I'll Fly Away (TV series)
| I'll Fly Away | |
|---|---|
Original cast
|
|
| Created by |
Joshua Brand John Falsey |
| Starring |
Sam Waterston Regina Taylor Jeremy London Jason London Ashlee Levitch John Aaron Bennett Kathryn Harrold Peter Simmons Bill Cobbs Rae'Ven Larrymore Kelly |
| Narrated by | Regina Taylor |
| Theme music composer | W.G. Snuffy Walden |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 38 + TV movie |
| Production | |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Brand-Falsey Productions Lorimar Television |
| Release | |
| Original network |
NBC (1991–1993) PBS (1993 TV movie) |
| Original release | October 7, 1991 – February 5, 1993 (TV movie: Oct. 11, 1993) |
I'll Fly Away is an American drama television series set during the late 1950s and early 1960s, in an unspecified Southern U.S. state. It aired on NBC from 1991 to 1993 and starred Regina Taylor as Lilly Harper, a black housekeeper for the family of district attorney Forrest Bedford (Sam Waterston), who was named after the controversial Confederate Army leader Nathan Bedford Forrest (1821-1877). As the show progressed, Lilly became increasingly involved in the Civil Rights Movement, which eventually drew in Forrest, as well.
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 movie, 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, ceasing after one complete showing of the entire series. The series also aired on PAX. [1]
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