Them (TV series)

Them
Official poster
Genre	Horror Psychological horror Drama Anthology
Created by	Little Marvin
Starring	Deborah Ayorinde Ashley Thomas Alison Pill Shahadi Wright Joseph Melody Hurd Ryan Kwanten Pam Grier Luke James Joshua J. Williams Jeremy Bobb
Composer	Mark Korven
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	18
Production
Executive producers	Little Marvin David Matthews Roy Lee Miri Yoon Lena Waithe Don Kurt Nelson Cragg Larysa Kondracki Michael Connolly
Producers	Dominic Orlando Michael Nelson
Cinematography	Checco Varese Xavier Grobet Suki Medencevic
Editors	Jeff Israel David Kashevaroff Kevin D. Ross Genevieve Butler Daniel Downer III Andrew Parkhurst Daniel Williams
Camera setup	Single-camera
Running time	33–55 minutes
Production companies	Sony Pictures Television Amazon Studios Vertigo Entertainment Hillman Grad Productions Odd Man Out
Original release
Network	Amazon Prime Video
Release	April 9, 2021 (2021-04-09) – present (present)

Them is an American horror series, created by Little Marvin and executive produced by Lena Waithe. The series stars an ensemble cast, which consists of Deborah Ayorinde, Ashley Thomas, Alison Pill, and Ryan Kwanten in the first season, and Pam Grier, Luke James, Joshua J. Williams and Jeremy Bobb in the second season, with Ayorinde returning in a new lead role.

The first season, titled Them: Covenant, had premiered on Amazon Prime Video on April 9, 2021, and the second season, titled Them: The Scare, premiered on April 25, 2024.^[1] The first series drew a polarized response from critics and audience; while criticism was primarily for the handling of the series' subject matter, which was criticized as "exploitative" and "unnecessarily graphic", however, the screenplay, production values, and the performances of the cast (particularly Ayorinde, Thomas, and Wright Joseph) received widespread acclaim.

Plot

Set in 1953, THEM: Covenant follows a black family who move from North Carolina to an all-white neighborhood in East Compton during the Second Great Migration. The family's idyllic home slowly transforms into an epicenter of evil forces, next-door and otherworldly, that threaten to haunt, ravage and destroy them.^[2]

Set in 1991, THEM: The Scare centers on LAPD Detective Dawn Reeve, who is assigned to a new case: a gruesome murder that has left the most hardened detectives shaken. As Dawn draws closer to the truth, something malevolent grips her and her family.^[3]

Cast and characters

Covenant (2021)

Main

• Deborah Ayorinde as Livia "Lucky" Emory
• Ashley Thomas as Henry Emory
• Alison Pill as Elizabeth "Betty" Wendell
• Shahadi Wright Joseph as Ruby Lee Emory
• Melody Hurd as Gracie Emory
• Ryan Kwanten as George Bell

Guest

• Dale Dickey as The Woman
• Liam McIntyre as Clarke Wendell
• Lindsey Kraft as Midge Pruitt
• Pat Healy as Marty Dixon
• Brooke Smith as Helen Koistra
• Malcolm Mays as Calvin
• John Patrick Jordan as Earl^[a]
• Dirk Rogers as Miss Vera
• Abbie Cobb as Nat Dixon
• Max Barsness as Dale Pruitt
• Kim Shaw as Carol Lynn Denton
• Bailey Noble as Marlene
• Derek Phillips as Sergeant Bull Wheatley
• P. J. Byrne as Stuart Berks
• Sophie Guest as Doris
• Tim Russ as The Custodian
• Ryan Kennedy as Gary
• Christopher Heyerdahl as The Black Hat Man
• Jeremiah Birkett as Da Tap Dance Man
• Paula Jai Parker as Hazel Emory
• Sheria Irving as Cynthia
• J. Mallory McCree as Junius Emory
• Anika Noni Rose as Ella Mae
• Roland Johnson as Moe Irvin
• Lisa Banes as Esther Haber (Banes' final television role before her death on June 14, 2021)
• Michael Harney as Otto Haber
• Peter Mackenzie as Mr. Stoal
• Shaw Jones as City Planner
• Van Epperson as Banker
• Barry Livingston as Real Estate Commissioner
• David Bowe as Mitch
• Christopher Murray as Murray
• Daniel Robbins as Man In Car
• Scott Alan Smith as Fuller
• Latarsha Rose as Arnette Beaumont
• Samantha Sherman as Marjorie Wallinger
• Kate McNeil as Dr. Frances Moynihan
• Dominic Burgess as Roger
• Nona Parker Johnson
• Cranston Johnson
• Melinda Page Hamilton as Elder Sara
• Gene Silvers as Elder Luther
• J. Paul Boehmer as Elder James
• Summera Howell as Elder Cora
• Kai Richard as Miles

