What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
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T2 WHATS UP! April 10 - 16, 2022 TV FEATURE BY KYLA BREWER TV Media T elevision can be a powerful medium, so much so that artists often use TV to prompt conversations about real-world injustices, and that is exactly what a new drama aspires to do. When a promising, young Black athlete finds himself im- plicated in a drug deal gone wrong on Chicago's South Side, a passionate public de- fender takes the case in "61st Street," premiering Sunday, April 10, on AMC and AMC+. Tosin Cole ("Doctor Who") takes the lead as Moses John- son, a high school track star headed to college thanks to an athletic scholarship. His life is upended when he is targeted by police, who claim he is a cop-killing gang member due to his alleged involvement in a botched drug bust. Enter Courtney B. Vance ("Lovecraft Country") as Franklin Roberts, a public de- fender who sees the case as an opportunity to expose the in- stitutional racism and corrup- tion of the Chicago judicial system. Despite a recent can- cer diagnosis, Roberts is de- termined to take the case and defend Moses, even if it's the last thing he does. While the story is fictional, the premise of "61st Street" is all too familiar in the wake of cases that sparked the Black Lives Matter movement, in- cluding the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ah- maud Arbery. According to Deadline.com, series execu- tive producer and writer J. Da- vid Shanks ("The Chi") talked during this summer's Televi- sion Critics Association press tour about the potential for the series to continue the con- versation about systemic in- justices and police brutality. "We want to have a healthy discussion in a safe environ- ment," Shanks said at an Au- gust 2021 TCA panel. "Nothing changes if we don't continue to talk about it." While the Black community is often underrepresented in writers rooms and behind the scenes, "61st Street" is an ex- ception. Having grown up on the South Side of Chicago, actor, writer and producer Shanks has firsthand knowledge of life in the area and has admit- ted that he used to run from the police himself. Shanks lat- er became a Chicago police of- ficer before getting into the entertainment business, all ex- periences that give him unique insight into the issues tackled in "61st Street." Shanks serves as an execu- tive producer alongside Mi- chael B. Jordan ("Blank Pan- ther," 2018), Alana Mayo ("Without Remorse," 2021), Hilary Salmon ("Silk"), lead- ing star Vance and series cre- ator Peter Moffat ("Criminal Justice"). The show has been in the works since 2019 when AMC executive David Mad- den described it in an official release as "a murder mystery, courtroom drama and an ex- amination of race in America." That's a tall order for any cast, but producers have as- sembled a talented group of Bentonville Acupuncture 5 x 5 continued on page T10 Bentley Green and Tosin Cole as seen in "61st Street" Law and disorder Did you know those images are available for purchase? IT'S EASY! Just go to nwaonline.com, click on "Photos" in the top menu bar and use the search to fi nd the photo you want. Then just click "Purchase" for sizing options. You can also have the image put on a coff ee mug, mouse pad, key tag, holiday ornament and more! Did you see a photo in our newspaper or on our website that you would love a copy of? Check it out!