Robyn Hood

Last updated
Robyn Hood
RobynHoodTitleCard.jpg
Genre Action drama
Created by Director X
Written byChris Roberts
StarringJessye Romeo
Nykeem Provo
Ksenia Kharlamova
Ian Matthews
Country of originCanada
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes8
Production
ProducerBoat Rocker
Running time60 minutes
Production companies Corus Entertainment
Boat Rocker Studios
Eleventh Hour Films
Luti Media
Original release
Network Global Television Network
ReleaseSeptember 27 (2023-09-27) –
November 15, 2023 (2023-11-15)

Robyn Hood is a Canadian action drama television series described as a modernized reimagining [1] [2] of the English legend of Robin Hood. Created by music video director and filmmaker Director X (Julien Christian Lutz), the series stars Jessye Romeo, Nykeem Provo, Idrissa Sanogo, and Daniela Kharlamova. It airs on the Global Television Network and stream on StackTV.

Contents

Premiering in September 2023 with an eight-episode run, [2] [3] the series follows the young activist rapper Robyn and her anti-authoritarian masked hip-hop band The Hood living in a working class area in the fictional city of New Nottingham as they battle with "the corrupt elite" including a property developer and The Sheriff. Corus Entertainment executive Troy Reeb described the series as a "dark and gritty take", featuring "a heroine challenging the status quo and fighting oppression". [1]

In June 2024, it was announced that the series was cancelled due to low ratings. [4]

Cast

Development and production

The series began production on June 20, 2022, and was filmed in the Toronto and Hamilton areas of Canada. It was produced by Corus Entertainment in partnership with Boat Rocker, Creative Rain, Eleventh Hour Films and Luti Media. [2] [5]

The decision to change the character of Robin Hood from a man to a young woman was made in 2019 during the development process, when a sizzle reel was presented by Director X to Kathleen Meek, manager of original content at Corus Entertainment, who was said to have liked the idea. Meek said it was "a massive priority for us to get this made", stating that "everything about it — the team, the authenticity — felt like such a fresh way into the Robin Hood legend". [6]

According to Appleyard, the series was entirely financed out of Canada. Funding sources include the Canada Media Fund, Ontario regional tax credits and Corus, who provided a license fee. The writers room for the series was initially in-person but switched to virtual when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. [6]

While the protagonists are black and the antagonists are primarily white, [7] Director X stated that the show was not written "with any race in mind". He elaborated by calling it an "all-black show", but said it was not about "being black". He said it was focused on "rich versus poor... we have gay characters and black characters and all this stuff. But it's not what Robyn Hood is about. They just exist in this world, like we all exist in the normal world... It’s essentially a superhero show." [6]

Reception

As of October 26, 2023, Robyn Hood scored 1/10 on IMDb. [8] The show's creator accused online critics of having rating-bombed the series due to the fact that a black woman was cast as Robin Hood. [9] [10]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robin Hood</span> Heroic outlaw in English folklore

Robin Hood is a legendary heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature, theatre, and cinema. He stole from the rich and gave to the poor. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions of the legend, he is depicted as being of noble birth, and in modern retellings he is sometimes depicted as having fought in the Crusades before returning to England to find his lands taken by the Sheriff. In the oldest known versions, he is instead a member of the yeoman class. He is traditionally depicted dressed in Lincoln green.

<i>The Adventures of Robin Hood</i> 1938 film by Michael Curtiz and William Keighley

The Adventures of Robin Hood is a 1938 American epic swashbuckler film from Warner Bros. Pictures. It was produced by Hal B. Wallis and Henry Blanke, directed by Michael Curtiz and William Keighley, and written by Norman Reilly Raine and Seton I. Miller. It stars Errol Flynn as the legendary Saxon knight Robin Hood, who in Richard I's absence in the Holy Land during the Crusades, fights back as the outlaw leader of a rebel guerrilla band against Prince John and the Norman lords oppressing the Saxon commoners. The cast also includes Olivia de Havilland, Basil Rathbone, Claude Rains, Patric Knowles, Eugene Pallette, and Alan Hale.

