I'll Fly Away is an American television drama series that aired on NBC from October 7, 1991, to February 5, 1993. Set during the late 1950s and early 1960s,The episode "Some Desperate Glory" (Season 1, Episode 9) depicts the marquee of a local movie theater, listing Auntie Mame as the main feature. This film was first released in the United States in December 1958, implying that the first season of I'll Fly Away takes place in 1958 and 1959. However, in "The Slightest Distance" (Season 1, Episode 22), a U.S. Justice Department official remarks that a "new administration" about to take office. Clearly a reference to President John F. Kennedy, this would place the first season's latter episodes between the November 8, 1960 election and the January 20, 1961 inauguration.In "Freedom Bus" (Season 2, Episode 6), Robert F. Kennedy is referred to as the United States Attorney General, an office he assumed in 1961. Subsequently, in "State" (Season 2, Episode 16), Joe Clay is seen browsing through a 1962 Chevrolet catalog.The bulk of the series finale I'll Fly Away: Then and Now is a flashback to events occurring in the summer of 1962. in an unspecified Southern U.S. state, it stars Regina Taylor as Lilly Harper, a Black housekeeper for the family of district attorney Forrest Bedford, played by Sam Waterston (the character's name is a twist on the name of Confederate Army General Nathan Bedford Forrest, an early leader of the Ku Klux Klan). As the show progresses, Lilly becomes increasingly involved in the Civil Rights Movement, which eventually pulls in her employer as well.
Overview I'll Fly Away won two 1992 Emmy Awards (Eric Laneuville for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Directing in a Drama Series for the episode "All God's Children", and for series creators Joshua Brand and John Falsey for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing in a Miniseries or a Special), and 23 nominations in total. It won three Humanitas Prizes, two Golden Globe Awards, two NAACP Image Awards for Outstanding Drama Series, and a Peabody Award. However, the series was never a ratings blockbuster, and it was cancelled by NBC in 1993, despite widespread protests by critics and viewer organizations.
After the program's cancellation, a two-hour film, I'll Fly Away: Then and Now, was produced, to resolve dangling storylines from season two, and provide the series with a true finale. The movie aired on October 11, 1993, on PBS. Its major storyline closely paralleled the true story of the 1955 murder of Emmett Till in Money, Mississippi. Thereafter, PBS began airing repeats of the original episodes through 1995. The series also aired on PAX.
The series takes its name from a Christian hymn written in 1929 by Albert E. Brumley.
In 1999, TV Guide ranked Lilly Harper number 15 on its list of 50 Greatest TV Characters of All Time. In 2013, it ranked the series #9 on their list of 60 shows that were "Cancelled Too Soon".Roush, Matt (June 3, 2013). "Cancelled Too Soon". TV Guide. pp. 20 and 21
Cast
Regular cast ActorCharacterSeasons 1 2 Then and Now Sam WaterstonForrest Bedford Main Regina TaylorLilly Harper Main Jeremy LondonNathaniel "Nathan" Bedford Main Jason London Main Ashlee LevitchFrancie Bedford Main John Aaron BennettJohn Morgan Bedford Main Kathryn HarroldChristina LeKatzis Main Peter SimmonsPaul Slocum Recurring Main Bill CobbsLewis Coleman Recurring Main Rae'Ven Larrymore KellyAdlaine Harper Recurring Brad SullivanCoach Zollicofer Weed Recurring
Recurring cast
Mary Alice as Marguerite Peck Wayne Brady as Damon Rollins Roger Aaron Brown as Reverend Henry Cara Buono as Diane Lowe Vondie Curtis-Hall as Joe Clay and Howard Yearwood Michael Dolan as Francis Vawter Ed Grady as Judge Lake Stevens Dorian Harewood as Clarence "Cool Papa" Charleston Deborah Hedwall as Gwen Bedford Tommy Hollis as Oscar Wilson Rebecca Koon as Eileen Slocum Elizabeth Omilami as Joelyn Scott Paulin as Tucker Anderson Harold Perrineau as Robert Evans Amy Ryan as Parky Sasser Sonny Shroyer as Bobby Slocum N'Bushe Wright as Claudia Bishop
Setting The series takes place in the fictional town of Bryland, in fictional Bryland County.
The state in which Bryland is located is never specified.The episode "Slow Coming Dark" (season one, episode 17) depicts an automobile with a license plate registered in "Bryland", as opposed to one of the 50 states. "Freedom Bus" (season two, episode six), depicts a motorcycle with a similar license plate. At various points, the District of Columbia and these Southern states were mentioned in ways that eliminate them as possible settings: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia. Mentions of "counties" in the state eliminate Louisiana, which instead has parishes.
In "Freedom Bus", Forrest Bedford is described as a new U.S. Attorney "in the Fifth District", presumably a reference to the Fifth Judicial Circuit of the federal court system. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, the Fifth Circuit comprised Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, Georgia, and the Panama Canal Zone. Because the first five states listed can be eliminated on the basis of statements made by characters throughout the series, the likeliest setting for the series is Georgia.The notion that Georgia is the setting for the series finds credence in several episodes. In "The Third Man" (season two, episode 10), Forrest Bedford coerces a Klan infiltrator into maintaining his cover by threatening to have him imprisoned in the Atlanta Federal Penitentiary. In "State" (season two, episode 16), Lilly Harper, while discussing a freedom school to be opened in Bryland, mentions the possibility of using students from Morehouse College, a historically black college in Atlanta, as teachers. Moreover, in the final scene of "State", two black students, one male and one female, integrate the local state university, with federal troops protecting them from a mob of jeering white students. The scene is reminiscent of the 1961 integration of the University of Georgia by Hamilton E. Holmes and Charlayne Hunter. Finally, in the series finale, I'll Fly Away: Then and Now, Lilly reads from a novel she has written, which is based on her life. The protagonist of the novel states that she was born in "a small Southern town located on a parched southwestern plot of Georgian soil."