The Scare (2024)

Main

• Deborah Ayorinde as Detective Dawn Reeve
• Pam Grier as Athena Reeve
• Luke James as Edmund Gaines
• Joshua J. Williams as Kelvin "Kel" Reeve
• Jeremy Bobb as Detective Ronald McKinney

Episodes

Series overview

Season	Title	Episodes		Originally released
1	Covenant	10		April 9, 2021 (2021-04-09)
2	The Scare	8		April 25, 2024 (2024-04-25)

Season 1: Covenant (2021)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original release date
1	1	"DAY 1"	Nelson Cragg	Little Marvin	April 9, 2021 (2021-04-09)
2	2	"DAY 3"	Nelson Cragg	David Matthews & Little Marvin	April 9, 2021 (2021-04-09)
3	3	"DAY 4"	Daniel Stamm	Francine Volpe	April 9, 2021 (2021-04-09)
4	4	"DAY 6"	Nelson Cragg	Seth Zvi Rosenfeld	April 9, 2021 (2021-04-09)
5	5	"COVENANT I."	Janicza Bravo	Little Marvin & Dominic Orlando	April 9, 2021 (2021-04-09)
6	6	"DAY 7: MORNING"	Craig William Macneill	Christina Ham	April 9, 2021 (2021-04-09)
7	7	"DAY 7: NIGHT"	Ti West	David Matthews	April 9, 2021 (2021-04-09)
8	8	"DAY 9"	Nelson Cragg	Story by : Francine Volpe Teleplay by : Francine Volpe and Dominic Orlando	April 9, 2021 (2021-04-09)
9	9	"COVENANT II."	Craig William Macneill	Dominic Orlando	April 9, 2021 (2021-04-09)
10	10	"DAY 10"	Ti West	Little Marvin	April 9, 2021 (2021-04-09)

Season 2: The Scare (2024)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original release date
11	1	"Are You Scared?"	Craig William Macneill	Little Marvin	April 25, 2024 (2024-04-25)
12	2	"The Devil Himself Visited This Place"	Craig William Macneill	Tony Saltzman & Malcolm M. Mays	April 25, 2024 (2024-04-25)
13	3	"The Man With the Red Hair"	Axelle Carolyn	Scott Kosar & Sarah Cho	April 25, 2024 (2024-04-25)
14	4	"Happy Birthday, Sweet Boy"	Axelle Carolyn	Beverly Okhio	April 25, 2024 (2024-04-25)
15	5	"Luke 8:17"	Guillermo Navarro	Tony Saltzman	April 25, 2024 (2024-04-25)
16	6	"Would You Like to Play a Game?"	Guillermo Navarro	Malcolm M. Mays & Matt Almquist	April 25, 2024 (2024-04-25)
17	7	"One of Us Is Gonna Die Tonight"	Little Marvin	Scott Kosar	April 25, 2024 (2024-04-25)
18	8	"The Box"	Ti West	Little Marvin & Tony Saltzman	April 25, 2024 (2024-04-25)

Production

Development

On July 28, 2018, Amazon gave the project a two-season order.^[4] The series was created by Little Marvin, who also wrote the script for the first season and was set to executive produce the show alongside Lena Waithe under their overall deals with Amazon Studios.^[5][6] Roy Lee, Miri Yoon, and Michael Connolly of Vertigo Entertainment were also announced as executive producers, with Vertigo co-producing the series under the company's deal with Sony Pictures Television. The first season is subtitled Them: Covenant, and the series will follow a similar limited semi-anthological structure to American Horror Story, with each season following a different story with different characters. Alongside the series order announcement, Waithe said:

Little Marvin's script stayed with me for weeks after I read it. He's written something that's provocative and terrifying. The first season will speak to how frightening it was to be black in 1953. It will also remind us that being black in 2018 is just as horrifying. This anthology series will examine the cultural divides among all of us and explore us vs them in a way we've never seen before.

