David Makes Man

David Makes Man is an American coming-of-age drama television series that premiered on August 14, 2019, on OWN. In December 2019, OWN renewed the series for a second season which premiered on June 22, 2021.

Premise

David Makes Man follows a 14-year-old named David "from the projects who is haunted by the death of his friend and relied on by his hardworking mother to find a way out of poverty."

Cast and characters

Main

Akili McDowell as David
*Kwame Patterson as Adult David
Alana Arenas as Gloria, David's and JG's mother
Phylicia Rashad as Dr. Woods-Trap
Nathaniel Logan McIntyre as Seren
* Kyle Beltran as Adult Seren
Isaiah Johnson as Sky
Ade Chike Torbert as Raynan
Jordan Bolger as Shinobi
Cayden K. Williams as JG, David's younger brother and Gloria's younger son
* Arlen Escarpeta as Adult JG
Travis Coles as Mx. Elijah
Daniel Augustin as Eman
Gillian Williams as Jessica Kelly
Ruben Santiago-Hudson as Dr. Bree
Elvis Nolasco as Tio-Teo
Randy Gonzalez as Mr. Lopez
Lela Rochon as Alma
Trace Lysette as Femi
Liza Colón-Zayas as Principal Fallow
Juanita Jennings as Mrs. Hertrude
Lindsey Blackwell as Marissa
* Erica Luttrell as Adult Marissa
Solomon Valdez as Willie Derrick
Teshi Thomas as Tare
* Aba Arthur as Adult Tare
Nick Creegan as Desmond
Kimaya Naomi as Shella
* Zsané Jhé as Adult Shella
Logan Rozos as Star Child
Tony Plana as Joe Padilla
Brittany S. Hall as Nicole
Bobbi Baker as Robin
Patrice Arenas as Denise
Trinity Cidel as Trenise
Brandi Huzzie as Trisha
Rodney Gardiner as Corey Roberts
Janmarco Santiago as Elan
Episodes

Series overview

Season 1 (2019)

Season 2 (2021)

Production

Development

On August 16, 2017, it was reported that Oprah Winfrey Network had given the production a straight-to-series order created by Tarell Alvin McCraney.
On June 26, 2018, it was announced that Dee Harris-Lawrence will be the showrunner and set to serve as an executive producer along with Tarell Alvin McCraney, Mike Kelley, Melissa Loy, Michael B. Jordan, and Oprah Winfrey. Production companies involved with the series were slated to include Warner Horizon Scripted Television, Page Fright, and Outlier Productions. The series was set to premiere on August 14, 2019. The pilot episode was premiered at South by Southwest on March 10, 2019. On December 19, 2019, OWN renewed the series for a second season. On June 29, 2020, HBO Max acquired the streaming rights for the series which was debuted on July 16, 2020. The series' producer Dee Harris-Lawrence most recently signed an overall deal with Warner Bros. Television Studios. The second season premiered on June 22, 2021.

Casting

In June 2018, it was announced that Akili McDowell, Phylicia Rashad, Nathaniel Logan McIntyre, Isaiah Johnson, Ade Chike Torbert, Jordan Bolger, Cayden K. Williams, and Travis Coles are cast as series regulars. In August 2018, Alana Arenas has been cast as a series regular while Gillian Williams, Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Elvis Nolasco, and Randy Gonzalez are cast in recurring roles. On October 25, 2018, Lela Rochon, Trace Lysette, Liza Colón-Zayas, Juanita Jennings, Lindsey Blackwell, Solomon Valdez, Teshi Thomas, and newcomers Nick Creegan, Kimaya Naomi and Logan Rozos have joined the series in recurring roles. On August 6, 2020, Kwame Patterson and Arlen Escarpeta were cast in starring roles for the second season. On December 8, 2020, Tony Plana, Brittany S. Hall, Erica Luttrell, Zsané Jhé, Bobbi Baker, Patrice Arenas, Trinity Cidel, Brandi Huzzie, Rodney Gardiner, and Janmarco Santiago joined the cast in recurring roles for the second season.

Filming

Production began in the summer of 2018 in Orlando, Florida.

Reception

Critical response

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds an approval rating of 100% based on 23 reviews, with an average rating of 8.98/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Powerful, beautiful, and like nothing else on TV, David Makes Man blends dreamy aesthetics with an empathetically crafted story to create a truly unique viewing experience." On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 81 out of 100, based on 11 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".