Robert Redford has been
president for 27 years. Superheroes were
popular, then outlawed. Cell phones and
personal computers don’t exist. America
issued reparations for racial injustice but
remains ever divided. This is the world of
HBO’s Watchmen, a bombastic mix of
inspirations from Alan Moore’s “unfilm-
able” 1980s graphic novel infused with
new sociopolitical themes that feel very- “It’s so wildly ambitious and origi-
nal,” pilot director Nicole Kassell says of
showrunner and writer Damon Lindelof’s
vision. “It’s like nothing I’ve seen before.”
The story is set three decades after
the events in Moore’s Watchmen, with
the comic’s iconic characters largely in
hiding or dead—though Adrian Veidt,
a.k.a. Ozymandias, is kicking around in a
mansion (and played with gilded smug-
ness by Jeremy Irons) and the
staggeringly powerful Doctor Manhattan
is reportedly hanging out on Mars. The
focus instead is on Regina King (The
Leftovers) as a detective with a super-
hero identity, Sister Night, who confronts
the reemergence of a white supremacist
group. “For those who love learning
about historical events, for those who
love the graphic novel, and for people
who just like new out-of-the-box-type
stuff, that’s all in this show,” says King,
who endured a grueling shoot, running
around Atlanta during the summer in a
leather hooded costume. “The show is
not setting out to say a specific thing. If
you walk away with a thought or opinion
from one episode, it’s probably going to
change.” —JAMES HIBBERD
W
aT
cHM
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New Drama � OCT—20 � 9 pm � HBO↓ Regina King as Sister NightOscar winner
Forest Whitaker, 58,
immerses himself in
the early 1960s to
portray infamous
crime boss Bumpy
Johnson, who
returns home to a
new Harlem after a
decade in prison.
This isn’t the first
time Bumpy John-
son has been
depicted. Why
did you feel he
deserved further
exploration?
I thought it was
very interesting
to look at criminality,
the civil rights move-
ment, and politics
all in the same prism
of the day. These
are issues being
explored by different
groups today. In this
way, we were able
to put a mirror up
to what was
happening.
You’ve described
the series as “the
American dream, by
any means neces-
sary.” How does
that message trans-
late on screen?
The people on the
show are all doing
what is necessary to
have a good quality
of life and that
American dream
they feel was prom-
ised to them—even if
in Bumpy Johnson’s
case, that means
needing to live in the
criminal element.Tell us about the
relationship
between Bumpy and
Malcolm X (Nigél
Thatch), which is
one of the major
facets of Godfather.
They were both
trying to bring
equality in some
way to their own
world. Malcolm X
wanted to influence
Bumpy and saw
some of his qualities
and thought they
could be turned
towards good.
It becomes the
education of
Bumpy Johnson.
—DEREK LAWRENCEForestWhitakerNew Drama
SEPT—29
10 pm � EPIXGODFATHER OF HARLEM’S
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U N D AY
fall
tv pre
view
2019