<i>Robin of Sherwood</i> British television drama series (1984–1986)

Robin of Sherwood is a British television series, based on the legend of Robin Hood. Created by Richard Carpenter, it was produced by HTV in association with Goldcrest, and ran from 28 April 1984 to 28 June 1986 on the ITV network. In the United States it was shown on the premium cable TV channel Showtime and, later, on PBS. It was also syndicated in the early 1990s under the title Robin Hood. The show starred Michael Praed and Jason Connery as two different incarnations of the title character. Unlike previous adaptations of the Robin Hood legend, Robin of Sherwood combined a gritty, authentic production design with elements of real-life history, 20th-century fiction, and pagan myth. Robin of Sherwood has been described by historian Stephen Knight as "the most innovative and influential version of the myth in recent times". The series is also notable for its musical score by Clannad, which won a BAFTA award. A video game adaptation, Robin of Sherwood: The Touchstones of Rhiannon, was released in 1985. The series attained cult status worldwide.

<i>Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves</i> 1991 film

Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves is a 1991 American action adventure film based on the English folk tale of Robin Hood and loosely set in the 12th century. Directed by Kevin Reynolds and written by Pen Densham and John Watson, the film stars Kevin Costner as Robin Hood, Morgan Freeman as Azeem, Christian Slater as Will Scarlett, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio as Marian, and Alan Rickman as the Sheriff of Nottingham.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guy of Gisbourne</span> English folklore character from Robin Hood

Sir Guy of Gisbourne is a character from the Robin Hood legends of English folklore. He first appears in "Robin Hood and Guy of Gisborne", where he is an assassin who attempts to kill Robin Hood but is killed by him. In later depictions, he has become a romantic rival to Robin Hood for Maid Marian's love.

<i>Robin Hood: Men in Tights</i> 1993 film by Mel Brooks

Robin Hood: Men in Tights is a 1993 adventure comedy film and a parody of the Robin Hood story. The film was produced and directed by Mel Brooks, co-written by Brooks, Evan Chandler, and J. David Shapiro based on a story by Chandler and Shapiro, and stars Cary Elwes, Richard Lewis, and Dave Chappelle in his film debut. It includes frequent comedic references to previous Robin Hood films, particularly Prince of Thieves, and the 1938 Errol Flynn adaptation The Adventures of Robin Hood. Brooks himself had previously created the short-lived sitcom When Things Were Rotten in the mid-1970s, which also spoofed the Robin Hood legend.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maid Marian</span> Love interest of Robin Hood in English folklore

Maid Marian is the heroine of the Robin Hood legend in English folklore, often taken to be his lover. She is not mentioned in the early, medieval versions of the legend, but was the subject of at least two plays by 1600. Her history and circumstances are obscure, but she commanded high respect in Robin’s circle for her courage and independence as well as her beauty and loyalty. For this reason, she is celebrated by feminist commentators as one of the early strong female characters in English literature.

<i>Douglas Fairbanks in Robin Hood</i> 1922 film by Allan Dwan

Robin Hood is a 1922 silent adventure film starring Douglas Fairbanks and Wallace Beery. It was the first motion picture ever to have a Hollywood premiere, held at Grauman's Egyptian Theatre on October 18, 1922. The movie's full title, under which it was copyrighted, is Douglas Fairbanks in Robin Hood. It was one of the most expensive films of the 1920s, with a budget estimated at one million dollars. The film was a smash hit and generally received favorable reviews.

<i>Conquests of the Longbow: The Legend of Robin Hood</i> 1991 video game

Conquests of the Longbow: The Legend of Robin Hood is a graphic adventure game designed by Christy Marx and published by Sierra On-Line in 1991. It is the second and final part of the Conquests series, which begins with Conquests of Camelot: The Search for the Grail. It features VGA graphics and Sierra's standard icon-driven interface first seen in King's Quest V.

Robin Hood is a Japanese anime series produced by Tatsunoko Production, and NHK. In this version, Robin and his allies are mostly pre-teens.

"Robin Hood and the Golden Arrow" is an English folk song, part of the Robin Hood canon. It features an archery competition for a golden arrow that has long appeared in Robin Hood tales, but it is the oldest recorded one where Robin's disguise prevents his detection.

<i>The New Adventures of Robin Hood</i> American-French television series

The New Adventures of Robin Hood is an action adventure television series that premiered on January 13, 1997, on TNT. The show was based on the legend of Robin Hood, the English folk hero, and was filmed in Vilnius, Lithuania. It was produced and distributed by Dune Productions, M6, and Warner Bros. International.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Merry Men</span> Outlaw group following Robin Hood

The Merry Men are the group of outlaws who follow Robin Hood in English literature and folklore. The group appears in the earliest ballads about Robin Hood and remains popular in modern adaptations.

<i>Robin Hood</i> (2010 film) Action-adventure film by Ridley Scott

Robin Hood is a 2010 historical action-adventure film based on the Robin Hood legend, directed by Ridley Scott and starring Russell Crowe, Cate Blanchett, William Hurt, Mark Strong, Mark Addy, Oscar Isaac, Danny Huston, Eileen Atkins, and Max von Sydow.

