| The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Drama |
| Created by | Walter Mosley |
| Based on | The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey by Walter Mosley |
| Screenplay by |
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| Directed by | |
| Starring | |
| Composer | Craig DeLeon |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of episodes | 6 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
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| Producer | Llewellyn Wells |
| Cinematography |
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| Editors |
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| Running time | 49–57 minutes |
| Production company | Anonymous Content |
| Release | |
| Original network | Apple TV+ |
| Original release | March 11 – April 8, 2022 |
The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey is an American drama streaming television limited series created by Walter Mosley for Apple TV+. Based on the 2010 novel of the same name by Mosley, the series stars Samuel L. Jackson, Dominique Fishback, Cynthia McWilliams, Damon Gupton, and Marsha Stephanie Blake. It premiered on March 11, 2022, and concluded on April 8, 2022, consisting of six episodes.
The series received seven Black Reel Award nominations, winning four, including Outstanding Television Movie or Limited Series. It also received six NAACP Image Award nominations, while Jackson and Fishback were both nominated for Critics' Choice Awards for their performances.
A lonely 91-year-old man with dementia is temporarily able to remember his past and uses the time to investigate the death of his nephew.
| No. | Title [1] | Directed by | Teleplay by | Original release date [2] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Reggie" | Ramin Bahrani | Walter Mosley | March 11, 2022 | |
| Ptolemy Grey's memory is getting worse. After learning his grand-nephew is no longer there for him, Ptolemy's niece assigns him a new caretaker. | |||||
| 2 | "Robyn" | Debbie Allen | Walter Mosley & Jerome Hairston | March 11, 2022 | |
| Kicked out of by Niecie, Robyn moves in with Ptolemy and accompanies him to a doctor's appointment for an experimental treatment. | |||||
| 3 | "Sensia" | Hanelle M. Culpepper | Walter Mosley & Jerome Hairston | March 18, 2022 | |
| Ptolemy begins treatment to restore his memories, drifting in and out of fever dreams about his life as Robyn keeps vigil at his side. | |||||
| 4 | "Coydog" | Guillermo Navarro | Walter Mosley | March 25, 2022 | |
| After unearthing a long-forgotten treasure, Ptolemy makes a plan. Later, he meets with a friend of Reggie's and learns revelatory details. | |||||
| 5 | "Nina" | Guillermo Navarro | Walter Mosley | April 1, 2022 | |
| Ptolemy looks to his longtime friend and lawyer to help protect Robyn. A family gathering in Reggie's honor brings both healing and confrontation. | |||||
| 6 | "Ptolemy" | Hanelle M. Culpepper | Walter Mosley | April 8, 2022 | |
| Ptolemy must settle all scores and make peace with his past-before he loses his memories once and for all. | |||||
The series was announced in December 2020, with Samuel L. Jackson set to star in and executive produce the series with Walter Mosley adapting his own novel into the screenplay.[3] Dominique Fishback was added to the cast in March 2021.[4] Walton Goggins, Marsha Stephanie Blake, Damon Gupton, Cynthia Kaye McWilliams and Omar Benson Miller were added to the cast in April 2021, with production beginning that month.[5][6] Episodes were directed by Ramin Bahrani, Debbie Allen, Hanelle Culpepper, and Guillermo Navarro.[7] Filming concluded on June 26, 2021.[8] Craig DeLeon is the composer for the limited series.[9]
The limited series premiered on March 11, 2022 on Apple TV+.[10]
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported an 88% approval rating with an average rating of 7.1/10, based on 41 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey loses some luster in its final stretch, but Samuel L. Jackson and Dominique Fishback's sterling performances make this an unmissable elegy."[11] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 75 out of 100 based on 22 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[12]
