Lovecraft Country Season 1 Review: One Of The Best HBO Series EVER

Yes, I know "Game Of Thrones" is the granddaddy of them all. "Westworld", "True Blood", "The Sopranos", "Watchmen" and "Chernobyl" are also some of the best. But "Lovecraft Country" is right up there with them. Yes, it's THAT good. The show is based on a book by Matt Ruff and was adapted for the screen by Misha Green. The series is executive produced by Jordan Peele, JJ Abrams, Ben Stephenson and Green.

It's the 1950s. Racism is rampant (especially in the Jim Crow South). Korean War vet Atticus "Tic" Freeman (Jonathan Majors) heads back to his hometown of Chicago. Tic is a big sci fi fan. We see in the opening scene an imagined fight with UFOs, War Of The Worlds tripods, and a alien woman who comes down from her spaceship to embrace him. Tic reconnects with Uncle George (Courtney B Vance) who is doing a travel guide highlighting safe places African Americans can visit. Tic's father Montrose has gone missing but left Tic a letter as a clue to his whereabouts, They are looking for a place called Ardham Massachusetts (but it's not on any map). Uncle George and Letitia "Leti" (Jurnee Smollett) join Tic on an adventure. And we're off to the races.

Over ten episodes, "Lovecraft Country" explores different aspects of the show's central mystery as well as giving each cast member time to shine. The first episode definitely gets you hooked as Tic, Leti and Uncle George have to escape racists in "sundown towns" in order to get to a mysterious mansion. We also meet some crazy monsters (they're all eyeballs and fangs). I think they are called shoggoths. There's also a space odyssey, a visit with Josephine Baker, a trip to war torn Korea, the Tulsa race massacre, a haunted house and an Indiana Jones type adventure. There's pretty much something of interest for everyone.

A mysterious woman named Christina Braithwhite is able to control the shoggoths with a whistle. I dont think that woman can be trusted. We also learn more about several other characters. There's Leti's sister. Ruby as well as George's wife (Hippolyta) and their daughter Dee. We see a flashback to Tic's time in the Army where he met Ji-Ah.

I am hesitant to say too much about the story (so as not to ruin the fun). I purposefully did not read anything about the series ahead of time. Go in cold turkey if possible. If you're a fan of such shows as "The Twilight Zone" or even the more socially aware aspects of "Star Trek". this might be the series for you

Grade: 5 Monsters (out of 5). Perfection! "Lovecraft Country" is one of the best HBO series EVER. Jordan Peele and company takes the problematic works of a virolent racist (HP Lovecraft) and combined it with real life racism to make a truly remarkable work. Lovecraft is making a bit of a comeback this year. We have the movie "Colors Out Of Space" with Nicholas Cage. NetFlix's "Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina" tackles the Eldritch terrors in it's final season. While all three are excellent, "Lovecraft Country" is by far the best. And that's saying something given that the source material is notoriously difficult to adapt to screen. The cinematography is beauty. The actors and story lines are phenomenal. The CGI is excellent (those are some crazy monsters). Try to go into the show without reading anything about it ahead of time. You'll be glad you did.