Series synopsis
The Good Lord Bird is an American drama western war & politics television series that premiered on Showtime on October 4, 2020. It ended on November 15, 2020. It was created by Mark Richard, Ethan Hawke. It stars Ethan Hawke, Joshua Caleb Johnson, Hubert Point-Du Jour and Beau Knapp.
Henry 'Little Onion' Shackleford, a newly freed teenager joins abolitionist John Brown on a holy crusade to end slavery. Onion encounters Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman, and he finds himself as a part of the famous 1859 raid at Harpers Ferry.
Premise
Henry 'Little Onion' Shackleford, a newly freed teenager joins abolitionist John Brown on a holy crusade to end slavery. Onion encounters Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman, and he finds himself as a part of the famous 1859 raid at Harpers Ferry.
Premise: All of this is true. Most of it happened.
Cast and characters
Leading cast
- Ethan Hawke as John Brown
- Joshua Caleb Johnson as Henry 'Little Onion' Shackleford
- Hubert Point-Du Jour as Bob
- Beau Knapp as Owen Brown
- Nick Eversman as John Brown Jr.
- Ellar Coltrane as Salmon Brown
- Jack Alcott as Jason Brown
- Mo Brings Plenty as Ottawa Jones
Guest cast
- McKinley Belcher III as Broadnax
- Quentin Plair as Shields Green / 'Emperor'
- Daveed Diggs as Frederick Douglass
- Wyatt Russell as James Ewell Brown Stuart
- Rafael Casal as John Cook
- Miles Mussenden as Dangerfield Newby
- Joel Ashur as Attucks Copeland
- Ali Amin Carter as Lewis Leary
- Victor Williams as Coachman Jim
- George Boaitey as O.P. Anderson
- Steve Zahn as Chase
- Orlando Jones as The Rail Man
Episodes
This series spans 1 season with 7 episodes.
| Season | Episodes | First aired | Last aired |
|---|---|---|---|
| Season 1 | 7 | October 4, 2020 | November 15, 2020 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Meet the Lord Henry Shackleford, a young slave living in the Kansas territory in 1856, encounters abolitionist John Brown, who mistakes him for a girl and promptly 'frees' him. Believing Henry to be his good luck charm, Brown welcomes him into his ragtag army and nicknames him 'Onion'. Donning a dress for the first time while dodging bullets, Onion quickly awakens to the life or death stakes in the battle over human bondage and witnesses Brown's divinely inspired violent agenda: to free the land of slavery by any means necessary. |
October 4, 2020 |
| 2 |
A Wicked Plot Separated from Brown's army, Onion and fellow slave Bob leave the fight in Kansas, only to cross paths with pro-slavery 'redshirts' who escort them to the slave-trading town of Pikesville, MI. Onion is taken under the wing of Pie, a mixed-race prostitute working out of the local hotel, who instructs him in the ways of the world despite her discovering his dangerous secret. Onion soon finds himself enmeshed in a mounting slave insurrection where he learns the consequences of his own actions. |
October 11, 2020 |
| 3 |
Mister Fred Following the battle in Pikesville, Brown, now one of the most wanted men in America, travels north with Onion to raise funds for the abolitionist cause. They take refuge at the home of famed orator and 'King of the Negroes' Frederick Douglass and his two wives. When Brown and Douglass clash over methodology, Onion discovers just how complex the fight for justice and human equality really is. |
October 18, 2020 |
Production
Release
| Original network/platform | Showtime |
|---|---|
| First aired | October 4, 2020 |
| Last aired | November 15, 2020 |
| Status | ended |
| Schedule | Sunday at 21:00:00 |