Based on the award-winning novel by author James McBride, “The Good Lord Bird” is told from the perspective of Henry “Little Onion” Shackleford, a newly freed teenager who joins abolitionist John Brown on a holy crusade to end slavery. Onion encounters Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman, and he finds himself as a part of the famous 1859 raid at Harpers Ferry. “The Good Lord Bird” is equal parts absurd and tragic as it spotlights the ever-changing racial, religious and gender roles that make up the American identity.

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There is absolutely nothing wrong with well-made popcorn entertainment – a film to take your mind off 2021, a series that does not make you work too hard, dig too deep. A good action flick, a mysterious whodunnit, there is room for them all.

Yet, after a few weeks of watching brilliant shows such as Sex Education, Only murders in the building, Katla, and even Hacks, I was ready to be interrogated, to be shocked, to be uncomfortable, and to marvel at the genius of the creators. Having recently watched the gripping First Reformed, I thought I would give another Ethan Hawke production a chance. Blimey. What a ride.

The Good Lord Bird is not for the easily triggered. The humour is utterly dark and will undoubtedly offend several viewers. Slurs are thrown around like confetti. The violence is over the top, yet evocatively beautiful. It reminds me of BlacKkKlansman.

It is a dense show, one you cannot binge. The poetic dialogue is laden with meaning. (I suggest switching on subtitles.) The vast number of characters are complex on paper, the performances even more so. The show tackles race, religion, and gender, but uses dark humour to draw you in without losing any of the depth, the tragedy. The humour, in fact, enhances the anguish.

The way gender is interrogated is clever. In the opening scene when Henry (Onion) is introduced, John Brown hears Henrietta and believes Henry to be a girl. For the rest of the series the young man is dressed up in various dresses. How people react to it, is where the questions are asked. Most people do not notice he is a boy. Those that do are split between the folks that don’t care and the folks that frown upon it. Then you have John Brown, who simply sees Onion, the being.

That brings me to this beautifully crafted relationship between a religious fanatic fighting the good fight with zeal and abundant violence, and a slave boy dressed as a girl who knows very little about the world. It is disarming for it is tender yet complex, misguided yet authentic. It is a career best for Hawke, and the launching pad for Joshua Caleb Johnson.

Catch it on Showmax.