Little America is an American anthology streaming television series produced for Apple TV+. It premiered on January 17, 2020. The show was renewed for a second season in December 2019, prior to the series premiere.
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.”
Cast
The Manager
- Suraj Sharma as Kabir
- Eshan Inamdar as young Kabir
- Ishan Gandhi as preteen Kabir
- Eshan Inamdar as young Kabir
- Sherilyn Fenn as Laura Bush
The Jaguar
- Jearnest Corchado as Marisol
- Melinna Bobadilla as Gloria
- John Ortiz as Squash Coach
- Jamie Gore Pawlik as Charlotte Ansley
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
- Innocent Ekakitie as Brian
- Susan Basemera as Yuliana
- Phillip Luswata
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
Episodes
| No. | Title | Directed by | Teleplay by | Original release date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | “The Manager” | Deepa Mehta | Rajiv Joseph | January 17, 2020 |
| 2 | “The Jaguar” | Aurora Guerrero | Dan LeFranc | January 17, 2020 |
| 3 | “The Cowboy” | Bharat Nalluri | Story by : Janicza Bravo & Brain Salveson Teleplay by : Brian Salveson & Mfoniso Udofia |
January 17, 2020 |
| 4 | “The Silence” | Sian Heder | Sian Heder | January 17, 2020 |
| 5 | “The Baker” | Chioke Nassor | Casallina Kisakye | January 17, 2020 |
| 6 | “The Grand Prize Expo Winners” | Tze Chun | Tze Chun | January 17, 2020 |
| 7 | “The Rock” | Nima Nourizadeh | Lee Eisenberg & Emily V. Gordon & Kumail Nanjiani | January 17, 2020 |
| 8 | “The Son” | Stephen Dunn | Amrou Al-Kadhi & Stephen Dunn | January 17, 2020 |
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 is set to be written by Lee Eisenberg, Kumail Nanjiani, and Emily V. Gordon, all of whom will also executive produce alongside Alan Yang, Joshuah Bearman, and Joshua Davis. Arthur Spector will act as co-executive producer. Production companies involved with the series include Universal Television. On June 19, 2018, it was announced that Apple had given the production a series order. The show began filming in New Jersey in early 2019; 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.
In December 2019, Apple renewed the series for a second season.
Reception
On Rotten Tomatoes, the series has a 94% rating with an average score of 8.92 out of 10 based on 36 reviews. The site’s critical consensus is, “Joyous, heartfelt, and very human, Little America‘s thoughtful collection of immigrant tales is as inspirational as it is relatable.” On Metacritic, it has a score of 85 out of 100 based on 20 reviews, indicating “universal acclaim”.
Accolades
| Year | Award | Category | Recipient(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Imagen Foundation Awards | Best Primetime Program – Comedy | Little America | Nominated | |
| 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, Adrian Knight | Won | ||
| 2021 | Film Independent Spirit Awards | Best Male Performance in a New Scripted Series | Conphidance | Pending | |
| Best Male Performance in a New Scripted Series | Adam Ali | Pending | |||
| Best New Scripted Series | Little America | Pending | |||
| GLAAD Media Awards | Special Recognition | “The Son” | Pending | ||
| NAACP Image Awards | Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series | Lee Eisenberg, Kumail Nanjiani, Emily V, Gordon (for “The Rock”) | Pending | ||
| Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series | Rajiv Joseph (for “The Manager”) | Pending | |||
| Outstanding Directing in a Comedy Series | Aurora Guerrero (for “The Jaguar”) | Pending |