By Ron Wynn
NASHVILLE, TN — Among the new limited series that ABC plans is one designed to highlight the achievement of Black women in the Civil Rights Movement. The network announced this week that “Women of the Movement” would premiere Jan 6. The network also released a new preview teaser for the show. It stars Tony Award winner Adrienne Warren as Mamie Till-Mobley.
The six-episode series will air in three parts for three consecutive weeks. It is based on the true story of Till-Mobley, “who in 1955 risked her life to find justice after her son Emmett was brutally murdered in the Jim Crow South. Unwilling to let Emmett’s murder disappear from the headlines, Mamie chose to bear her pain on the world’s stage, emerging as an activist for justice and igniting the Civil Rights movement as we know it today.”
The series also stars Tonya Pinkins as Alma, Cedric Joe as Emmett Till, Ray Fisher as Gene Mobley, Glynn Turman as Mose Wright, Chris Coy as J.W. Milam, Carter Jenkins as Roy Bryant and Julia McDermott as Carolyn Bryant. “Women of the Movement is produced by Kapital Entertainment and created by Marissa Jo Cerar, who also serves as executive producer and showrunner. Reverend Wheeler Parker Jr., Dr. Marvel Parker, Ms. Ollie Gordon and Christopher Benson serve as consultants for the series.
Executive producers are Aaron Kaplan, Dana Honor and Michael Lohmann (Kapital Entertainment), Shawn Carter, Jay Brown and Tyran “Ty Ty” Smith (Roc Nation), Will Smith and James Lassiter (Westbrook), Rosanna Grace (Serendipity Group Inc.), Alex Foster and John Powers Middleton (Middleton Media Group), David Clark (Mazo Partners) and Gina Prince-Bythewood. The first episode is written by Marissa Jo Cerar and directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood. Tina Mabry, Julie Dash and Kasi Lemmons also serve as directors on the limited series.
