Andscape’s five-part documentary Algiers, America: The Relentless Pursuit will stream exclusively as a Hulu Original beginning Wednesday, April 19. Directed and produced by Jackson Fager (former VICE Media Africa Bureau Chief, HBO’s Fighting ISIS) and Fager Films, and a team of award-winning executive producers, Algiers, America is the first multi-series documentary by The Walt Disney Company’s Black-led platform.
The Synopsis:
The Edna Karr High School football team is the pride of the Algiers neighborhood of New Orleans, earning four state championships in the last five years. The predominantly Black team and coaching staff are among the nation’s best. Every year at least a dozen seniors from the school receive full scholarships to play football at division one colleges. And then there is the most important distinction: almost all the players have lost teammates, friends, and family to gun violence or prison.
To Coach Brice Brown, whose father was murdered on the streets of Algiers, winning is not the most crucial part of his job. His priority is keeping his players alive until they graduate – filling in as the father many players are missing, instilling a team spirit, and guiding them through their lives in a dangerous and fragile environment.
As guns become the country’s leading cause of child deaths, Algiers, America provides a rare and authentic, candid, and captivating portrait of a community fighting to stem the tide. This series will at once break your heart and inspire you with its unforgettable characters and tribute to possibility.
Quotes:
- Executive Producer and Andscape’s Editor-in-Chief Raina Kelley: “The story of Coach Brice, his Edna Karr Cougars, and their families in Algiers, paints an unflinching but always loving portrait of daily life in a community battered by race-based urban neglect and their relentless pursuit to save their children. We are pleased the Edna Karr Cougars family and community trusted us to tell their inspiring story in this series.”
- Director and Executive Producer Jackson Fager: “The Karr football community is made up of some of the best people I’ve ever met; this show captures the hope and inspiration they bring to the field and to each other despite unimaginable adversity.”
Algiers, America Screeners Available:
View the Algiers, America trailer here.
To request a screener for the entire series, please contact: Emily Maldonado emily@amalia-consulting.com
The Characters:
- Head football coach Brice Brown, an Edna Karr alum and Algiers native, is the team’s inspirational leader, counselor, father figure, and mentor.
- Algiers native and Edna Karr alum Ashonta Wyatt is the founder and Executive Director of Mother2Mother – a New Orleans non-profit organization against gun violence. She is a regular presence helping guide the student-athletes and the community.
- Coach Norman Randallis a powerful presence everywhere he goes. As Coach Brice’s trusted lieutenant, Coach Norm – as he is fondly known – puts the safety and maturation of every Cougar first and foremost.
- Team captain Tygee Hill was the number one high school defensive tackle as a junior. His family helps him navigate head-spinning recruitment process, as well as the streets of Algiers.
- After losing three friends in two years to gun violence, senior All-American wide receiver Aaron Anderson found renewed hope in the sport he loves and plays so well.
- Jawin Newman the top running back on the best team in Louisiana, plays with a bullet lodged in his leg.
- Highly rated AJ Samuels carries the team’s success in the throwing arc of his arm. Supported by loving and doting parents, the junior quarterback found the right balance between the pressure of being a star athlete and dealing with the specter of violence that looms over his community.
The Episodes: Following the premiere of episodes I and II on April 19, each of the remaining three episodes will stream exclusively on Hulu on successive Wednesdays.
- Episode I – “Long Live 5” (April 19): At Edna Karr High School in New Orleans, football coach Brice Brown and his Cougars have their eyes on a fifth straight Louisiana state championship. But a run for another title is shadowed by violence in Algiers, one of the city’s deadliest neighborhoods.
- Episode II – “Backs against the wall”: The Cougars battle for the state championship but immediately face the harsh realities of life in Algiers. Coach Brown and his staff work to keep their players off the streets and focused during a violent summer.
- Episode III – “A cool head wins a hot game” (April 26): As Hurricane Ida batters New Orleans, several players and coaches evacuate Algiers. The Cougars are dominant as ever when the season finally starts despite a key injury in the squad. In a close game against crosstown rivals, a new superstar emerges.
- Episode IV – “I’m not tired yet” (May 3): As the Cougars continue their dominance on the field, they navigate college offers and increasing violence. Thanksgiving offers a much-needed break from football, but then come the playoffs, and a tough opponent in the semifinals.
- Episode V – “Forever 48” (May 10): Hope and loss sit side by side in Algiers when the celebration of scholarships and graduation is tarnished by tragedy. But Coach Brown pushes forward, and the relentless pursuit of saving a child continues.
Credits:
- Executive producers: Raina Kelley, Jackson Fager, Jeff Fager, Connor Schell, and Libby Geist.
- Co-Executive producers: Marquis Daisy, Joe Langford, and Durado Brooks, Jr.
- Producers: Kristen Lappas and Raza Naqvi.
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