It seems that Amazon and HBO are now locked in a messy head-to-head competition, with race and politics thrown into the mix, over their upcoming dueling alternate history dramas.
HBO recently announced that Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss are creating a show called Confederate, which "takes place in an alternate timeline, where the southern states have successfully seceded from the Union, giving rise to a nation in which slavery remains legal and has evolved into a modern institution."
The news that HBO was producing a show where the south won and slavery still existed didn't sit well with many. The hashtag #NoConfederate quickly began to spread throughout Twitter.
Enter Amazon and their announcement that they will also be producing an alternate history drama in which black people received reparations in the form of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama and formed a separate country. The nation, which is called New Colonia, has had an often turbulent relationship with it's northern neighbor and former enslaver, the United States. The show will take place close to the present day, with New Colonia growing to become a formidable nation on the world stage that reaches peace with the U.S., a country which is in decline. The show, which has been in works for over a year, will be titled Black America.
Aaron McGruder, the creator behind The Boondocks and Black Jesus, will write for the upcoming drama. Will Packer will produce. Packer has worked as producer for films such as Ride Along and the newly released Girls Trip, and has executive produced the film Straight Outta Compton and the television shows Being Mary Jane and the Roots reboot. With McGruder behind the wheel, it's a good bet that the show will feature more than its share of humor.
News that Packer and McGruder were embarking on a project was released back in February, though there were few details. All that was divulged was that the plot would take place in an alternate reality, similar to Amazon’s show The Man in the High Castle. It was following the news of HBO’s Confederate that the Black America team decided to come forth with more information.
With the announcement of Black America and the rising backlash on social media, it seems that the future of HBO's Confederate is not looking good.
