HBO bungles unveiling of slavery series

HBO’s programming chief said the cable channel erred in how it unveiled plans for a series envisioning modern Southern slavery, but defended Confederate against sharp criticism it drew on social media.

“I would file this under, ‘hindsight is 20-20,’” programming president Casey Bloys said Wednesday. HBO was misguided in expecting “we would be able to announce an idea that is so sensitive and requires so much care and thought on the part of the producers in a press release.”

If HBO got a do-over, it would give producers the chance to publicly detail why they wanted to do the series, an understanding HBO executives had gained before green-lighting the series from Game of Thrones’ masterminds David Benioff and D.B. Weiss.

Benioff and Weiss, who are white, will work with Malcolm Spellman (Empire, the forthcoming Foxy Brown) and Nichelle Tramble Spellman (Justified, The Good Wife), husband-and-wife TV veterans who both are black and who will be fellow executive producers and writers on the new series.

Confederate will take place in an alternate timeline where the Southern states have successfully seceded from the Union, forming a nation in which legalized slavery has been modernized.

It’s important to draw a line between America today and its past and try to advance the discussion on race relations, Bloys told a TV critics’ meeting Wednesday. He said he’s placing his faith in the producers and their passion.

He said the more producers can weigh in about why the project is important, the more it will make sense. While people may still not like the idea of the show, at least they’ll understand the motivation behind it, Bloys said. “All we ask is that people judge the final product.”