It’s a cliché at this point, but that doesn’t change the fact that New York remains the greatest city in the world. In Spike Lee’s new four-part documentary series, the Oscar winning director takes a look at just what makes the Big Apple so great by focusing not on the nightlife or the fashion, not on Broadway or Wall Street, but on the city’s resilience in the face of unspeakable tragedy.
As the title suggests, NYC Epicenters: 9/11 → 2021 ½ centers two flashpoints in the city’s—not to mention the country’s—recent history: the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and the COVID-19 pandemic, both of which devastated New York. The trailer for the series, which premieres on August 22, is out today and unless you’re made of stone, it’s guaranteed to get you a little choked up—and more than a little inspired.
Described as a “documentary essay,” the series features interviews with high profile New Yorkers like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Jon Stewart, Rosie Perez and Jeffrey Wright alongside policy makers like Anthony Fauci, Chuck Schumer, Bill De Blasio and Muriel Bowser, as well as everyday folks who live and work in the city. Politicians, journalist, first responders and others share their firsthand accounts of the 9/11 attacks, the COVID-19 pandemic and the past year’s Black Lives Matter protests.
“As a New Yawker who bleeds orange and blue (the colors of New York City), I’m proud to have a ‘Spike Lee Joint’ about how our/my city dealt with being the epicenters of 9/11 and COVID-19,” Lee said of the project back in May. “You will lose ya money betting against New York, New York. And dat’s da truth, Ruth.”
