HBO Show Confederate South Wins Civil War Backlash

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It's no secret that much of the world is enthralled with Game of Thrones, but apparently not every fan is willing to follow the HBO program's showrunners into their next venture.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, David Benioff and D.B. Weiss' next project at the premium cable network will be the drama Confederate, a series that takes place in a timeline in which the South won the Civil War. The upcoming show won't begin filming until after the final season of Game of Thrones airs, but already it's sparking plenty of controversy.

According to THR's report, the series will take place during the Third American Civil War, and follow different people on both sides of the Mason-Dixon line. In this universe, slavery in America is still very much legal, and the series will follow groups that include "slave hunters" and "freedom fighters."

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A great deal of people on Twitter, however, are already not too keen on the choice of topic. Some argue that this version of reality is actually a fantasy for many racists, and that depicting the world in such a way could fuel a dangerous fire. (Especially since the Confederate flag is still seen by many as a symbol of Southern heritage, despite the fact that it also represents a time in which slavery was a legal practice.)

Confederate: a "fantasy" that slavery has "evolved into a modern institution"? Sick, sick, sick. Glad my pirated HBO ends before it's out.
— Whitney LJ (@rhetcompwhitney) July 19, 2017

why would hbo ever need to make a show like confederate? adding extra and unnecessary assault scenes wasn't enough? y'all need slavery too? pic.twitter.com/7lbCndLPRn
— mandy (@jedikatara) July 19, 2017

A room of ppl @hbo decided they should make this. bc white people fantasizing about slavery being legal again is totes cool. #confederate https://t.co/FNTUsYtsLp
— Beth Sherouse (@DrGBeth) July 19, 2017

I love HBO and they make good series, but Confederate sounds like a god awful idea. Do they even know what's going on in this country?
— Michelle Swope (@RedheadfromMars) July 19, 2017

Between Black victims of police brutality, and a known white nationalist in the White House, this Confederate HBO series seems tone deaf.
— The Cali Nerd @SDCC (@TheCaliNerd) July 19, 2017

Is HBO really making a racist's wet dream with Confederate?? In this climate for black people??
— Sensei. (@SimplyChance_x) July 19, 2017

Despite the backlash, some fans are hopeful that the show will have something important to say, especially considering it will air on a network that brought us inclusive shows like The Wire and, more recently, Insecure.

Why are people assuming HBO, home of THE WIRE, TREME, INSECURE, and OZ, is going to do a disrespectful job with CONFEDERATE? That's silly.
— Bruce Labbate (@blabbate) July 19, 2017

Others liken the series to The Man In The High Castle, the Amazon series that depicts what the world might look like if the Nazis won World War II.

If done properly this HBO alt History Confederate series could very well be like Amazon's The Man in the High Castle
— Sammy Soca ?? (@AT_the_Model) July 19, 2017

The whole outcry against the confederate war TV show on #HBO is dumb, was no outcry to Man in The High Castle. Besides it's just TV.
— Liam Bell (@LiamJohnBell) July 19, 2017

Of course, TV doesn't exist in a bubble — it's a part of the patchwork that makes up our culture. Should HBO move forward with the project, viewers will have to decide themselves where Confederate fits in.

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