Friday, March 29, 2024

Apple TV+ Brings You ‘Little America’ … An Immigrant’s Journey / EUR Exclusive

*Brought to you by the people who created “The Big Sick” and “Master of None,” “Little America” is “an anthology of funny, romantic, heartfelt, inspiring and surprising stories about the lives of immigrants in the United States.”

'Little America' Producers
The Producers of ‘Little America” celebrate in Los Angeles

Its first season, released this month on the new Apple TV+ streaming service, is a collection of eight half-hour stories about immigrants who are trying to make it in the US.

We talked to some of the show’s creators at the Los Angeles red carpet premiere and they had a lot to say about immigration, diversity and creating this show.

Brian Savelson
Writer, Brian Savelson of the Episode ‘The Cowboy’ in the Apple TV+ anthology series ‘Little America’

Brian Savelson, writer of “The Cowboy” episode, starring Conphidance, was asked, “What is an immigrant?” He responded by saying he thinks it means someone who has a sense of home, that didn’t start here, which could encompass many people.

“What is so interesting about the idea of an immigrant, is that, you can be an immigrant in many different ways.  People come here seeking opportunities, people come here fleeing bad things, people are forced to come here and [there are] many other ways in which people can arrive here.”

When asked about diversity, Savelson said …

“There are many, many stories to tell and many perspectives and many different kinds of characters and for a long time, there has been a large focus on one perspective and one kind of character and thankfully, as a writer, it’s really nice that there seems to be a broadening of what kind of stories can be told.  It’s refreshing that now we can tell many different kinds of stories.”

The Cowboy is about someone who comes to America to pick something up and bring it home.

“You could look at it through a Greek lens, he’s on a quest to get something here, in this land and bring it back to his family at home. Which, in this case is knowledge.  He comes here to get a Masters in Economics and bring it back home to expand their family business in Nigeria,” Salvelson explains.

Connphidance
Actor, Conphidance, from ‘The Cowboy’ episode of Apple TV+ anthology series, ‘Little America’

While studying in Oklahoma, in the early 1980s, there was a lot of political upheaval in Nigeria and so the story of Iwegbuna Ikeji gets complicated.  Does he stay in America, or does he return to his native land?  The story of “The Cowboy” ensues.

Mfoniso Udofia
Writer, ‘The Cowboy’ for Apple TV+ anthology series ‘Little America’

We also talked to Mfoniso Udofia, the co-writer of “The Cowboy” about what an immigrant was to her and she said that, “she is a child of immigrants and that immigrants are people who come here from everything that they knew to come to another place and build another new everything and so sometimes I think they are some of our most dangerous creators.  That’s an immigrant.”

In “The Cowboy,” Udofia says, it’s a story about a man that comes to this country, thinking he is going to garner an education and then be able to go home and then something happens in his home country, and he no longer can, so how do you “live, love and remain within the United States?”  Before Iwegbuna realized he could not return to Nigeria, he had put on a cowboy outfit.  It’s his story!

Lee Eisenberg
Executive Producer of ‘Little America’ on Apple TV+

Lee Eisenberg one of the Executive Producers of “Little America” spoke to us about how this project came together; it was idea he had a few years ago.  He was contemplating what was on TV and what he could get excited about.  Inspired by Alan Yang & Aziz Ansari’s “Master of None” episode titled “Parents,” he was moved by their story of immigration and wondered why there wasn’t an entire series about the plight of immigrants in America.  So, Eisenberg went to Epic Magazine to see if they would be interested in his idea, they said yes. He went to Alan Yang, Kumail Nanjiani and Emily Gordan and all of a sudden, he had his dream team of producers, that were also his friends. They pitched to Apple and it was simpatico. Apple leaned into the project with no hesitation.  They got it!

“When you think about Apple, it feels so world-building, it feels ambitious, you don’t know what to expect, but you expect a certain level of quality and it’s a worldwide brand and I think that a show like this, where the characters are from all around the world, it’s important [to partner with a brand that gets that],” Eisenberg says

“Little America” shares eight true stories, including …

“The Manager,” in which the protagonist, is 12-year-old, Kabir, whose parents are deported, and he must then take over the family motel, raising himself and running a business, all while writing obsessively to the government about his parents being readmitted into the country. He will not see them in person again until he is an adult.

In “The Son,” a gay Syrian man flees his family who reacted violently to discovering his sexual orientation.  Rafiq, crosses the border into Jordan in the hopes that one day  he will be able to claim asylum in the United States.

Haaz Sleiman
Actor on ‘The Son’ episode of Apple TV+ anthology series, ‘Little America’
Amrou Al-Kadhi
Writer of ‘The Son’ episode of Apple TV+ anthology series ‘Little America’

“The Rock” is about an Iranian father who wants to purchase a home in the US but cannot afford it. Instead, he buys a plot of land with a massive, unremovable rock on it and commits to removing it, one chunk at a time.

There is also “The Baker,” “The Grand Prize Expo Winners” and “The Jaguar.” They are all moving, inspiring and touching 30-minute stories of the average person, seeking the American Dream!

Little America is now streaming on Apple TV+ and has already been renewed for a second season.

 

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