On April 1, 2019, David Matthews joined the series as showrunner under his newly announced overall deal at Sony Pictures Television.^[7]

A year and a half after premiering, the cast of the second season, titled The Scare, was announced.^[8]

Casting

On July 27, 2019, Deborah Ayorinde and Ashley Thomas were cast in the lead roles.^[9] Shahadi Wright Joseph, Alison Pill, Ryan Kwanten, Melody Hurd, Javier Botet, and Percy Hynes White were added to the main cast on October 3, 2019, alongside Derek Phillips who was cast in a recurring capacity.^[10] On December 2, 2019, Brooke Smith, Anika Noni Rose P.J. Byrne, Malcolm Mays, Jeremiah Birkett, and Sophie Guest joined the recurring cast.^[11]

For the second season, Deborah Ayorinde returns with the new additions of Pam Grier, Luke James, Joshua J. Williams and Jeremy Bobb as regulars, and Wayne Knight, Carlito Olivero, Charles Brice and Iman Shumpert will recur.^[12]

Filming

The series began production on July 8, 2019, with filming taking place between Atlanta and Los Angeles.^[13]

The set for the neighborhood was built on a lot in Pomona, California.^[14]

Release

The series had its world premiere on March 18, 2021, at the SXSW Film Festival as part of the Episodic Premieres section.^[15] The series premiered on Amazon Prime Video on April 9, 2021.^[2] The second season premiered on April 25, 2024.^[16]

Reception

Critical response

Season 1

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the first season of the series has a 79% fresh rating from 50 critic reviews with an average score of 6.8/10. The site's critical consensus reads "Deborah Ayorinde and Ashley Thomas' gripping performances help Them sustain a sufficient sense of terror, but its blunt and bloody approach undermines any social commentary in favor of more superficial horrors."^[17] On Metacritic, the first season of the series received a mixed rating of 57/100 based on 20 critic reviews.^[18]

The Guardian's Lucy Mangan gave the show 4/5 stars, writing that "What marks out this portrayal of 50s prejudice (not unworked ground) is that, thanks to magnificent performances from Thomas and Ayorinde, you get a great sense of the cost to victims: the sheer amount of mental energy it takes to navigate a relentlessly hostile world, the consequent exhaustion, the constant abrading of the soul."^[19]

In a mostly negative review, Lovia Gyarkye of The Hollywood Reporter said that "Them suffers from an overcrowded narrative and too many themes, making for an uneven, dizzying, at times overly dense viewing experience. From the violent neighbors and the history of black homeownership to the traumas that plague each member of the Emory family, the show takes on more than it can responsibly unpack."^[20]

Variety's chief TV critic Daniel D'Addario wrote that "In visual style and in the performances of the actors playing the Emorys, it captures a recognizable 1950s of the mind. A striking early sequence sees the family in integrated settings, being assisted by white employees at an appliance store and a soda fountain. The point is made, elegantly, that the Emorys have left behind the explicit bigotry of the American South for a place where the horrors are more insidious", but described the series as "surprisingly unimaginative".^[21]

Some critics took issue with scenes of graphic racial violence, particularly a scene in which a black couple is blinded with hot pokers and burned alive, calling Them "black trauma porn".^[22]

Season 2

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the second season of the series has a 100% fresh rating from 10 critic reviews with an average score of 7.1/10. The site's critical consensus reads "A marked improvement with a new story, effective frights and a keen commentary on generational scars, The Scare is a scream."^[23]

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Nominee(s)	Result	Ref.
2021	SXSW Film Festival Audience Awards	Episodic Premieres	Them	Won	[24]
	The ReFrame Stamp Awards	Top 200 Most Popular TV Titles	Them	Won
	Camerimage	Golden Frog - TV Series Competition	Them	Nominated
	Satellite Awards	Best Genre Series	Them	Nominated
	Independent Spirit Awards	Best Male Performance in a New Scripted Series	Ashley Thomas	Nominated
		Best Female Performance in a New Scripted Series	Deborah Ayorinde	Nominated
	Writers Guild of America Awards	Television: Long Form – Original	Them	Nominated

