Little America (TV series)

Little America
Genre	Anthology
Based on	Little America by Epic Magazine
Developed by	Lee Eisenberg & Emily V. Gordon & Kumail Nanjiani
Starring	Suraj Sharma Jearnest Corchado Rishi Danda Conphidance Mélanie Laurent Kemiyondo Coutinho Shaun Toub Angela Lin
Composer	Michael Brook
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	16
Production
Executive producers	Kumail Nanjiani Alan Yang Lee Eisenberg Emily V. Gordon Sian Heder Joshuah Bearman Joshua Davis
Camera setup	Single-camera
Running time	30 minutes
Production companies	Alan Yang Pictures Quantity Entertainment (season 1) Piece of Work Productions (season 2) Epic Magazine Universal Television
Original release
Network	Apple TV+
Release	January 17, 2020 (2020-01-17) – December 9, 2022 (2022-12-09)

Little America is an American anthology television series produced for Apple TV+. It premiered on January 17, 2020.^[1] The series was renewed for a second season, which premiered on December 9, 2022.

Premise

Little America looks to "go beyond the headlines to look at the funny, romantic, heartfelt, inspiring and unexpected lives of immigrants in America, at a time when their stories are more relevant than ever."^[2]

Cast

The Manager

• Suraj Sharma as Kabir
  • Eshan Inamdar as young Kabir
    • Ishan Gandhi as preteen Kabir
• Sherilyn Fenn as Laura Bush
• Priyanka Bose as Kabir's Mother

The Jaguar

• Jearnest Corchado as Marisol
• Melinna Bobadilla as Gloria
• John Ortiz as Squash Coach
• Jamie Gore Pawlik as Charlotte Ansley
• Chelsea Patricia Ramirez as Shirley

The Cowboy

• Conphidance as Iwegbuna
• Tom McCarthy as Professor Robbins
• Chinaza Uche as Chioke
• Ebbe Bassey as Mma Udeh

The Silence

• Mélanie Laurent as Sylviane
• Zachary Quinto as Spiritual Leader
• Bill Heck as Jack
• Gavin Lee as Henry

The Baker

• Kemiyondo Coutinho as Beatrice^[3]
• Innocent Ekakitie as Brian
• Susan Basemera as Yuliana
• Philip Luswata as Beatrice's Father

The Grand Prize Expo Winners

• Angela Lin as Ai
• X. Lee as Bo
• Madeleine Chang as Cheng

The Rock

• Shaun Toub as Faraz
• Shila Vosough Ommi as Yasmin
• Justin Ahdoot as Behrad

The Son

• Haaz Sleiman as Rafiq
• Adam Ali as Zain
• Fahim Fazli as Taliban commander

The 9th Caller

• Isuri Wijesundara as Sachini^[4]

Episodes

Series overview

Season	Episodes		Originally released
1	8		January 17, 2020 (2020-01-17)
2	8		December 9, 2022 (2022-12-09)

Season 1 (2020)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Teleplay by	Original release date [5]
1	1	"The Manager"	Deepa Mehta	Rajiv Joseph	January 17, 2020 (2020-01-17)
2	2	"The Jaguar"	Aurora Guerrero	Dan LeFranc	January 17, 2020 (2020-01-17)
3	3	"The Cowboy"	Bharat Nalluri	Story by : Janicza Bravo & Brian Savelson Teleplay by : Brian Savelson & Mfoniso Udofia	January 17, 2020 (2020-01-17)
4	4	"The Silence"	Sian Heder	Sian Heder	January 17, 2020 (2020-01-17)
5	5	"The Baker"	Chioke Nassor	Casallina Kisakye	January 17, 2020 (2020-01-17)
6	6	"The Grand Prize Expo Winners"	Tze Chun	Tze Chun	January 17, 2020 (2020-01-17)
7	7	"The Rock"	Nima Nourizadeh	Lee Eisenberg & Emily V. Gordon & Kumail Nanjiani	January 17, 2020 (2020-01-17)
8	8	"The Son"	Stephen Dunn	Amrou Al-Kadhi & Stephen Dunn	January 17, 2020 (2020-01-17)

