Netflix's Black Earth Rising a sensational hit in post-BLM wave, fans heap praise

A Q&A session with an esteemed human rights lawyer quickly dissipates into a feisty argument over the history of colonialism, its present resolve, and the International Criminal Court's (ICC) misguided "western paternalism” in all things Africa. A pill-popping, depressed and therapy-seeking international criminal prosecutor with a heartbreaking childhood she was forced to grow out of in Rwanda. Years later only to be slapped in the face with the resurgence of a horrible piece of history she can neither snap out of nor conceal. And this is just the first few minutes of the show.

Netflix's Black Earth Rising released late 2018 is a television drama series written and directed by Hugo Blick and co-produced by BBC Two and Netflix. The series follows a young woman portrayed by Michaela Coel, struggling to uncover mysteries of the past deeply intertwined with her own life. Her story is a fictional account linking it to the 1994 Rwandan genocide responsible for 800,000 deaths. 

Netflix's series on Rwandan genocide wins praise

After being rescued by a human rights lawyer, the show dedicates itself to prosecuting those who turned Central Africa into a killing field. All of which is fine until her foster parent goes after a Tutsi general who, after helping end the genocide, went on to commit war crimes in neighbouring DRC. Kate, the rescued Rwandan girl is outraged. How can her own mom go after a man who saved Tutsis like herself from slaughter?

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The show then quickly but not without purpose deep-dives into defending other African leaders over war crimes charge brought by the French. As the two cases cross-pollinate, the show keeps transforming all while Kate's childhood trauma keeps her inner life churning — burning with a misplaced/righteous anger that binds/blinds her to the full complexity of the past. 

The most compelling thing about the show is how it tries to define justice in a world where heroes do bad things and fate transforms villains into victims. It's going to take a lifetime to capture the complexity in such a world, and Black Earth Rising is only an 8-episode mini-series. But if fans are familiar with Hugo Blick's previous series such as The Shadow Line and The Honourable Woman, then there is little doubt that this global-scale conspiracy-thriller will be back soon with an exciting season 2.

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