Guerrilla

Network: Showtime
Episodes: Six (hour)
Seasons: One

TV show dates: April 16, 2017 — May 14, 2017
Series status: Cancelled

Performers include: Freida Pinto, Babou Ceesay, Idris Elba, Rory Kinnear, Patrick Gibson, Nathaniel Martello-White, Daniel Mays, Denise Gough, Brandon Scott, Zawe Ashton, Bella Dayne, Wunmi Mosaku, and Nicholas Pinnock.

TV show description:
A period drama and love story, Guerrilla takes place in racially charged 1970s London. It follows Jas Mitra (Pinto) and Marcus Hill (Ceesay), a politically active couple and the rise of the British Black Panther movement.

Indian by birth, Jas is a nurse who works in a London hospital. Her father — a political activist — is serving a life sentence in India.

Intelligent and intense, Jas closely identifies with her father and values action over words. She is infuriated by the movement’s snail-like pace.

Moderate and bookish, Marcus is a revolutionary by choice rather than by nature. As a black British citizen of Nigerian descent, he knows all too well how living in this bigoted society has limited him.

Channeling his anger, Marcus uses his gift for words to inspire others to rise up and protest. Fighting to keep the movement peaceful strains his relationship with Jas.

Along with friends Fallon MacRae (Gough) and Julian Clarke (Pinnock), Marcus and Jas attend a rally to protest the 1971 Immigration Act. Jas invites Kent Fue (Elba) to come with them, but has different ideas about overcoming oppression.

Kent is Jas’s former boyfriend and still has feelings for her. This smart, well-connected community leader becomes the reluctant representative for non-violence, which puts him in conflict with Jas and her movement.

Well respected Omega (Ashton) is a forceful leader in the black community. Still, she doubts the white establishment will take her seriously. She recruits Kent as press spokesman for the more moderate wing of the movement, then works to keep him in line.

Jas and Marcus find their relationship and values tested, when during the rally, they help Dhari Bishop (Martello-White) escape prison, where he has been wasting away for a petty crime. His escape jumpstarts the movement.

While on the run with Jas and Marcus, Dhari finds himself disagreeing with his liberators on the movement’s next steps. They’re taken in by Leroy (Scott), Dhari’s quick-tempered American friend. He loses his patience as the police close in on them.

Eliette Bouchard (Dayne) is part of the Front de Liberation du Quebec. She refuses to be oppressed by men. She and Jas form a bond.

DCI Nicholas Pence (Kinnear) is relentless in his quest to crush the Black Power movement. This immigrant from Rhodesia has family problems and a secret relationship with Kenya (Mosaku), a sex worker. He strong-arms her into enlisting snitches from the black community.

DI Liam Cullen (Mays) works with Pence on the Black Power Desk. Although this good cop is loyal, he is disgusted by Pence’s bigotry. He is willing to challenge him on the best way to control the movement without further inflaming it.

At the outset, Fallow is deeply invested in the movement. After a tragedy at a rally, the police target her and use her Northern Irish heritage against her. When she’s pushed to the brink, will her loyalty hold?

Series Finale:
Episode #6
Infighting threatens to split the gang and jeopardize the final mission; Fallon colludes with the Black Power Desk; Dhari and Marcus fight for the alpha position; Marcus receives news.
First aired: May 14, 2017.

What do you think? Do you like the Guerrilla TV show? Should it have been cancelled or renewed for a second season?