Parish is set to hit AMC & AMC+ on March 31st, and you’re in for a ride! Starring the incomparable Giancarlo Esposito(Better Call Saul) as New Orleans native Gracian “Gray” Parish, a family man who is dealing with the grief from the violent murder of his son. While he’s trying to keep his head above water with his legitimate luxury car service business, the weight of responsibilities plus financial troubles and a chance encounter with his old friend in crime, Colin (Skeet Ulrich, Riverdale), steer him back into the fast life as a wheelman. Soon, he is in bed with an intricate Zimbabwean crime family led by Shepherd “The Horse” Tongai (Zackary Momoh, Doctor Sleep). Nerdophiles had the pleasure of speaking with co-showrunners Eduardo Canto (FBI) and Ryan Maldonado (Chicago P.D.) about what lies ahead for the series!
On tackling generational trauma in the show, they shared: “If you’ve dealt with any sort of generational trauma like these characters have, you know that parents that have gone through that try to right the ship with the kid. And while they come in with the very best intentions, what our show is trying to say is even with those very best intentions, they fall short and can blow up in your face. So that storyline of Gray tragically losing one child and being so wrapped up in grief that he also kind of loses the other, his inability to stop the cycle, is relatable to a lot of us.”
On grief’s pivotal role in the series, they told us: “There’s a bit of a vicious cycle with grief if you’re not willing to open yourself up and be vulnerable. While Gray’s grief from his son’s murder drives a lot of his actions, including isolating himself from his family, that same downward pressure impacts the Tongai family, too. They make a lot of references to their father and the expectations that their father places on them, and then you see The Horse intentionally trying to break that cycle with his son Luke (Dax Ray, The Good Place). And then you see Zenzo (Ivan Mbakop, Lawmen: Bass Reeves), for example, in episode two, specifically, there’s one scene in the garden where you see Zenzo’s influence on him. And both characters think they’re doing the right thing because of what their father has taught them.”
On Toxic Masculinity, they continued: “So I think the way both those men approach grief and expectations, and the toxic masculinity of not being able to ask for help is something that both unites them and also drives a wedge between them and it’ll certainly send them hurdling towards a conclusion that you will have to watch the series to see!”
Parish seems to be a show that will continue to tackle the lines of good versus evil in a way that shows how far people can be pushed when finances and family are on the line. Gray has a hell of a ride in store for him this season if the showrunners have anything to do with it, and we, for one, cannot wait to see it!
Parish premieres on AMC on March 31st!
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