| Random Acts of Flyness | |
|---|---|
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| Genre | Sketch comedy |
| Created by | Terence Nance |
| Presented by | Terence Nance |
| Composers |
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| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 12(list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
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| Cinematography | Shawn Peters |
| Editors |
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| Running time | 30–41 minutes |
| Production companies |
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| Original release | |
| Network | HBO |
| Release | August 4, 2018 (2018-08-04) – December 24, 2022 (2022-12-24) |
Random Acts of Flyness is an American late-night sketch comedy television series created by Terence Nance that premiered on August 4, 2018 on HBO. Additionally, Nance appears in each episode of the series which he also wrote, directed, and executive produced. On August 20, 2018, it was announced that the series had been renewed for a second season. Season 2 premiered in December 2022.[1]
Random Acts of Flyness is described as a "fluid, mind-melting stream-of-conscious response to the contemporary American mediascape" in which each episode will "feature interconnected vignettes that makes the series a unique mix of vérité documentary, musical performances, surrealist melodrama and humorous animation."[2]
On January 29, 2018, it was announced that HBO had given the production a series order for a first season consisting of six episodes. The series was created by Terence Nance who will also write, direct, and executive produce. Producers are reportedly looking to cast a diverse group of performers with black actors eyed for many of the roles. Production companies involved in the series include MVMT.[3][4][5]
On July 2, 2018, it was announced that the series would premiere on August 4, 2018. It was also reported that additional executive producers would include Tamir Muhammad, Jamund Washington, Kishori Rajan, Kelley Robins Hicks, Chanelle Aponte Pearson, Ravi Nandan, and John Hodges and that A24 had been added as an additional production company involved with the series.[2] On August 20, 2018, it was announced that HBO had renewed the series for a second season.[6][7][8]
Alongside the announcement of the series premiere, it was confirmed that Terence Nance would appear in all six episodes of the first season with guests including Whoopi Goldberg, Dominique Fishback, Gillian Jacobs, Jon Hamm, Ntare Guma Mwine, Adepero Oduye, Natalie Paul, Lakeith Stanfield, Tonya Pinkins, and Paul Sparks.[2]
On July 2, 2018, the first promo for the series was released.[2]
| Season | Episodes | Originally aired | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First aired | Last aired | |||
| 1 | 6 | August 4, 2018 (2018-08-04) | September 8, 2018 (2018-09-08) | |
| 2 | 6 | December 10, 2022 (2022-12-10) | December 24, 2022 (2022-12-24) | |
| No. overall | No.in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | U.S. viewers (millions) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "What Are Your Thoughts on Raising Free Black Children?" | Terence Nance, Frances Bodomo, & Shaka King | Terence Nance & Jamund Washington | August 4, 2018 (2018-08-04) | 0.153[9] | |
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| 2 | 2 | "Two Piece and a Biscuit" | Terence Nance, Frances Bodomo, Darius Clark Munroe, Naima Ramos-Chapman, & Jamund Washington | Terence Nance, Jamund Washington, Frances Bodomo, Naima Ramos-Chapman, Nelson Nance, & Shaka King | August 11, 2018 (2018-08-11) | 0.123[10] | |
| 3 | 3 | "They Got Some Sh*t That'll Blow Out Our Back" | Terence Nance, Mariama Diallo, Darius Clark Monroe, Naima Ramos-Chapman, & Jamund Washington | Terence Nance, Jamund Washington, Frances Bodomo, Naima Ramos-Chapman, Mariama Diallo, Darius Clark Monroe, Nelson Nance, & Shaka King | August 18, 2018 (2018-08-18) | 0.168[11] | |
