What if you were buried in your past? This is an intriguing new sci-fi series from Disney+

What is it about?

Dana, a young African-American woman and aspiring writer, moves to Los Angeles to pursue her project. Soon, she is violently drawn to the 19th-century plantation, to which she and her family are surprisingly and intimately connected.

A great lesson in American history

Adapted by Octavia E. Based on Butler’s 1979 novel of the same name, Blood Ties is an eight-part science fiction series. Playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins (Watchmen) is the showrunner of the series and signed on to adapt the series, which was close to his heart, as he explained to AlloCiné:

“He’s a favorite writer of my youth. I was fascinated by his world and his stories from an early age. But it wasn’t until 2010, when I read Kindred for the fifth time, that I was convinced it was going to be a great series.”

Through the story of African-American writer Dana James, Blood Ties invokes universal and very relevant themes. “It’s about racism, family and the history of the United States. It’s also about the effects of violence and the trauma that comes with the legacy of slavery.”he recalled.

Because Dana James makes a terrible discovery. The house he has just moved into in Los Angeles mysteriously takes him back in time to a close connection with his family, namely a 19th century plantation. A young woman cannot control her comings and goings between the past and the present.

While the flashbacks allow her to learn more about her family, they also try too hard and force her to lose track of time in the present world, in which she tries to bond with Kevin, a white man she met. restaurant. Therefore, the role of Dana is quite intense, and her interpreter Mallory Johnson was afraid before playing her:

“One of the main themes of the show is survival, which is about the strength of the family that Dana finds herself in. It’s a really difficult struggle for her. She reconnects with her past to better understand her present. I was scared. I have to be on this show at the beginning because the book is like a bible to my mother. . She’s also such an intense character to play.”

Under the guise of science fiction, Blood Ties depicts a dark period in American history that Mallory Johnson hopes viewers will learn a lot about: “I hope we can have the necessary conversations together to better understand this moment in the history of African Americans who experienced slavery and how we need to heal our wounds.”

Blood Ties, which aired on FX in the US in December, was canceled after its first season. Much to the chagrin of showrunner Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, who had hoped to get two or three seasons for his series, given that the first salvo of episodes covers only part of the novel. But the sequel will not be ported to the small screen.

Comments collected by Emmanuel Ittier.

The series Blood Ties is available on Disney+.