The HBO original series, Lovecraft Country, makes a lot of buzz ahead on the late summer premiere date. Jurnee Smollett, who stars as Lititia, dropped some juicy details about her role on the show.
What is ‘Lovecraft Country’ all about?
Lovecraft Country is a genre-bending series that combines historical fiction with sci-fi and horror. The official synopsis reads, “The one-hour drama series based on the 2016 novel by Matt Ruff, follows Atticus Black as he meets his friend Letitia and his uncle George on a road trip across the 1950s Jim Crow America search for his missing father.What follows is a struggle to survive and overcome both the racist horrors of white America and the horrific monsters that can be ripped from an HP Lovecraft paperback.
Why was Jurnee Smollett ‘obsessed’ with playing Letitia?
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In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Smollett described the connection she felt with the Letitia character when reading the script for the first time. “I was so wildly convinced that there was no f * cking person who could play Leti Lewis, but me that I became obsessed,” Smollett told the news release.
“Jurnee brings every flexibility, depth and nuance,” Jordan Peele said, as quoted in The Hollywood Reporter. Get out en Us mastermind, Peele, is the co-maker and co-executive producer of Lovecraft Country.
Staff member and showrunner Misha Green portrayed Smollett in the role early on, but had reservations. ‘I just did not want to be one of those people who only works with [actors] they’ve worked with it before, “Green said, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The showrunner had previously collaborated with Smollett on Underground.
Despite initial hesitation, Green eventually cast Smollett as Letitia, aka Leti. And based on the promotional trailer for Lovecraft Country, it looks like the artists have hit creative gold again.
Why does Smollett say ‘Lovecraft Country’ is still relevant?
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Lovecraft Country takes place in a hotbed of racism in the Deep South during the Jim Crow era when discrimination was a way of life, and hate crimes were rampant. Smollett suggested that the story is important within today’s climate. “We’re telling the story of heroes looking to die of white supremacy, and it’s crazy that it’s still relevant in 2020,” the actor told The Hollywood Reporter.
During her interview, the Lovecraft Country star pointed out the differences that exist in the modern world. ‘For all the liberalism I have been in these spaces, where these very powerful people do the money laundering and write the checks for the scholarships of the black or brown children, and then I actually know that they go back to their staff meetings and they ‘are all white,’ she stated. “And if you do that, then you’re a hypocrite, and you’re not really an anti-racist.”
Smollett also took a moment to hold the entertainment company accountable, saying, “There are just as many ways this sector, sublimally as openly, will erase your Blackness.”
Lovecraft Country premieres Aug. 16 at 9 p.m. on HBO.
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