The Good Lord Bird is told from the point of view of Onion (Joshua Caleb Johnson), a fictional enslaved boy who becomes a member of Brown’s motley family of abolitionist soldiers during Bleeding Kansas – a time when the state was a battleground between pro- and anti-slavery forces – and eventually finds himself participating in the famous 1859 raid on the. U.S. Armory at Harpers Ferry. Brown’s raid failed to initiate the slave revolt he intended but was an event that hastened the Civil War.
The Good Lord Bird weaves a humorous, dramatic, and historical tapestry of Antebellum America, spotlighting the complicated and ever-changing racial, religious, and gender roles that make up the American identity.
The series also stars Critics’ Choice winner and Screen Actors Guild Award nominee Ellar Coltrane (Boyhood), Nick Eversman (Wild), Beau Knapp (Seven Seconds), Mo Brings Plenty (Yellowstone), Jack Alcott (Champaign ILL) and Hubert Point-Du Jour (Madam Secretary). And a roster of talented guest stars including Tony® Award winner Daveed Diggs (Hamilton) as abolitionist Frederick Douglass, Emmy® nominee David Morse (Escape at Dannemora) as Dutch Henry Sherman, Steve Zahn (War of the Planet of the Apes) as Chase, Maya Hawke (Stranger Things) as Annie Brown, Wyatt Russell (Lodge 49) as federal officer Jeb Stuart, Orlando Jones (American Gods) as The Rail Man, among others.
Orlando Jones spoke recently with BGN in a podcast interview about his role as The Rail Man — giving us an exclusive on the character and further insights about working with Ethan Hawke.
The Good Lord Bird is executive produced by Jason Blum, Ethan Hawke, Ryan Hawke, Mark Richard, Padraic McKinley, Jeremy Gold, Marci Wiseman, Albert Hughes, James McBride, Brian Taylor, Marshall Persinger, and David Schiff.