Well done for a first episode. It wasn't perfect and did have its faults, but the casting is superb despite, perhaps, being a little inconsistent in terms of family lines (as a personal desire, it'd be nice to have consistency there for immediate families). But the actors and actresses themselves, do a great job capturing their character perspectives, particularly when one takes into consideration the plot, time period, and what would have been their ages. They also did fairly well with the writing they were given, which was lacking at times, but that, of course, wasn't their faults.
And for all of those making claims that this "turns Shakespeare on its head," or that it's pushing "political correctness" or pushing unnecessary diversity, such are knee jerk reactions from uneducated individuals who cry about authenticity, but usually have no problem with the fact that women are acting in the productions, even though authenticity would mean men playing the women's parts; it's selective outrage that's usually R.W.S.-based.
Please don't let negative reviews that have no legitimate criticisms of the show itself persuade you from watching it, especially if you're like me and have a personal interest in Shakespeare anyway which has pushed you to do your proper due diligence, leading to the truth of yes, there being Black people around at the time (as if Othello didn't make that obvious, anyway). For those still not convinced and in need of visuals, a page online titled, "People of Color in European Art History" (the pg is: medievalpoc) proves it, too.
Besides, let's be honest, if nothing else, it's a great breath of fresh air from what we usually see with such renditions. In Leo DiCaprio's version of R+J, for example, it was nice to see Harold Perrineau, Vondie Curtis-Hall, etc, but the production was still pretty boring in terms of lead character casting, and bland in terms of their performances. It is nice to see TV branching out to cover more period pieces, and as far as diversity goes, I hope things like this continue, as they promote what is a more genuine sense of authenticity and truth, ignoring what is popular belief about the time period in question.
So... based on the first episode, at least, I hope the show's given room to grow into another season or more, allowing it to continue improving and continuing to surprise me. Much like one of my fav shows, "Reign," I have a feeling this, too, will end up blossoming into a wonderful show if it's given a chance/time to.
