Apple TV+ documentary ‘Number One on the Call Sheet’ celebrates Hollywood’s Black A-listers
Many documentaries explore the relationship between Black Americans and Hollywood, but “Number One on the Call Sheet” looks squarely at the heights of Black success.
There are plenty of documentaries about the relationship between Black Americans and Hollywood, but the new two-part documentary “Number One on the Call Sheet” on Apple TV+ examines the heights of success.
“It’s a story about triumph,” Reggie Hudlin, who directed the first installment, about Black leading men, told NBC News. “It’s a story about making dreams come true.”
His installment includes some of the biggest names in the business, such as Denzel Washington, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Idris Elba and more. Jamie Foxx and Kevin Hart, who are interviewed, also produced the documentaries.
Hudlin explores how these dreams came true and if they were ever dreams each man consciously pursued. The breadth of answers show how there is no single path to becoming a successful Black leading man in Hollywood.
Idris Elba in “Number One on the Call Sheet.”Apple TV+As a veteran director of the classics “House Party” and “Boomerang” and the producer of “Django Unchained,” Hudlin, who can be seen interviewing the actors, comes across more as a peer among the men. That dynamic gives their conversation added intimacy. Some segments feel more like eavesdropping.
Rating: 5