Season 2 (2022)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Teleplay by	Original release date
9	1	"Mr. Song"	Deepa Mehta	Teleplay by : Sian Heder & Alan Yang Story by : Jenny Zhang & Sian Heder	December 9, 2022 (2022-12-09)
10	2	"The Bra Whisperer"	Tara Miele	Mfoniso Udofia	December 9, 2022 (2022-12-09)
11	3	"The 9th Caller"	Tinge Krishnan	Emily V. Gordon & Kumail Nanjiani	December 9, 2022 (2022-12-09)
12	4	"Camel on a Stick"	Sunu Gonera	Lee Eisenberg & Idil Ibrahim	December 9, 2022 (2022-12-09)
13	5	"Space Door"	Darya Zhuk	Darya Zhuk & Erika Sheffer	December 9, 2022 (2022-12-09)
14	6	"Columbus Starlings LLC"	Diane Paragas	Naomi Brodkin & Ali Liebegott	December 9, 2022 (2022-12-09)
15	7	"Paper Piano"	Aron Gaudet & Gita Pullapilly	Brian Savelson	December 9, 2022 (2022-12-09)
16	8	"The Indoor Arm"	Patricia Riggen	Joe Hortua	December 9, 2022 (2022-12-09)

Production

On February 8, 2018, it was announced that Apple was developing a television series based on the true stories collection "Little America" featured in Epic Magazine. The show was set to be written by Lee Eisenberg, Kumail Nanjiani, and Emily V. Gordon, all of whom also executive produced alongside Sian Heder, Alan Yang, Joshuah Bearman, and Joshua Davis. Arthur Spector acted as co-executive producer. The series was showrun by Lee Eisenberg and Sian Heder. Production companies involved with the series include Universal Television.^[2][6][7][8] On June 19, 2018, it was announced that Apple had given the production a series order.^[9][10][11] The show began filming in New Jersey in early 2019;^[12] however, the eighth episode of the first season, "The Son" (which is about a gay asylum seeker from Syria), was shot in the Canadian province of Quebec because the American Executive Order 13780 prevented some of its actors from being able to enter the United States for filming.^[13]

The series was renewed for a second season in December 2019, prior to the series premiere.^[1] The second season premiered on December 9, 2022, with an eight episode season.^[14]

Reception

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, the first season has an approval rating of 95% based on 37 reviews, with an average rating of 8.92/10. The site's critics' consensus is, "Joyous, heartfelt, and very human, Little America's thoughtful collection of immigrant tales is as inspirational as it is relatable."^[15] The second season has an approval rating of 100% based on 10 reviews.^[15] On Metacritic, the series has a score of 85 out of 100 based on 26 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".^[16]

The Atlantic's Hannah Giorgis wrote of the first season, "Its ambitions aren't flashy, but Little America leads with a clear investment in the kinds of people often relegated to the background of other shows. It's a smart, empathetic choice—one that benefits both Apple and viewers."^[17] Brian Lowry of CNN said, "The subjects vary, but almost without exception the stories are quirky yet resonant, emotional and relatable, with a sweet (or occasionally slightly bittersweet) payoff."^[18]

Reviewing the second season, Craig Matheson of The Sydney Morning Herald wrote, "Just over a half hour in length, these new episodes have a modest but enduring insight and empathy".^[19] RogerEbert.com's Clint Worthington wrote, "in its unassuming nature and casual confidence, not to mention the heartwarming humanism of its stories, it might be one of the streamer's greatest secret weapons."^[4]

Accolades

Year	Award	Category	Recipient(s)	Result	Ref.
2020	Imagen Foundation Awards	Best Primetime Program – Comedy	Little America	Nominated	[20]
		Best Director – Television	Aurora Guerrero	Nominated
		Best Actress – Television	Jearnest Corchado	Won
		Best Supporting Actor – Television	John Ortiz	Won
	Location Managers Guild Awards	Outstanding Locations in a Limited Anthology Television Series	Michael Hartel, Rocco Nisivoccia and Adrian Knight	Won	[21]
2021	British Academy Television Awards	Best International Programme	Little America	Nominated	[22]
	GLAAD Media Awards	Special Recognition	“The Son”	Won	[23]
	Independent Spirit Awards	Best New Scripted Series	Little America	Nominated	[24]
		Best Male Performance in a New Scripted Series	Conphidance	Nominated
			Adam Ali	Nominated
	NAACP Image Awards	Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series	Lee Eisenberg, Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V, Gordon (for "The Rock")	Nominated	[25]
			Rajiv Joseph (for "The Manager")	Nominated
		Outstanding Directing in a Comedy Series	Aurora Guerrero (for "The Jaguar")	Nominated

