American TV series or program
Saints & Strangers
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Genre
| Historical drama
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Written by
| Seth Fisher
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Directed by
| Paul A. Edwards
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Starring
| |
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Composer
| Hans Zimmer
(executive music producer)
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Country of origin
| United States
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Original language
| English
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No.
of episodes
| 2
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Executive producers
| Teri Weinberg
Seth Fisher
Eric Overmyer
Gina Matthews
Grant Scharbo
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Producer
| Peter McAleese
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Production locations
| South Africa
,
Africa
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Cinematography
| Balazs Bolygo
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Editors
| Steven Kemper
Steve Polivka
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Running time
| 192 minutes
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Production companies
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Network
| National Geographic Channel
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Release
| November 22
(
2015-11-22
)
?
November 23, 2015
(
2015-11-23
)
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Saints & Strangers
is an American drama television two-part miniseries. It tells the story of the
Mayflower
voyage and chronicles the
Pilgrims
' first year in America and the first
Thanksgiving
in 1621. The program aired on the
National Geographic Channel
[1]
and premiered on November 22, 2015.
[2]
Plot
[
edit
]
The miniseries chronicles the real story of the Pilgrims: their harrowing voyage from England to America aboard the
Mayflower
and settling in
Plymouth, Massachusetts
; vying to survive in the harsh climate; their struggles with the local tribes, and celebrating their first Thanksgiving with the natives, the
Pokanoket
people, in 1621.
Production
[
edit
]
The Indigenous characters in the miniseries speak
Western Abenaki
, a language similar to but distinct from that which would have been spoken by the
Wampanoag
of the time. National Geographic employed a
dialect coach
to teach the language to the actors.
[3]
The miniseries was shot at the
Cape Town Film Studios
in
South Africa
.
[4]
[5]
Cast
[
edit
]
Episodes
[
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]
Note:
The miniseries was aired in two parts consisting of two-hour episodes; however, the credits list four parts with four different writers.
Reception
[
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]
Saints & Strangers
received generally positive reviews from critics. Review aggregator
Rotten Tomatoes
gives the season a rating of 80%, based on 20 reviews, with an average rating of 6.9/10. The site's consensus states, "
Saints & Strangers
presents an immersive, action-fueled portrait of early American settler life, although it's slightly hampered by its somewhat shallow, didactic approach."
[6]
Metacritic
gives the miniseries a score of 70 out of 100, based on 14 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
[7]
Critics give the miniseries mixed reviews. Keith Uhlich of
The Hollywood Reporter
writes, "Not quite a turkey, pilgrim. Nat Geo's two-night miniseries about the first Thanksgiving is admirable in parts, though bland overall."
[8]
Maureen Ryan of
Variety
writes, "The serious intent of "Saints" trips it up at times; many characters remain one-dimensional, and some sequences are plodding or repetitive. That said, the mini features nuanced work in a number of the Native Americans portrayals?often the best-developed characters on the screen."
[4]
Wampanoag tribal representatives said that National Geographic asked them for linguistic assistance but severed their relationship when they asked to consult on their tribe's portrayal, instead writing the script with the distantly related language of West Abenaki. They objected to the portrayal of their tribe as violent and murderous, saying the incidents portrayed were at odds with documented historical facts.
[9]
Saints & Strangers
received three Critics Choice Award Nominations as well as a WGA Award nomination for Best Television Original Long Form for which it won.
References
[
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]
External links
[
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]
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Current
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Former
| 2000s debuts
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2010s debuts
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2020s debuts
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