City So Real
American documentary miniseries
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City So Real is an American documentary miniseries directed by Steve James, revolving around the 2019 mayoral election in Chicago, Illinois, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and social upheaval following the murder of George Floyd. It consists of 5 episodes and premiered on October 29, 2020, on National Geographic.[1]
| City So Real | |
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| Genre | Documentary |
| Directed by | Steve James |
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| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
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| Network | National Geographic |
| Release | October 29, 2020 |
Premise
Episodes
| No. | Title [4] | Directed by | Original release date | U.S. viewers (millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Welcome to Chicago" | Steve James | October 29, 2020 | N/A |
| 2 | "Blood Sport" | Steve James | October 29, 2020 | N/A |
| 3 | "With All Due Respect to the Candidate" | Steve James | October 29, 2020 | N/A |
| 4 | "If You Want to Break the Machine" | Steve James | October 29, 2020 | N/A |
| 5 | "You Gotta Make It or You Gotta Take It" | Steve James | October 29, 2020 | N/A |
Release
The series, originally just four episodes, had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 27, 2020.[5][6][7][8][9] In August 2020, National Geographic acquired distribution rights to the series.[10]
Reception
On Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds an approval rating of 100% based on 13 reviews, with an average rating of 9.38/10.[11] On Metacritic, the series has a weighted average score of 93 out of 100, based on 14 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[12]
Accolades
| Year | Award | Category | Recipient(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2021 |
Gotham Awards | Breakthrough Nonfiction Series | City So Real | Nominated | [13] |
| IDA Documentary Awards | Best Multi-Part Documentary | Steve James, Zak Piper, Jeff Skoll, Diane Weyermann, Alex Kotlowitz, Gordon Quinn, Betsy Steinberg, and Jolene Pinder | Nominated | [14] | |
| Independent Spirit Awards | Best New Non-Scripted or Documentary Series | City So Real | Nominated | [15] | |
| Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards | Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series | Diane Weyermann, Alex Kotlowitz, Gordon Quinn, Jolene Pinder, Steve James, and Zak Piper | Nominated | [16][17] | |
| Outstanding Cinematography for a Nonfiction Program | Jackson James and Steve James ("Blood Sport") | Nominated | |||
| TCA Awards | Outstanding Achievement in News and Information | City So Real | Nominated | [18] | |
2022 |
Cinema Eye Honors | Outstanding Nonfiction Series | City So Real | Won | [19][20] |
| Outstanding Broadcast Editing | David E. Simpson and Steve James | Nominated | |||
| Outstanding Broadcast Cinematography | Jackson James and Steve James | Nominated |