References

1. Thorne, Will (December 12, 2019). "'Little America' Scores Early Season 2 Renewal at Apple". Variety. Archived from the original on November 16, 2020. Retrieved December 12, 2019.
2. Andreeva, Nellie (February 8, 2018). "'Little America' Immigrant Anthology Series In Works At Apple From 'The Big Sick' Writers, Lee Eisenberg & Alan Yang". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on November 16, 2020. Retrieved May 4, 2018.
3. Tumwesigyeq, Joseph. "Uganda's Kemiyondo is "The Baker" in Apple TV+'s "Little America"". NTV Uganda. Archived from the original on 16 November 2020. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
4. Worthington, Clint (December 9, 2022). "Little America Returns For More Heartwarming Stories In Its Second Season". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved 2024-03-25.
5. "Little America – Listings". Apple TV+. 16 January 2020. Archived from the original on November 16, 2020. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
6. Otterson, Joe (February 8, 2018). "'Big Sick' Pair, Lee Eisenberg to Shepherd Immigrant Anthology Series 'Little America' for Apple". Variety. Archived from the original on November 16, 2020. Retrieved May 4, 2018.
7. Goldberg, Lesley (February 8, 2018). "'The Big Sick' Writers Plot Immigration Anthology Series for Apple". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on November 16, 2020. Retrieved May 4, 2018.
8. Wright, Megh (February 8, 2018). "Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon Developing 'Little America' Anthology Series at Apple". Splitsider. Archived from the original on May 14, 2018. Retrieved May 4, 2018.
9. Andreeva, Nellie (June 19, 2018). "Apple Orders 'Little America' Immigrant Anthology Series From 'The Big Sick' Writers, Lee Eisenberg & Alan Yang". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on June 20, 2018. Retrieved June 19, 2018.
10. Otterson, Joe (June 19, 2018). "Apple Orders 'Little America' Anthology Series From 'Big Sick' Duo, Lee Eisenberg". Variety. Archived from the original on November 16, 2020. Retrieved June 19, 2018.
11. Goldberg, Lesley (June 19, 2018). "Immigration Anthology From 'Big Sick' Writers Ordered to Series at Apple". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on November 16, 2020. Retrieved June 19, 2018.
12. Katzban, Nicholas (April 17, 2019). "'Silicon Valley' star shoots Apple TV series in Lyndhurst on immigrant experience stories". Archived from the original on November 16, 2020. Retrieved July 15, 2019.
13. Daniel Reynolds, "Apple's Little America Spotlights Gay Muslims & Found Family's Power" Archived 2020-11-16 at the Wayback Machine. The Advocate, January 17, 2020.
14. Nemetz, Dave (September 29, 2022). "The Mosquito Coast, Mythic Quest and More Get Fall Release Dates at Apple". TVLine. Retrieved September 30, 2022.
15. "Little America: Season 2". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved March 26, 2024.
16. "Little America". Metacritic. Archived from the original on November 16, 2020. Retrieved March 6, 2020.
17. Giorgis, Hannah (2020-01-23). "Finally, Apple Has Made a Great TV Show With 'Little America'". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2024-03-25.
18. Lowry, Brian (2020-01-16). "'Little America' brings a warm look at immigrant stories to Apple TV+". CNN. Retrieved 2024-03-25.
19. Mathieson, Craig (2022-12-28). "Billie Piper returns in I Hate Suzie Too, and it's a punch in the guts". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2024-03-25.
20. Evans, Greg (August 5, 2020). "Imagen Awards For Latinx Representation Sets Nominees: 'One Day At A Time', 'I Carry You With Me' On Roster – Complete List". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 11, 2021.
21. Giardina, Carolyn (October 24, 2020). "Spike Lee at Location Manager Guild Awards: "God Willing We'll All Be Back Working Together"". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 11, 2021.
22. "BAFTA TV 2021: Nominations for the Virgin Media British Academy Television Awards and British Academy Television Craft Awards". BAFTA. 28 April 2021. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
23. Ramos, Dino-Ray (April 8, 2021). "GLAAD Media Awards Winners List: 'Schitt's Creek', 'Disclosure', 'Star Trek: Discovery', 'We're Here' Among Honorees; Deadline's New Hollywood Podcast Receives Special Recognition". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
24. D'Alessandro, Anthony (January 26, 2021). "Spirit Awards Nominations: 'Never Rarely Sometimes Always', 'Minari', 'Nomadland' & 'Ma Rainey's Black Bottom' Lead Field". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 11, 2021.
25. Davis, Clayton (February 2, 2021). "Viola Davis, Tyler Perry and Regina King Up for Entertainer of the Year at 2021 NAACP Image Awards". Variety. Retrieved February 11, 2021.

External links

• Little America – official site
• Little America at IMDb