| 4 | 4 | "Items Outside the Shelter But Within Reach" | Terence Nance, Mariama Diallo, Darius Clark Monroe, Naima Ramos-Chapman, & Jamund Washington | Terence Nance, Jamund Washington, Frances Bodomo, Naima Ramos-Chapman, Mariama Diallo, & Darius Clark Monroe | August 25, 2018 (2018-08-25) | 0.163[12] | |
| 5 | 5 | "Tried to Tell My Therapist About My Dreams / MARTIN HAD A DREEEEAAAAM" | Terence Nance, Mariama Diallo, Darius Clark Monroe, Naima Ramos-Chapman, & Jamund Washington | Terence Nance, Jamund Washington, Mariama Diallo, & Darius Clark Monroe | September 1, 2018 (2018-09-01) | 0.132[13] | |
| 6 | 6 | "They Won't Go When I Go" | Terence Nance, Frances Bodomo, Mariama Diallo, Naima Ramos-Chapman, & Jamund Washington | Terence Nance, Jamund Washington, Frances Bodomo, & Naima Ramos-Chapman | September 8, 2018 (2018-09-08) | 0.110[14] | |
| No. overall | No.in season | Title [15] | Directed by | Written by [16] | Original air date [15] | U.S. viewers (millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 1 | "First Dimension: The Meaning of Your Name" | Terence Nance | Mariama Diallo & Nana Mensah & Nelson Nance & Jamund Washington & Terence Nance & Kelley Robins Hicks & Darius C. Monroe | December 10, 2022 (2022-12-10) | N/A |
| 8 | 2 | "Second Dimension: Finna Hafta Teach You Swine Lovers" | Naima Ramos-Chapman | Mariama Diallo & Nana Mensah & Nelson Nance & Jamund Washington & Terence Nance & Kelley Robins Hicks & Darius C. Monroe | December 10, 2022 (2022-12-10) | N/A |
| 9 | 3 | "Third Dimension: G/d Does Not Submit & Other Applicab" | Jenn Nkiru | Mariama Diallo & Nana Mensah & Nelson Nance & Jamund Washington & Terence Nance & Kelley Robins Hicks & Darius C. Monroe | December 17, 2022 (2022-12-17) | N/A |
| 10 | 4 | "Fourth Dimension: Spacetime/bodyspirit" | Andrew Thomas Huang | Mariama Diallo & Nana Mensah & Nelson Nance & Jamund Washington & Terence Nance & Kelley Robins Hicks & Darius C. Monroe | December 17, 2022 (2022-12-17) | N/A |
| 11 | 5 | "Fifth Dimension: The Parable of the Pirate & the King" | Nuotama Bodomo | Mariama Diallo & Nana Mensah & Nelson Nance & Jamund Washington & Terence Nance & Kelley Robins Hicks & Darius C. Monroe | December 24, 2022 (2022-12-24) | N/A |
| 12 | 6 | "Sixth Dimension: All Possibilities of Together & Apar" | Jenn Nkiru | Mariama Diallo & Nana Mensah & Nelson Nance & Jamund Washington & Terence Nance & Kelley Robins Hicks & Darius C. Monroe | December 24, 2022 (2022-12-24) | N/A |
The series has been met with a positive response from critics since its premiere, and has gone on to win a 2018 Peabody Award.[17] On the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds a 100% approval rating with an average rating of 8.45 out of 10 based on 25 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "Random Acts of Flyness' poignant political poetry plays in harmony with its frenetic absurdist humor to create a singular musical television experience."[18] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the series a score of 83 out of 100 based on 7 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[19]
In a positive review, The Los Angeles Times's Robert Lloyd offered the series praise saying, "Its meanings are sometimes obscure and sometimes obvious, nearly to the point of being polemical, and most often somewhere in between. But its surfaces are always interesting and splendidly executed. Even the glitches are artfully placed."[20] In a similarly positive critique, The Hollywood Reporter's Robyn Bahr described the series as "a beautiful sensory overload" and commended the series visual look saying, "the protean barrage of imagery and gonzo sound design overwhelms the senses. Once your brain gets used to its staccato rhythm, however, you settle in for the ride. Although I couldn't quite process all the nuances within the moment, I still found myself nodding along (and even dancing along) all the same."[21] In another favorable assessment, Variety's Caroline Framke commended the series' various segments saying, "they all reveal incisive truths about what it means to be black in America — or actually, "reveal" isn’t quite the right word, and neither is "show." Instead Acts of Flyness wants to make its (white) audience feel what it means to be black in America."[22]
