- rance is best known for her role as Prince Harry's republican girl- friend in the 2017 TV movie "King Charles III." Her other credits include television's "Undercover" and "No Offence," as well as the horror film "Kindred" (2020). Levy was likewise impressed with the production as a whole, saying in the same interview: "I have to say that every time I have seen anything visually come from the shooting that has been done, when I first started, I would just cry — always — because there is something incredibly emotional about seeing characters come to life in front of your eyes." For her part, Atwell has been praised for her ability to bring the hateful Caroline to life. In a December 2018 review of the miniseries, The Guardian's Lucy Mangan described the actress's take on the character as "a pitch- perfect performance from Hayley Atwell, who takes her right up to the line of real monstrousness without crossing into caricature." Most North American viewers probably recognize Atwell as a much more favorable character. She is well known as Agent Peggy Carter from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, having appeared as the heroine in the feature films "Cap- tain America: The First Avenger" (2011), "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" (2014), "Aveng- ers: Age of Ultron" (2015), "Ant-Man" (2015) and "Aveng- ers: Endgame" (2019). She also played Carter in the ABC TV series "Agent Carter" from 2015 to 2016. Her other credits include the miniseries "The Pillars of the Earth" and the films "Cinderella" (2015) and "Christopher Robin" (2018). Jamaican-born Croll is best known to TV fans across the pond for her roles as Emerald Fox in "EastEnders," Pearl McHugh in "Family Affairs" and Vera Cor- rigan in "Doctors." She's also a renowned stage actress and no- tably played the first-ever Black Cleopatra on the British stage in a 1991 production of Shake- speare's "Antony and Cleopatra." Duncan-Brewster's Kitty is a field slave who remains strong even after her daughter is taken from her. English actress Duncan- Brewster starred as Crystal Gordon in ITV's "Bad Girls" and is also known for her roles as Trina Johnson in "EastEnders," Sen. Palmo in "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" (2016) and Maggie Cain in a 2009 "Doctor Who" special. The rest of the cast includes a standup comedian, a rising star, a Laurence Olivier Award-winning theater actor and another "Doc- tor Who" alum. Sir Lenny Henry ("Broad- church") portrays July's fellow house slave Godfrey, a man who's been working on the plantation for 45 years. He has a wry sense of humor and often derives pleasure from small re- bellions against the ruling class. The actor, who was knighted in 2015 for his contributions to drama and charity, is a standup comedian, actor, singer, writer and co-founder of the British charity Comic Relief. He also serves as the chancellor of Bir- mingham City University and is known for his appearances in the children's program "Tiswas," the sitcom "Chef!" and the fam- ily entertainment program "The Magicians." Up-and-comer Jordan Bolger ("Peaky Blinders") appears as Nimrod, a freed slave with eyes for July. While Bolger is best known as Isiah Jesus in "Peaky Blinders," North American audi- ences might recognize him for his work in such TV series as "Into the Badlands" and "The 100." Idealistic new plantation overseer Robert Goodwin is played by Jack Lowden. Goodwin catches July's attention with his plans to improve the plantation for everyone. In 2014, Lowden won a prestigious Laurence Olivier Award for his supporting role in a 2013 theatrical produc- tion of "Ghosts." Onscreen, he's known for his roles in the films "Dunkirk" (2017) and "Mary Queen of Scots" (2018). Ayesha Antoine rounds out the main cast as Molly, also a house slave. Like Duncan-Brewster, Eng- lish actress Antoine has appeared in the cult classic "Doctor Who." She's also known for her roles as Rachel in "Holby City" and Poppy in "Grange Hill." Now it is time for the cast to captivate North American audi- ences with Levy's heart-wrench- ing tale. Don't miss Masterpiece's "The Long Song," premiering Sunday, Jan. 31, on PBS. Cover Story Tamara Lawrance stars in "The Long Song" A tale of pride and prejudice: 'The Long Song' explores the history of slavery in Jamaica

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