Exclusive: Adepero Oduye and Cornelius Smith Jr. talk Apple TV Plus series Five Days at Memorial
Now playing on Apple TV+ is the highly anticipated limited series, “Five Days at Memorial." Adapted from the book by Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Sheri Fink and starring Vera Farmiga, Cornelius Smith Jr. and Cherry Jones, “Five Days at Memorial” chronicles the impact of Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath on a local hospital. “Five Days at Memorial” will premiere globally on Apple TV+ with the first three episodes on August 12, 2022, followed by one new episode every Friday through September 16.
Hailing from Academy Award winner John Ridley and Emmy Award winner Carlton Cuse, “Five Days at Memorial” chronicles the impact of Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath on a local hospital. When the floodwaters rose, power failed, and heat soared, exhausted caregivers at a New Orleans hospital were forced to make decisions that would follow them for years to come.
In addition to Farmiga, Smith Jr. and Jones, the limited series stars Robert Pine (“CHiPs”), Julie Ann Emery (“Better Call Saul,” “Preacher”), Adepero Oduye (“The Falcon and the Winter Soldier,”“Pariah”), Molly Hager (“Happyish,” “It’s Kind of a Funny Story”), Michael Gaston (“Blindspot,” “The Leftovers”) and W. Earl Brown (“Deadwood,” “Preacher”).
Oduye plays Karen Wynn, the nurse manager of the hospital’s intensive care unit and the head of its ethics committee. She recently played Sarah Wilson On Disney+’s Marvel series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. She recurred on Ava DuVerney’s Netflix limited series When They See Us. Oduye, who first received awards recognition for her breakthrough role in the 2011 movie Pariah, also had roles in the Oscar winning film 12 Years a Slave, and the Oscar nominated film The Big Short.
Smith plays Dr. Bryant King, an internist and one of the few doctors of color at the hospital, who finds himself very much in the middle of the crisis. Smith probably is best known for his role as Frankie Hubbard on the ABC soap opera All My Children and his series-regular role as Marcus Walker on ABC’s Scandal. He recently had recurring roles on God Friended Me, Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walker and Manhunt.
Blackfilmandtv.com’s Wilson Morales recently caught up with Oduye and Smith Jr. as they discussed their roles on the series.