# The Get Down (2016)

> In 1977 New York, a group of South Bronx teens chase music fame as hip hop is born amid a crumbling city.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/57739

## Facts

- Seasons: 1
- Episodes: 11
- Episode runtime: 58 min
- Status: Canceled
- Genres: drama, music
- Created by: Baz Luhrmann
- Network: Netflix
- Cast: Justice Smith, Shameik Moore, Herizen F. Guardiola, Skylan Brooks, Jaden Smith, Tremaine Brown Jr., Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Jimmy Smits
- TMDB rating: 8.2/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4592410/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: strong
- Complexity: layered
- Violence: moderate
- Tone: gritty, hopeful, stylized, energetic, romantic

## What critics say

Critics and audiences widely admired its vibrant recreation of 1970s Bronx hip-hop culture, its music, and its ambitious stylized direction, though the uneven pacing and single cancelled season left it short of full resolution.

## Synopsis

The Get Down (2016-2017) is a Netflix period music drama created by Baz Luhrmann, a single-season limited run of eleven hour-long episodes that was canceled before its story was finished. Set in 1977 New York City, it follows Ezekiel Figuero (Justice Smith), a gifted, soulful teenage poet from the South Bronx who dreams of breaking into the music world, alongside his friend Shaolin Fantastic (Shameik Moore), a charismatic young DJ determined to become a legend of the turntables. Jimmy Smits plays Francisco 'Papa Fuerte' Cruz, the Bronx preacher whose ties to the neighborhood shape the young men's choices, while Herizen F. Guardiola plays Mylene Cruz, the girl Ezekiel is drawn to. The engine of the show is the push and pull between artistic ambition and the blocks of a city in decline, where blackouts, arson, gang pressure and the lure of the disco club drive each episode forward. Stylized, heightened and saturated with music, the series carries a restless, hopeful and gritty energy, with a rhythm that feels like the very beats it celebrates. Fans of Vinyl, Empire and Fame will find real kinship in its mix of youthful ambition and backroom music business ambition.

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