Can 'two white guys' produce a slave drama? Game Of Thrones showrunners defend future plans for Confederate
People opined that David Benioff and DB Weiss should not produce the show about black slaves.
Showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss plan to turn their attention to a new project after Game Of Thrones will come to an end following season 8. However, their choice of project has come in for a bit of criticism.
The producers announced that they will start working on a new drama titled Confederate, which will depict an alternate time where the southern states opt to form a separate state in which slavery is legal.
While a number of slavery-related shows have made their mark on the small and big screen, audiences are not happy about Benioff and Weiss leading this particular project, with many pointing out that "two white guys" creating a show about black slaves may not be such a great idea.
"The writers of a fantasy show with no black people can't wait to write a fantasy show where the black roles are... slaves," one person wrote on Twitter, referring to the fact that GoT has barely any black actors.
"Two white guys making a show where black slavery features prominently. This is profoundly tone deaf," another commented.
While many expressed concerns that the creators would not be able to portray the stories from the correct point of view, Benioff and Weiss have defended their idea, pointing out that The Good Wife's Nichelle Tramble and Empire's Malcolm Spellman will also be working on the project.
"Everything is brand new and nothing's been written," Weiss said in an interview with Vulture magazine.
"I guess that's what was a little bit surprising about some of the outrage. It's just a little premature. You know, we might f**k it up. But we haven't yet.
"This is scary, for all of us. It's scary for different reasons. But it is a pretty terrifying prospect getting into it," Benioff added. "We knew it would be, and now it's come true."
Nichelle and Malcolm said they expected the negative backlash considering they were "dealing with weapons-grade material here" but called on critics to hold off on their damnation till the show premiered.
"I wish their concern had been reserved for the night of the premiere, on HBO, on a Sunday night, when they watched and then they made a decision after they watched an hour of television as to whether or not we succeeded in what we set out to do," Nichelle said.
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