| Get Millie Black | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Crime drama |
| Created by | Marlon James |
| Written by | Marlon James |
| Directed by | Tanya Hamilton Annetta Laufer |
| Starring |
|
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of episodes | 5 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
|
| Production locations |
|
| Cinematography | Shabier Kirchner |
| Production company | Motive Pictures |
| Original release | |
| Network | |
| Release | 25 November (2024-11-25) – 23 December 2024 (2024-12-23) |
Get Millie Black is a British television series created by writer Marlon James in his first television series. Developed by Motive Pictures, it appears on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom and Max in the United States. The series premiered on 25 November 2024 on the latter.
Premise
Jamaican-born detective Millie-Jean Black is forced out of Scotland Yard, and she returns home to join the Jamaican Police Force. She and her partner, Curtis, investigate missing person cases, and their lives are up-ended when one of their investigations crosses paths with another that brought Scotland Yard detective Luke Holborn to Kingston.
Cast and characters
- Tamara Lawrance as Millie-Jean Black
- Joe Dempsie as Luke Holborn
- Gershwyn Eustache Jnr as Curtis
- Chyna McQueen as Hibiscus
- Nestor Aaron Absera as Corsica
- Peter John Thwaites as Freddie Somerville
Episodes
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Millie" | Tanya Hamilton | Marlon James | 25 November 2024 (2024-11-25) | |
| After decades in the U.K., feeling the pain of the death of her brother, followed by the death of a missing child she was searching for, Scotland Yard detective Millie Black decides to return home to Jamaica and join the Jamaican Police Force (JPF). Finding her transvestite brother Orville alive (their mother lied to Millie about his death) and now living as Hibiscus, Millie attempts to reconnect with her. Millie and her partner Curtis are assigned the case of Janet, a missing schoolgirl, that puts them on a collision course with U.K. Detective Luke Holborn, who is investigating the Sanguis Meridian gang, and the Somervilles, a powerful Kingston family connected with the gang. Freddie Somerville has agreed to be an informant for Holborn. | |||||
| 2 | "Hibiscus" | Tanya Hamilton | Marlon James | 1 December 2024 (2024-12-01) | |
| With Curtis in the hospital and Hibiscus recovering from an attack on the Gully, Millie throws herself into her work. Initially suspicious of Holborn, Millie is compelled to team up with him when Janet's case is connected to Freddie – leading to a disturbing discovery of potential human trafficking. Their investigation takes them to the Somerville estate, where they find the family (sans Freddie) and staff slaughtered. | |||||
| 3 | "Holborn" | Annetta Laufer | Theresa Ikoko & Marlon James | 9 December 2024 (2024-12-09) | |
| Millie reluctantly works with Holborn on their intertwined cases. Hibiscus and Millie find a new balance in their relationship, though Hibiscus decides to return to the Gully. Millie and Holborn finally locate Janet and Freddie at a ship dock attempting to leave for Cuba, where Holborn convinces a JPF sniper to kill Freddie, who has pulled a gun on Millie. It is revealed that Holborn is part of the effort to kill the Somervilles; a flashback shows him suffocating the Somerville patriarch, who had not succumbed to his bullet wounds at the house slaughter. | |||||
| 4 | "Janet" | Annetta Laufer | Lydia Adetunji | 16 December 2024 (2024-12-16) | |
| With Freddie's execution and not knowing whom to trust, Millie goes rogue to get to the bottom of the Somervilles' criminal enterprise before Holborn can interfere. Millie tries to protect Janet, but Janet escapes and contacts Holborn. Holborn tries to get to Millie by visiting Hibiscus in the Gully and threatening her life. Millie arrives, and Holborn executes an unsuspecting Janet. Millie and Holborn struggle with each other, and as Holborn is about to kill Millie, Hibiscus knifes Holborn in the back, who falls to the ground. Millie decides to impersonate another Jamaican woman – who was unaware she’s to be a trafficking victim – and flies to London to try to find Romeo. | |||||
| 5 | "Curtis" | Jean Luc Herbulot | Marlon James | 23 December 2024 (2024-12-23) | |
| In Kingston, Janet’s body is found and Curtis is arrested – revealing his homosexuality to the JPF – for lying about Millie's whereabouts. In London, Millie learns more details about the extensive human trafficking / slave labour operation lead by Lindo, then flees the traffickers; she goes to her former Scotland Yard partner, Meera, for investigative help. Holborn survives the knifing, finds Millie, and explains how Lindo recruited him with money, but pushed him to murder by threatening his family. Now working together to find Romeo, Holborn is killed by Natalie (Umi Meyers), the real identity of Lindo. Millie eventually rescues Romeo, breaking the trafficking case wide open, though Natalie escapes. Millie returns to Jamaica, is drummed out of the proven-inept JPF, and tells Hibiscus that she sold their house and will be staying in Jamaica. | |||||
Production
In December 2021, it was announced that Marlon James was writing and executive producing his first television series, Get Millie Black for HBO and Channel 4, produced by Motive Pictures. Shortly before the start of production, Tanya Hamilton was hired to direct, and starring roles were announced for Tamara Lawrance, Joe Dempsie, Gershwyn Eustache Jnr, and Chyna McQueen.
Filming began in May 2022, starting in Jamaica for about three months before moving to London.
Reception
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, Get Millie Black has an approval rating of 100% based on 13 reviews, with an average rating of 6.5/10. Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 79 out of 100 based on 10 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.
Notes
- ^ Name changed from the real Jamaica Constabulary Force in the TV series.
References
- White, Peter (7 December 2021). "Marlon James' Jamaica Detective Series 'Get Millie Black' Lands Series Order At HBO & UK's Channel 4". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 7 December 2021. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
- Mitovich, Matt Webb (6 May 2022). "Get Millie Black: HBO Drama About a Cop in Jamaica Casts Tamara Lawrance in Title Role, and Others". TVLine. Archived from the original on 18 May 2022. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
- Peru, Yasmine (6 May 2022). "Filming begins in Jamaica for Marlon James Get Millie Black". The Gleaner. Jamaica. Archived from the original on 10 May 2022. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
- Johnson, Richard (10 May 2022). "Cameras roll for Get Millie Black". Jamaica Observer. Archived from the original on 18 May 2022. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
- "Get Millie Black: Season 1". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 27 November 2024.
- "Get Millie Black: Season 1". Metacritic. Retrieved 27 November 2024.
External links
| Works by Marlon James | |
|---|---|
| Literature |
|
| Television |
|
- 2024 British television series debuts
- 2024 British television series endings
- 2020s British crime drama television series
- Channel 4 crime television shows
- Channel 4 television dramas
- HBO television dramas
- British English-language television shows
- Television series by Home Box Office
- Television shows filmed in Jamaica
- Television shows set in Jamaica
- Works by Marlon James