Back to Sherwood is a British-Canadian television series that originally aired on CBC Television in 1998. Created by Ellis Iddon and Phil Meagher of Winklemania Productions (UK). The theme music was also written and performed by Ellis Iddon and Phil Meagher.

The Sheriff of Nottingham is the main antagonist in the legend of Robin Hood. He is generally depicted as an unjust tyrant who mistreats the local people of Nottinghamshire, subjecting them to unaffordable taxes. Robin Hood fights against him, stealing from the rich, and the Sheriff, in order to give to the poor; it is this characteristic for which Robin Hood is best known. The Sheriff is considered the archenemy of Robin Hood, as he is the most recurring enemy of the well-known outlaw.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Friar Tuck</span> Character from the Robin Hood folklore

Friar Tuck is one of the Merry Men, the band of heroic outlaws in the folklore of Robin Hood.

<i>Robin Hood</i> (2018 film) Action film directed by Otto Bathurst

Robin Hood is a 2018 American action-adventure film directed by Otto Bathurst and written by Ben Chandler and David James Kelly, from a story by Chandler. It is a modern retelling of the Robin Hood legend, and follows his training by John to steal from the Sheriff of Nottingham. The film stars Taron Egerton as Robin, and features Jamie Foxx, Ben Mendelsohn, Eve Hewson, Tim Minchin and Jamie Dornan in supporting roles. Returning home to England to learn the corrupt Sheriff of Nottingham (Mendelsohn) has seized his family estate, aristocrat Robin of Loxley joins forces with Friar Tuck (Minchin) and Little John (Foxx) – a fierce Arabian warrior who wants to put an end to the Crusades. Armed with arrows and dubbed Robin Hood, Loxley leads a band of oppressed rebels in a daring plan to rob the Sheriff of his money and take away his power.

<i>Sherwood</i> (2019 TV series) Animated television series

Sherwood is an animated science fiction streaming television series created by Diana Manson and Megan Laughton that premiered on March 6, 2019, on YouTube Premium. It is a new telling of the Robin Hood legend. Some reviewers have noted the focus on socioeconomic class, as Robin lives among "the impoverished 99%," leading rebels who will overthrow the Sheriff, who lives in an Upper City housing "the wealthy citizens of Sherwood." Others also noted the focus on class difference, with Robin and her comrades trying to "overcome inequality and fight for justice." Apart from this, others said the series has a cyberpunk feeling to it.

References

  1. 1 2 Szklarski, Cassandra (June 7, 2023). "Global touts updated takes on 'Matlock,' 'Robyn Hood' as it details fall/winter plans". City News. Retrieved August 27, 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 "GLOBAL ORIGINAL SCRIPTED SERIES ROBYN HOOD BEGINS PRODUCTION JUNE 20". Newswire. June 13, 2022. Retrieved August 27, 2023.
  3. ↑ Romualdi, Melissa (August 23, 2023). "Global Announces Fall 2023 Premiere Dates For 'Survivor', 'Robyn Hood', 'Yellowstone' & More". ET Canada. Archived from the original on August 23, 2023. Retrieved August 27, 2023.
  4. ↑ Gheciu, Alex Nino (2024-06-05). "New Pamela Anderson, Bryan Baeumler shows among Corus' fall/winter plans". The Canadian Press. Retrieved 2024-07-04.
  5. ↑ Nolan, Dan (July 29, 2022). "New take on Robin Hood legend filming in Hamilton". The Hamilton Spectator. Retrieved August 27, 2023.
  6. 1 2 3 Ahearn, Victoria (June 21, 2023). "How Director X built his merry band for Robyn Hood". Playback. Retrieved August 27, 2023.
  7. ↑ "Director X on swapping gender and race for an updated morality tale in 'Robyn Hood'". The Canadian Press. September 26, 2023. Retrieved September 26, 2023.
  8. ↑ "Robyn Hood é uma das piores séries de sempre". Eurogamer.pt (in Portuguese). 2023-10-10. Retrieved 2023-10-19.
  9. ↑ Columnist, Briony Smith Contributing (2023-10-05). "Director X remains undaunted after 'Robyn Hood' troll attack: 'I hope the rest of y'all catch up'". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2023-10-19.
  10. ↑ Acquisto, Stella (2023). "Toronto director calls out comments on his new take on Robin Hood story". City News. Retrieved 2023-10-19.
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