Episodes
Season 1 (1991–1992)
Season 2 (1992–1993)
TV film
Awards and nominations Year Award Category Recipient Result1992 American Cinema Editors' Eddie Award Best Edited Episode from a Television Series David Rosenbloom and Karen I. Stern (For the pilot episode) American Society of Cinematographers Award Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Movies of the Week/Pilots William Wages 1993 American Television Awards Best Dramatic Series Best Actor, Dramatic Series Sam Waterston Best Actress, Dramatic Series Regina Taylor Casting Society of America's Artios Award Best Casting for TV, Dramatic Episodic Theodore S. Hann and Jay Binder 1992 Directors Guild of America Award Outstanding Directing – Drama Series Eric Laneuville (For episode "All God's Children") 1993 Roy Campanella II (For episode "The Way Things Are") 1992 Golden Globe Award Best Television Series – Drama Best Actor – Television Series Drama Sam Waterston 1993 Best Television Series – Drama Best Actor – Television Series Drama Sam Waterston Best Actress – Television Series Drama Regina Taylor 1992 Humanitas Prize 60 Minute Category Henry Bromell Kevin Arkadie (For episode "Coming Home") 90 Minute Category Joshua Brand and John Falsey (For the pilot episode) 1993 Motion Picture Sound Editors' Golden Reel Award Best Sound Editing – Television Episodic – Effects & Foley Mace Matiosian 1994 NAACP Image Award Outstanding Drama Series, Miniseries or Television Movie Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series, Miniseries or Television Movie Dorian Harewood 1995 Outstanding Drama Series Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series Regina Taylor 1991 Peabody Award Brand-Falsey Productions 1992 Primetime Emmy Award Outstanding Drama Series Joshua Brand, David Chase, John Falsey, Barbara Hall, John Forrest Niss and Ian Sander Outstanding Made for Television Movie Joshua Brand, John Falsey, John Forrest Niss and Ian Sander (For the pilot episode) Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series Sam Waterston Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series Regina Taylor Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series Mary Alice Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series David Chase (For episode "Master Magician") Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Dramatic Special Joshua Brand and John Falsey (For the pilot episode) Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series Eric Laneuville (For episode "All God's Children") Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Dramatic Special Joshua Brand (For the pilot episode) Outstanding Main Title Theme Music W.G. Snuffy Walden Outstanding Editing for a Miniseries or a Special – Single-Camera Production David Rosenbloom and Karen I. Stern (For the pilot episode) Outstanding Costumes for a Series Tom McKinley (For episode "The Slightest Distance") Outstanding Costumes for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special Mina Mittelman (For the pilot episode) Outstanding Art Direction for a Miniseries or a Special James Hulsey and Joseph Litsch (For the pilot episode) Outstanding Sound Editing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special Peter Austin, Peter Bergren, John Bonds, Joe Earle, Frank Fuller, Gary Gelfand, Michael Gutierrez, Jim Hebenstreit, H. Jay Levine, Albert Lord, Bruce Michaels, Brian Thomas Nist, Ralph Osborn, Allan K. Rosen, Matthew Sawelson, Adam Sawelson, Richard Taylor, Randal S. Thomas, Patty Von Arx and Dave Weathers (For the pilot episode) 1993 Outstanding Drama Series Joshua Brand, Henry Bromell, David Chase, John Falsey, Barbara Hall, John Forrest Niss and Ian Sander Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series Sam Waterston Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series Regina Taylor Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series Mary Alice Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series Eric Laneuville (For episode "Until Tomorrow") Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series Rosanna Carter Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics Stephen James Taylor (For song "State Until You Come Home") Outstanding Costumes for a Series Tom McKinley (For episode "The Third Man") 1994 Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie Sam Waterston (For special "I'll Fly Away: Then and Now") Outstanding Costumes for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special Tom McKinley (For special "I'll Fly Away: Then and Now") 1993 Producers Guild of America Award Outstanding Producer of Television David Chase and Ian Sander 1992 Television Critics Association Award Program of the Year Outstanding Achievement in Drama 1993 1992 Viewers for Quality Television Award Best Quality Drama Series Best Actor in a Quality Drama Series Sam Waterston Best Actress in a Quality Drama Series Regina Taylor 1993 Best Quality Drama Series Best Actor in a Quality Drama Series Sam Waterston Best Actress in a Quality Drama Series Regina Taylor Writers Guild of America Award Episodic Drama Henry Bromell (For episode "Amazing Grace") Kevin Arkadie (For episode "Coming Home") 1994 Barbara Hall (For episode "Comfort and Joy") 1992 Young Artist Award Best Young Actress Starring in a New Television Series Ashlee Levitch Exceptional Performance by a Young Actor Under 10 John Aaron Bennett 1993 Best Young Actor Starring in a Television Series Jeremy London Best Young Actress Starring in a Television Series Ashlee Levitch Outstanding Actor Under 10 in a Television Series John Aaron Bennett Outstanding Actress Under 10 in a Television Series Rae'Ven Larrymore Kelly 1994 Best Youth Actress Leading Role in a Television Series
See also Any Day Now Civil rights movement in popular culture
References
External links