Them (TV series)

Them is an American horror anthology series, created by Little Marvin and executive produced by Lena Waithe. The series stars Deborah Ayorinde, Ashley Thomas, Alison Pill, and Ryan Kwanten and premiered on Amazon Prime Video on April 9, 2021. The first season received mixed reviews primarily for the handling of the series' subject matter, which was criticized as exploitative and unnecessarily graphic. However the screenplay, production values, and the performances of Ayorinde, Thomas, and Wright Joseph received widespread acclaim. A second season, titled Them: The Scare, is in development, with Ayorinde returning from the first season.

Them
Official poster
Genre
Created byLittle Marvin
Starring
ComposerMark Korven
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes10
Production
Executive producers
Producers
  • Dominic Orlando
  • Michael Nelson
Cinematography
  • Checco Varese
  • Xavier Grobet
  • Suki Medencevic
Editors
  • Jeff Israel
  • David Kashevaroff
  • Kevin D. Ross
  • Genevieve Butler
  • Daniel Downer III
  • Andrew Parkhurst
  • Daniel Williams
Camera setupSingle-camera
Running time33–55 minutes
Production companies
Release
Original networkAmazon Prime Video
Original releaseApril 9, 2021 (2021-04-09)

Premise

Set in 1953, Them follows a black family which moves from North Carolina to an all-white neighborhood in Los Angeles during the Second Great Migration. The family's idyllic home slowly transforms into an epicenter of evil forces, next-door and otherworldly, that threaten to haunt, ravage and destroy them.[1]

Cast and characters

Main

Guest

Episodes

Season 1: Covenant (2021)
No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal release date
1"DAY 1"Nelson CraggLittle MarvinApril 9, 2021 (2021-04-09)
2"DAY 3"Nelson CraggDavid Matthews & Little MarvinApril 9, 2021 (2021-04-09)
3"DAY 4"Daniel StammFrancine VolpeApril 9, 2021 (2021-04-09)
4"DAY 6"Nelson CraggSeth Zvi RosenfeldApril 9, 2021 (2021-04-09)
5"COVENANT I."Janicza BravoLittle Marvin & Dominic OrlandoApril 9, 2021 (2021-04-09)
6"DAY 7: MORNING"Craig William MacneillChristina HamApril 9, 2021 (2021-04-09)
7"DAY 7: NIGHT"Ti WestDavid MatthewsApril 9, 2021 (2021-04-09)
8"DAY 9"Nelson CraggStory by : Francine Volpe
Teleplay by : Francine Volpe and Dominic Orlando		April 9, 2021 (2021-04-09)
9"COVENANT II."Craig William MacneillDominic OrlandoApril 9, 2021 (2021-04-09)
10"DAY 10"Ti WestLittle MarvinApril 9, 2021 (2021-04-09)

Production

Development

On July 28, 2018, Amazon gave the project a two-season order.[2] The series was created by Little Marvin, who also wrote the script for the first season and was set to executive produce the show alongside Lena Waithe under their overall deals with Amazon Studios.[3][4] Roy Lee, Miri Yoon, and Michael Connolly of Vertigo Entertainment were also announced as executive producers, with Vertigo co-producing the series under the company's deal with Sony Pictures Television. The first season is subtitled Them: Covenant, and the series will follow a similar limited semi-anthological structure to American Horror Story, with each season following a different story with different characters. Alongside the series order announcement, Waithe said:

Little Marvin's script stayed with me for weeks after I read it. He's written something that's provocative and terrifying. The first season will speak to how frightening it was to be black in 1953. It will also remind us that being black in 2018 is just as horrifying. This anthology series will examine the cultural divides among all of us and explore us vs them in a way we've never seen before.

On April 1, 2019, David Matthews joined the series as showrunner under his newly announced overall deal at Sony Pictures Television.[5] On November 19, 2019, it was announced that Larysa Kondracki was attached to executive produce the series as well as direct multiple episodes including the pilot under her overall deal at Amazon Studios.[6]

Casting

On July 27, 2019, Deborah Ayorinde and Ashley Thomas were cast in the lead roles.[7] Shahadi Wright Joseph, Alison Pill, Ryan Kwanten, Melody Hurd, Javier Botet, and Percy Hynes White were added to the main cast on October 3, 2019, alongside Derek Phillips who was cast in a recurring capacity.[8] On December 2, 2019, Brooke Smith, Anika Noni Rose P.J. Byrne, Malcolm Mays, Jeremiah Birkett, and Sophie Guest joined the recurring cast.[9]

Filming

The series began production on July 8, 2019, with filming taking place between Atlanta and Los Angeles.[10]

The set for the neighborhood was built on a lot in Pomona, California.[11]

Release

The series had its world premiere on March 18, 2021, at the SXSW Film Festival as part of the Episodic Premieres section.[12] The series premiered on Amazon Prime Video on April 9, 2021.[1]

Reception

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the series has a 59% fresh rating from 49 critic reviews with an average score of 6.5/10. The site's critical consensus reads "Deborah Ayorinde and Ashley Thomas' gripping performances help Them sustain a sufficient sense of terror, but its blunt and bloody approach undermines any social commentary in favor of more superficial horrors."[13] On Metacritic, the series received a mixed rating of 57/100 based on 20 critic reviews.[14]

