If you haven’t seen the limited series “The Madness” currently on Netflix, you need to plan to do so. Filmed in Philadelphia and surrounding areas, this thriller will have you on your seats. This cat and mouse chase stars Colman Domingo, who portrays Muncie Daniels, a TV spokesperson for CNN who retreats to the Pocono mountains to write a novel. He stumbles upon a dead body deep in the woods and finds himself framed for the murder of a notorious white supremacist.
Muncie is forced to go on the run in a desperate fight to clear his name, which reconnects him with his family,
The series has 8-part episodes that go by so fast and keep you guessing to the very end. Colman, who is from West Philadelphia, once again, did not fail viewers. Just like the powerful performances in “Fear the Walking Dead,” “Rustin,” and “The Color Purple,” we expect Colman to deliver — and he does.
The ensemble of good actors and writing made this film engrossing. The cast included Deon Cole, Gabrielle Graham, Marsha Stephanie Blake, TJ Mixon, John Ortiz, and Tamsin Topolski. TJ and Gabrielle, who plays Muncie’s son and daughter in the series, grabbed the audience’s attention and were captivating with their performance.
Also adding to the intrigue were the streets of Philadelphia seen throughout the film. From City Line Avenue to North Philadelphia and New Jersey to the Poconos, many scenes and product placements let you know Philly was in the house. Starting with seeing the Overbrook Panthers T-shirt and Temple University (both) schools Colman attended were familiar, along with views of City Hall Courtyard, Thomas Jefferson Hospital, Chili, the El overhead tracks, and more. Nice!!!
An actor, writer, and director, Colman will soon make his feature film directing debut in a Nat King Cole biopic, which he co-wrote (he will also star). “The Madness” is a series you must truly see!!
*****
August Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play was turned into a film, which has become a family affair for the Washingtons. That’s Denzel Washington’s family. In case you didn’t know, “The Piano Lesson” hit theaters on November 8 before streaming on Netflix on November 22. The film is a family affair, directed and co-written by Malcolm Washington, produced by his father Denzel and his sister Katia, co-starring his brother John David and a cameo by his twin sister Olivia and his mother Paulette.
The Piano Lesson is set in the aftermath of the Great Depression, following the lives of the Charles family in the Doaker Charles household and an heirloom, the family piano, which is decorated with designs carved by an enslaved ancestor. The play focuses on the arguments between a brother and a sister who have different ideas on what to do with the piano. The brother, Boy Willie, is a sharecropper who wants to sell the piano to buy the land (Sutter’s land) where his ancestors toiled as slaves. The sister, Berniece, remains emphatic about keeping the piano, which shows the carved faces of their great-grandfather’s wife and son during the days of their enslavement.
It was a Romare Bearden painting that inspired August Wilson to write the play “The Piano Lesson,” which ultimately asks the question: “What do you do with your legacy, and how do you best put it to use?”
Samuel L. Jackson, John David Washington, Ray Fisher (of Haddon Heights, New Jersey, and Cyborg in the DC Comics series), and Michael Potts all starred together in the Broadway production of The Piano Lesson from 2022-2023.
Well, That’s the Philly Beat! Make sure you tune in to the New World View with David Barnes and Yanina Carter 3rd Sunday of the month, December 15, from 12 to 2 pm, and EVERY Sunday hear the Scoop’s Philly Beat on WURD 96.1 FM, 900 AM, and WURD TV LIVE from 1:40 p.m. to 2 pm
**********
Thank you for reading Yanina Carter’s article on scoopusamedia.com. To read additional articles of interest, please subscribe to Scoop USA Media. Print subscriptions are $75.00 and online subscriptions (Print, Digital and Vizion) are $90. (52 weeks/1 year)
