Hulu’s new historical drama series Washington Black premiered on Wednesday, July 23rd with a perfect 100% fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes. The show is adapted from a novel by the same name, written by Esi Edugyan and published in 2018. It’s about a talented young boy named George Washington Black (Ernest Kingsley Jr.) fleeing his life as a slave on a sugar plantation in Barbados, and all the unique people and circumstances that help him along the way. Sterling K. Brown plays Medwin Harris, another former slave who takes Wash under his wing. It’s a heartbreaking story, but that makes the moments of wonder in it all the more amazing. All eight episodes are streaming now on Hulu.
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Washington Black premiered with just nine reviews counted by Rotten Tomatoes this week, but every single one of them is positive. Critics praised the show’s blend of old-school scientific wonder and social commentary, along with the performances of every major cast member. Those who had read Edugyan’s book noted that the show didn’t quite capture its full depth of feeling and complexity, but noted that its episodic moments were likely better suited to a TV audience.
Washington Black is set in the early 1800s, when slavery was on the cusp of being overthrown in the Americas. The protagonist, Wash, is gifted with artistic talent and an analytical mind, which continually help him escape danger and overcome obstacles. The show is full of 19th-century marvels like hot air balloons and world travel, but it’s also yoked with slavery and immense cruelty. The characters tour features of the time such as the underground railroad and the thriving community of escaped slaves living far to the north in Canada, but their stories don’t focus on tragedy. Instead, the highlights come from scientific discovery, romance, and artistic triumph.
According to Edugyan, she was expecting to write about a completely different historical drama when her research led her to Washington Black. She was planning to write a novel about “The Tichborne Claimant,” a 19th-century man who was imprisoned for claiming to be the lost son of a wealthy heiress in London, ostensibly in the hopes of stealing her fortune. A key witness in this case was Andrew Bogle, who had been born as a slave in Jamaica yet ended his life in retirement in Australia. Learning what she could about Bogle’s life led her to develop the story of Washington Black.
That story is now streaming on Hulu, and judging by the first round of reviews, it’s worth a watch. Edugyan’s novel is available now in print, digital, and audiobook formats.
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