Still ploughing through the Apple TV originals, looking for discoveries to make, and landed on "Little America". Like many an anthology style series, the results were a slightly mixed bag but generally I enjoyed most of them.
The series tells a story about a first- or second-generation immigrant to the United States. The stories are true, or at the very least inspired by a true story. Despite the potential for pain, heartbreak and prejudice involved in emigration, the series often favours a more comedic or quirky plot and a positive, perhaps even uplifting ending.
I did fear, when I read the synopsis on the series before starting it that, despite being in Apple's comedy section, that it might perhaps be hard going. So, I was happy that this was not the case. They are usually quite quirky stories, such as in the episode "The Cowboy" where a Nigerian student comes to America to study and struggles to fit in, until he takes the plunge and develops the Cowboy persona that he's always wanted to be, since seeing Westerns as a child. Generally, the main cast members are not household names, with a desire to cast actors from as close to the region where the real person came from as possible. There are bigger names in the supporting cast though, such as Sherilyn Fenn, John Ortiz, Tom McCarthy and Shaun Toub. There is one episode that is a little stranger than the others "The Silence", which is largely dialogue free and stars Melanie Laurent as French woman on a silent retreat, who falls for Jack, played by Bill Heck without speaking to him.
It can, perhaps because of that eccentric side that the stories have, feel a bit slight. However, in a time when immigrants are increasingly demonised for political gain it's important to the positive stories about what people are really like.
