The Long Road Home (miniseries)

Last updated

The Long Road Home
The Long Road Home poster.jpg
Television release poster
Genre Drama
Created byMikko Alanne
Based onThe Long Road Home: A Story of War and Family
by Martha Raddatz
Starring
Composer Jeff Beal
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of episodes8
Production
Executive producers
Running time42 minutes
Production companies
Original release
Network National Geographic
ReleaseNovember 7 (2017-11-07) –
December 19, 2017 (2017-12-19)

The Long Road Home is an American drama miniseries created by Mikko Alanne. It is based on the 2007 book The Long Road Home: A Story of War and Family by Martha Raddatz, which tells the story of a U.S. Army unit during the first day of the siege of Sadr City in 2004. The series stars Michael Kelly, Jason Ritter, Kate Bosworth, Sarah Wayne Callies, Jeremy Sisto, Noel Fisher, Jon Beavers, E. J. Bonilla, Jorge Diaz, Ian Quinlan, Darius Homayoun and Patrick Schwarzenegger. The miniseries premiered on National Geographic on November 7, 2017. [1] [2]

Contents

Cast

Episodes

No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal release dateUS viewers
(millions)
1"Black Sunday, Part 1" Phil Abraham Mikko AlanneNovember 7, 2017 (2017-11-07)1.099 [3]
The First Cavalry Division launches a rescue mission when one of their platoons is ambushed by thousands of enemy insurgents in the City of Sadr, a Shīʿa-majority suburb district of Baghdad. As news break, the lives of the soldiers' families at Fort Hood faced with uncertainty.
2"Black Sunday, Part 2"Phil AbrahamLana ChoNovember 7, 2017 (2017-11-07)1.099 [3]
3"Into the Unknown" Mikael Salomon Alan DiFiore November 14, 2017 (2017-11-14)0.693 [4]
Denomy (Jason Ritter) leads the first rescue into Sadr City under heavy fire. It is clear the locals have been preparing for this ambush for weeks.
4"In the Valley of Death"Mikael SalomonMikko AlanneNovember 21, 2017 (2017-11-21)0.517 [5]
Before Staff Sergeant Robert Miltenberger’s (Jeremy Sisto) deployment, he believes to have a premonition that he will die in Iraq.
5"The Choice"Phil AbrahamMikko Alanne & Scott GoldNovember 28, 2017 (2017-11-28)0.727 [6]
Jassim’s troubled past is revealed and his allegiance is tested. Aguero is forced to make a choice that his has lasting psychological effects on platoon.
6"A City Called Heaven"Phil AbrahamMikko Alanne & Alan DiFioreDecember 5, 2017 (2017-12-05)0.593 [7]
Tomas Young (Noel Fisher) experiences active combat, setting of a long process of personal development in him with consequences to those around him.
7"Abandon Hope"Mikael SalomonAmy Louise Johnson & Kelly WilesDecember 12, 2017 (2017-12-12)0.553 [8]
8"Always Dream of Me"Phil AbrahamMikko AlanneDecember 19, 2017 (2017-12-19)0.611 [9]

Reception

Critical reception

Maureen Ryan writing for Variety gave the show a mixed review pointing out some strengths but perceiving it to be painful to watch and propagandistic in tone at times with major weaknesses throughout. She lauds the show's success at depicting the logistics of war and creating empathy for American soldiers and the ethical choices they were faced with during their missions in the US Invasion of Iraq. However, she finds that these intimate psychological portrayals of extreme situations lack well-written characterizations of the protagonists with whom one is meant to empathize. She does, however, laud the actors for their performances in these roles, locating the fault instead in the show’s writing. In Ryan’s view, dialogue is cumbersome and cliché and the scenes away from the battlefield are superfluous and needlessly stretch the show's runtime thereby sacrificing a lot of its watchability. Ryan observes the tone of the show to at times be highly propagandistic making the show itself almost feel like propaganda for either the United States Army or a "narrowly defined vision of America" whose ability to create any kind of poignant psychological effect however is foiled by the show's generic and predictable writing outside of combat scenes. According to her the show at times attempts to create empathy for the Iraqis and their experience of the invasion and subsequent massacres. These attempts fall short based on a lack of development for any single Iraqi character; a quality they supposedly share with most characters in the show. [10]

Awards and nominations

YearCeremonyCategoryRecipient(s)ResultRef.
2017 8th Critics' Choice Television Awards Best Limited Series The Long Road HomeNominated
2018MovieGuide AwardsEpiphany Prize®The Long Road HomeWon [11]
2018MovieGuide AwardsFaith & FreedomThe Long Road HomeWon [11]

References

  1. ↑ Petski, Denise (July 29, 2016). "Nat Geo Greenlights 'The Long Road Home' Event Series". Deadline. Retrieved November 6, 2017.
  2. ↑ Derek Lawrence (June 20, 2017). "Long Road Home: Watch the exclusive first trailer for Nat Geo miniseries". Ew.com. Retrieved November 6, 2017.
  3. 1 2 "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Tuesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 11.7.2017". Showbuzz Daily. November 8, 2017. Archived from the original on November 9, 2017. Retrieved November 22, 2017.
  4. ↑ "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Tuesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 11.14.2017". Showbuzz Daily. November 15, 2017. Archived from the original on November 16, 2017. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
  5. ↑ "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Tuesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 11.21.2017". Showbuzz Daily. November 22, 2017. Archived from the original on November 22, 2017. Retrieved December 9, 2017.
  6. ↑ "Updated with Broadcast: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Tuesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 11.28.2017". Showbuzz Daily. November 29, 2017. Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved December 21, 2017.
  7. ↑ "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Tuesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 12.5.2017". Showbuzz Daily. December 6, 2017. Archived from the original on December 7, 2017. Retrieved December 21, 2017.
  8. ↑ "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Tuesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 12.12.2017". Showbuzz Daily. December 13, 2017. Archived from the original on December 13, 2017. Retrieved January 5, 2018.
  9. ↑ "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Tuesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 12.19.2017". Showbuzz Daily. December 20, 2017. Archived from the original on December 21, 2017. Retrieved January 5, 2018.
  10. ↑ Ryan, Maureen (November 6, 2017). "TV Review: 'The Long Road Home' on National Geographic". Variety. Retrieved September 14, 2022.
  11. 1 2 "Winners Archives". Movieguide® Awards. Retrieved September 11, 2024.
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