Can I Get a Wu..Tang!

This past weekend, I finished watching the first season of Wu-Tang: An American Saga on Hulu. Being a Wu fan, I was a little skeptical of this show when it came out in the Fall. At the time, I didn't know that RZA not only produced the show, but also wrote the first few episodes. It was also co-produced by the members of Wu-Tang Clan. Knowing that it had not only the blessing but the input of the Clan was a game changer for me.
While this is biographical, it is a fictionalized history about the life of Clan members before they came together to be the monumental figures they would become. And while their story is totally fascinating, it's also very much a portrait of NYC in the mid-to-early 90s, the time when I moved to the city. Its portrayal of the city is dead on accurate. These were the last days of the NYC as the gritty town that it once was, but thankfully the show doesn't sensationalize it. As with everything Wu, it keeps it real.
The acting in this show is phenomenal. I can't think of another drama that has every featured a cast of young African-American actors, most of them unknowns in their first lead roles. It would've been so easy for this show to fall into parody, to fall flat on its face. It doesn't. It soars above the hype and the concept and delivers a show about characters the viewer cares about, sharing their hopes and dreams and feeling their struggle.