American Soul: Season 1

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 4 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally unfavorable reviews based on 9 Ratings

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3.0	User Score Generally unfavorable reviews based on 9 Ratings

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American Soul

Now Playing: American Soul

Season Details & Credits

BET | Season Premiere Date: February 5, 2019

Summary: Set in the 1970s, the series takes a look at the life of Don Cornelius (Sinqua Walls) and the people who helped make Soul Train, including the dancers, the crew and musicians such as Gladys Knight (Kelly Rowland), Martha Reeves (K. Michelle), Diana Ross (Michelle Williams), Rufus Thomas (Bobby Brown) and Ike and Tina Turner (McKinleySet in the 1970s, the series takes a look at the life of Don Cornelius (Sinqua Walls) and the people who helped make Soul Train, including the dancers, the crew and musicians such as Gladys Knight (Kelly Rowland), Martha Reeves (K. Michelle), Diana Ross (Michelle Williams), Rufus Thomas (Bobby Brown) and Ike and Tina Turner (McKinley Freeman and Gabrielle Dennis).… Expand

Creator: Jonathan Prince and Devon Greggory

Genre(s): Drama, Music

Season 1 Episodes

tbd
S1:E11. 1975
Air Date: May 27, 2020
tbd
S1:E8. Nothing Ventured...Nothing Gained
Air Date: March 19, 2019
tbd
S1:E7. Nothing to Fear
Air Date: March 12, 2019

See all Seasons and Episodes

Metascore

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Critic Reviews

Leah Greenblatt

Jan 28, 2019

Glossy but heartfelt high-soap style; not quite the hippest, but it's still a trip. [1/8 Feb 2019, p.87]

Robert Lloyd

Feb 5, 2019

Corny in its broad strokes, with narrative twists that will shock no viewer familiar with television, it is often appealing in its particulars; the dialogue has a natural, twisty flow when it's not bent under the weight of exposition or stretching too far toward profundity. Read full review

Uncle Barky Ed Bark

Feb 5, 2019

The scenes from the set of Soul Train are well-captured and choreographed. But BET’s still limited production budgets are reflected in recurrent Vietnam War sequences involving the Clark kids’ father. They’re phony-looking to say the least, and really not needed at all. Walls, formerly of Starz’s Power series, is effective as Cornelius, although not to the point of blowing anyone away. Read full review

Troy Patterson

Feb 5, 2019

It renders Don Cornelius (Sinqua Walls), the creator and host of “the hippest trip in America,” as an archetypal entrepreneur, and pushes the existential overtones of his striving to the front of the mix. ... The agonies of the secondary characters--the aspiring dancers and anguished assistants and shady scenesters--range from social melodrama to crime melodrama, from buppie-career-angst melodrama to escape-from-South Central melodrama. Read full review

User Score

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3.0

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User Reviews

Hoosierdaddy

Mar 28, 2019

What I found exciting about American Soul is the anticipation of watching the back stories surrounding Soul Train. I used to watch Soul Train back in the day when I was a young teen, so I do have at least a foundation. This show is floundering. It doesn't spend a lot of time on the set,What I found exciting about American Soul is the anticipation of watching the back stories surrounding Soul Train. I used to watch Soul Train back in the day when I was a young teen, so I do have at least a foundation. This show is floundering. It doesn't spend a lot of time on the set, we're not hearing the music, we're not seeing the acts, and we're not seeing a lot of what happened behind the Soul Train set. The flashbacks are confusing and I'm losing interest. It needs to rebound and refocus on the MUSIC and the dancers, not burning buildings.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

coriiced

Apr 7, 2019

Very disappointing, to see Soul Train, its positive impact on Urban culture, from teaching America to dance, to perpetuating the newest fashion, and hair styles, to popularizing a new era in television history, relegated to a storyline that cast its legacy in violence, sex, & drugs.Very disappointing, to see Soul Train, its positive impact on Urban culture, from teaching America to dance, to perpetuating the newest fashion, and hair styles, to popularizing a new era in television history, relegated to a storyline that cast its legacy in violence, sex, & drugs. Antithetical to Mr Cornelius vision, quote "I want black folks to be seen the way black folks should be seen, strong, powerful, and beautiful". I find it very degrading to the uplift, preservation and positive impact of AA culture. In the midst of positive story lines like Black Panther, why are we still writing New Jack City and Boyz In The Hood for every other story line?… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

dkeller52

Mar 7, 2019

I watch this show every week. I lived through these times but from a totally different perspective as I'm a Caucasian.

I had a hard time keeping on watching but kept on trying. There were distinct stories but I couldn't keep them straight. There was the singing group looking for aI watch this show every week. I lived through these times but from a totally different perspective as I'm a Caucasian.

I had a hard time keeping on watching but kept on trying. There were distinct stories but I couldn't keep them straight. There was the singing group looking for a chance, Don Cornelius, Don's assistant who had aspirations of her own, the deceased war vet family, a guy working at a restaurant and his mom's addiction, sometimes the police showed up corrupt (as I know was accurate). In other words, too many things for me to track. I wish they could have spent the first two episodes defining the families to make us care about them. By episode 6, yes, I cared but I still wasn't sure where everyone fit in with everyone else. Most liked: The singers from the time period.… Expand

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

kirkeekirk

Apr 10, 2019

I loved the show and hope there is a season 2. There is still much I don't know about the makings of Soul Train! All I know is that I watched Soul Train after my Saturday morning cartoons. Moms always hit that station in the afternoons on Saturdays!

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Seasons & Episodes

70

Series Overview
Season 2

tbd
- Season 2 Overview
  Air Date: May 27, 2020
Season 1

70
- Season 1 Overview
  Air Date: February 5, 2019
- tbd
  S1:E11. 1975
  Air Date: May 27, 2020
- tbd
  S1:E8. Nothing Ventured...Nothing Gained
  Air Date: March 19, 2019
- tbd
  S1:E7. Nothing to Fear
  Air Date: March 12, 2019
- tbd
  S1:E3. Lost and Found
  Air Date: February 12, 2019