The Guardian's Lucy Mangan gave the show 4/5 stars, writing that "What marks out this portrayal of 50s prejudice (not unworked ground) is that, thanks to magnificent performances from Thomas and Ayorinde, you get a great sense of the cost to victims: the sheer amount of mental energy it takes to navigate a relentlessly hostile world, the consequent exhaustion, the constant abrading of the soul."[15]

In a mostly negative review, Lovia Gyarkye of The Hollywood Reporter said that "Them suffers from an overcrowded narrative and too many themes, making for an uneven, dizzying, at times overly dense viewing experience. From the violent neighbors and the history of Black homeownership to the traumas that plague each member of the Emory family, the show takes on more than it can responsibly unpack."[16]

Variety's chief TV critic Daniel D'Addario wrote that "In visual style and in the performances of the actors playing the Emorys, it captures a recognizable 1950s of the mind. A striking early sequence sees the family in integrated settings, being assisted by white employees at an appliance store and a soda fountain. The point is made, elegantly, that the Emorys have left behind the explicit bigotry of the American South for a place where the horrors are more insidious", but described the series as "surprisingly unimaginative".[17]

Some critics took issue with scenes of graphic racial violence, particularly a scene in which a Black couple is blinded with hot pokers and burned alive, calling Them "black trauma porn".[18]

Awards and nominations
Year Award Category Nominee(s) Result Ref.
2021 SXSW Film Festival Audience Awards Episodic Premieres Them Won [19]
The ReFrame Stamp Awards Top 200 Most Popular TV Titles Them Won
Camerimage Golden Frog - TV Series Competition Them Nominated
Satellite Awards Best Genre Series Them Nominated
Independent Spirit Awards Best Male Performance in a New Scripted Series Ashley Thomas Nominated
Best Female Performance in a New Scripted Series Deborah Ayorinde Nominated
Writers Guild of America Awards Television: Long Form – Original Them Nominated

Notes
  1. Credited as Earl Denton in episode 8

See also

References
  1. "Terror Anthology Series "Them" from Executive Producers Little Marvin and Lena Waithe to Premiere April 9 on Amazon Prime Video". Amazon Studios (Press release). March 9, 2021. Archived from the original on March 9, 2021. Retrieved March 9, 2021 – via The Futon Critic.
  2. Andreeva, Nellie; Petski, Denise (July 28, 2018). "Amazon Gives 2-Season Order To Horror Event Series 'Them' From Lena Waithe, Little Marvin, Vertigo & Sony TV – TCA". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on July 28, 2018. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
  3. Petski, Denise (October 8, 2019). "'Them: Covenant' Creator Little Marvin Inks Overall Deal With Amazon Studios". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on October 8, 2019. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
  4. Andreeva, Nellie (July 27, 2019). "Lena Waithe Inks Overall Deal With Amazon Studios – TCA". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on February 25, 2021. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
  5. Andreeva, Nellie (April 1, 2019). "David Matthews Inks Sony Pictures TV Overall Deal, Joins 'Them: Covenant' As Showrunner". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on January 17, 2021. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
  6. Kanter, Jake (November 19, 2019). "'Picnic At Hanging Rock' Director Larysa Kondracki To Executive Produce Amazon's 'Them: Covenant'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on December 23, 2019. Retrieved March 11, 2021.
  7. Andreeva, Nellie (July 27, 2019). "'Them': Deborah Ayorinde & Ashley Thomas To Star In Amazon Anthology Series From Lena Waithe". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on February 25, 2021. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
  8. Otterson, Joe (October 3, 2019). "Shahadi Wright Joseph, Ryan Kwanten, Alison Pill Among Seven Cast in 'Them: Covenant' at Amazon (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Archived from the original on May 26, 2020. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
  9. Petski, Denise (December 2, 2019). "'Them': Brooke Smith, Anika Noni Rose, P.J. Byrne, Malcolm Mays, Jeremiah Birkett & Sophie Guest To Recur on Amazon Anthology Series". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on February 24, 2021. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
  10. "Them: Covenant". Production List. June 16, 2019. Archived from the original on March 9, 2021. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
  11. Considine, Austin (April 9, 2021). "Get out again: a suburban Black family is haunted by monsters in 'Them'". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved June 2, 2022.
  12. "Them". SXSW Online. Archived from the original on March 11, 2021. Retrieved March 11, 2021.
  13. "Them: Limited Series". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved June 15, 2021.
  14. "Them (2021)". Metacritic. Retrieved April 10, 2021.
  15. Mangan, Lucy (April 9, 2021). "Them review – racist horrors lurk behind white picket fences". The Guardian. Archived from the original on April 9, 2021. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
  16. Gyarkye, Lovia (April 8, 2021). "'Them': TV Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on April 9, 2021. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
  17. D'Addario, Daniel (April 8, 2021). "'Them' Is an Unconvincing Examination of American Horror: TV Review". Variety. Archived from the original on April 8, 2021. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
  18. Braxton, Greg (April 19, 2021). "Media images of Black death come at a cost, experts say. And many viewers are fed up". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on April 19, 2021. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
  19. Roberts, Jordan (March 23, 2021). "Audience Awards Winners for the 2021 SXSW Film Festival Announced". SXSW. Archived from the original on April 15, 2021. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
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