Notes

1. Credited as Earl Denton in episode 8

See also

• Get Out - Oscar-winning Jordan Peele film similar in content
• Suburbicon - George Clooney film also similar in content
• United States in the 1950s

References

1. Webb Mitovich, Matt (March 11, 2024). "THEM: Release Date Set for Horror A Season 2 Starring Deborah Ayorinde (in New Role) and Pam Grier". TVLine. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
2. "Terror Anthology Series "Them" from Executive Producers Little Marvin and Lena Waithe to Premiere April 9 on Amazon Prime Video". Amazon Studios (Press release). March 9, 2021. Archived from the original on March 9, 2021. Retrieved March 9, 2021 – via The Futon Critic.
3. Webb Mitovich, Matt (March 11, 2024). "THEM: Release Date Set for Horror Anthology Season 2 Starring Deborah Ayorinde (in New Role) and Pam Grier". TVLine. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
4. Andreeva, Nellie; Petski, Denise (July 28, 2018). "Amazon Gives 2-Season Order To Horror Event Series 'Them' From Lena Waithe, Little Marvin, Vertigo & Sony TV – TCA". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on July 28, 2018. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
5. Petski, Denise (October 8, 2019). "'Them: Covenant' Creator Little Marvin Inks Overall Deal With Amazon Studios". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on October 8, 2019. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
6. Andreeva, Nellie (July 27, 2019). "Lena Waithe Inks Overall Deal With Amazon Studios – TCA". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on February 25, 2021. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
7. Andreeva, Nellie (April 1, 2019). "David Matthews Inks Sony Pictures TV Overall Deal, Joins 'Them: Covenant' As Showrunner". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on January 17, 2021. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
8. Porter, Rick (September 27, 2022). "Pam Grier, Deborah Ayorinde, Luke James to Topline Amazon's 'Them' Season 2 (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
9. Andreeva, Nellie (July 27, 2019). "'Them': Deborah Ayorinde & Ashley Thomas To Star In Amazon Anthology Series From Lena Waithe". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on February 25, 2021. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
10. Otterson, Joe (October 3, 2019). "Shahadi Wright Joseph, Ryan Kwanten, Alison Pill Among Seven Cast in 'Them: Covenant' at Amazon (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Archived from the original on May 26, 2020. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
11. Petski, Denise (December 2, 2019). "'Them': Brooke Smith, Anika Noni Rose, P.J. Byrne, Malcolm Mays, Jeremiah Birkett & Sophie Guest To Recur on Amazon Anthology Series". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on February 24, 2021. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
12. Porter, Rick (September 27, 2022). "Pam Grier, Deborah Ayorinde, Luke James to Topline Amazon's 'Them' Season 2 (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
13. "Them: Covenant". Production List. June 16, 2019. Archived from the original on March 9, 2021. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
14. Considine, Austin (April 9, 2021). "Get out again: a suburban Black family is haunted by monsters in 'Them'". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved June 2, 2022.
15. "Them". SXSW Online. Archived from the original on March 11, 2021. Retrieved March 11, 2021.
16. Norman, Dalton (March 14, 2024). "Them Season 2: Release Date, Cast, Story & Everything We Know". Screen Rant. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
17. "Them: Limited Series". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved June 15, 2021.
18. "Them (2021)". Metacritic. Retrieved April 10, 2021.
19. Mangan, Lucy (April 9, 2021). "Them review – racist horrors lurk behind white picket fences". The Guardian. Archived from the original on April 9, 2021. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
20. Gyarkye, Lovia (April 8, 2021). "'Them': TV Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on April 9, 2021. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
21. D'Addario, Daniel (April 8, 2021). "'Them' Is an Unconvincing Examination of American Horror: TV Review". Variety. Archived from the original on April 8, 2021. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
22. Braxton, Greg (April 19, 2021). "Media images of Black death come at a cost, experts say. And many viewers are fed up". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on April 19, 2021. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
23. "Them: The Scare". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved April 29, 2024.
24. Roberts, Jordan (March 23, 2021). "Audience Awards Winners for the 2021 SXSW Film Festival Announced". SXSW. Archived from the original on April 15, 2021. Retrieved April 20, 2021.

External links

• Official website
• Them at IMDb