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Self Made (miniseries)

Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C. J. Walker is an American drama television limited series, based on the biography On Her Own Ground by A'Lelia Bundles, that premiered on March 20, 2020, on Netflix.[1][2] It received generally positive reviews with praise for Octavia Spencer's performance; however it received criticism for various historical inaccuracies and artistic licence. For her performance, Spencer received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie.

Premise

Self Made is a fictionalized depiction of "the untold story of black hair care pioneer and mogul Madam C. J. Walker and how she overcame the hostilities of turn-of-the-century America, epic rivalries, and tumultuous marriages to become America’s first Black, self-made female millionaire."[3]

Cast and characters

Main

Guest

Episodes

Production

Development

On November 10, 2016, it was announced that Zero Gravity Management had optioned the screen rights to A'Lelia Bundles' biography of Madam C. J. Walker, entitled On Her Own Ground, with the intent of developing it into a limited series. The production was expected to be written by Nicole Asher, directed by Kasi Lemmons, and produced by Octavia Spencer, Christine Holder, and Mark Holder.[4]

On July 6, 2017, it was announced that Netflix had given the production a series order consisting of eight episodes. Executive producers are expected to include LeBron James, Maverick Carter, Mark Holder, Christine Holder, Janine Sherman Barrois, and Elle Johnson. Lemmons is set to direct and executive produce the first episode. Production companies involved with the series are slated to consist of SpringHill Entertainment alongside Zero Gravity Management.[3] The series premiered on March 20, 2020.[2]

Casting

Alongside the initial development announcement, it was confirmed that the series would star Octavia Spencer as Madam C. J. Walker.[4] On August 6, 2019, it was reported that Tiffany Haddish, Carmen Ejogo, Blair Underwood, Garrett Morris, and Kevin Carroll had joined the cast.[5] On August 21, 2019, Bill Bellamy was cast in the miniseries.[1] On October 15, 2019, Zahra Bentham and Mouna Traoré were cast in recurring roles.[6]

Filming

Filming for the limited series took from July 26 to September 20, 2019, in the Canadian cities of Mississauga, Cambridge, Stratford and St. Catharines.[7][8][9]

Reception

Critical response

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the miniseries holds an approval rating of 68% based on 25 reviews, with an average rating of 5.66/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Self Made doesn't always live up to its namesake, but there's no denying that Octavia Spencer's spectacular embodiment of the singular Madam C.J. Walker is a sight to be seen."[10] On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 64 out of 100, based on 17 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[11] Other reviews report disappointment because of the fictionalization and inaccuracies in the storyline. Addie Monroe is a fictionalized character intended to portray Annie Malone, another self-made millionaire who actually was the mentor of Walker.[12] She is portrayed as a villain while another falsification is the portrayal of Walker's daughter as a lesbian.[13][14]

Accolades

References

  1. ^ a b Petski, Denise (August 21, 2019). "'Madam CJ Walker': Bill Bellamy Joins Netflix Limited Series". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on August 21, 2019. Retrieved August 21, 2019.
  2. ^ a b Ramos, Dino-Ray (January 2, 2020). "Netflix Sets Premiere Date For 'Self Made: Inspired By The Life Of Madam C.J. Walker', Unveils First Look At Octavia Spencer Limited Series". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on January 2, 2020. Retrieved January 2, 2020.
  3. ^ a b Andreeva, Nellie (July 29, 2018). "Netflix Orders 'Madam C.J. Walker' Limited Series Starring Octavia Spencer & Produced By LeBron James – TCA". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on July 29, 2018. Retrieved July 29, 2018.
  4. ^ a b Andreeva, Nellie (November 10, 2016). "Octavia Spencer To Star In & Produce Madam C.J. Walker Limited Series For Zero Gravity". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on July 30, 2018. Retrieved July 29, 2018.
  5. ^ Bennett, Anita (August 6, 2019). "Tiffany Haddish, Carmen Ejogo, Blair Underwood, More Join Netflix's 'Madam C.J. Walker' Limited Series". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on August 6, 2019. Retrieved August 6, 2019.
  6. ^ Petski, Denise (October 15, 2019). "'Madam CJ Walker': Zahra Bentham, Joanne Jansen & Mouna Traoré To Recur In Netflix Limited Series". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on October 15, 2019. Retrieved October 15, 2019.
  7. ^ "Current Productions | IATSE 873". IATSE 873. Archived from the original on May 26, 2019. Retrieved May 26, 2019.
  8. ^ Walter, Karena (August 2, 2019). "St. Catharines attracts slice of Hollywood". The St. Catharines Standard. Archived from the original on August 11, 2019. Retrieved August 21, 2019.
  9. ^ Martin, Ray (July 26, 2019). "Cambridge in running for film industry service award". CambridgeTimes.ca. Archived from the original on September 30, 2019. Retrieved November 18, 2019.
  10. ^ "Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C. J. Walker (2020)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved April 16, 2021.
  11. ^ "Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C. J. Walker". Metacritic. Retrieved April 16, 2021.
  12. ^ Nicolaou, Elena (March 20, 2020). "Addie in Self Made Is Based on Beauty Pioneer Annie Turnbo Malone". Oprahmag.org. Archived from the original on March 21, 2020. Retrieved March 24, 2020.
  13. ^ Walker, Robert (March 20, 2020). "The Problem With "The Facts About Madam C.J. Walker And Annie Malone" And The Netflix Series". HarlemWorldMagazine.com. Archived from the original on March 24, 2020. Retrieved March 24, 2020.
  14. ^ Cowell, Lynda (March 23, 2020). "Self Made on Netflix misses out some important facts from Madam CJ Walker's real life". Digitalspy.com. Archived from the original on March 24, 2020. Retrieved March 24, 2020.
  15. ^ "Watchmen & Insecure Pace the Black Reel Awards for TV Nominations". Black Reel Awards. June 18, 2020. Archived from the original on July 4, 2020. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
  16. ^ "2020 Primetime Emmy" (PDF) (Press release). Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. July 28, 2020. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
  17. ^ Pond, Steve (March 1, 2021). "'News of the World,' 'Sound of Metal' Lead Motion Picture Sound Editors Nominations". The Wrap.com. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
  18. ^ Del Rosario, Alexandra (February 2, 2021). "NAACP Image Awards Nominations: Netflix Tops List With 'Bridgerton', 'Ma Rainey's Black Bottom' & 'Da 5 Bloods'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 3, 2021.

External links