Self Made is a fictionalized depiction of "the untold story of black hair care pioneer and mogul Madam C. J. Walker and how she overcame the hostilities of turn-of-the-century America, epic rivalries, and tumultuous marriages to become America’s first Black, self-made female millionaire."[3]
Sarah Breedlove is a poor washer-woman who is losing her hair when she meets Addie who saves her bald spots with her miracle grow. To show her appreciation of Addie, Sarah wants to become a saleswoman, but Addie knocks her confidence down by telling her to stick to washing as women will never want to buy a product from someone who looks like her. Infuriated, Sarah creates her own line of products. Though they sell well she craves more and decides to move her entire family to Indianapolis. Sarah's company is successful until Addie arrives in town. Frightened by the competition Sarah decides to offer a "buy one get one free" deal but in the ensuing struggle to fulfill orders her home burns down. As she watches Addie scoop up her business, Sarah vows to rebuild her business and takes on the name Madam C. J. Walker.
Sarah puts a downpayment on a factory but has trouble securing investors to pay for the rest. She decides to gain Booker T. Washington's endorsement but is blocked from meeting him. Approaching Washington's wife, Margaret, Sarah pleads for her club's support before crashing Washington's conference and making a plea for investors. Washington later crushes her hopes of an endorsement by sharing his own sexist views on women entrepreneurs.
Sarah decides to take her daughter Leila to New York City for a business opportunity over her husband, Charles, who feels like he is being cut out from the business more and more. Addie takes the opportunity to poach five of Sarah's top saleswomen out from under her including Dora, a beautiful saleswoman who is having an affair with Charles.
When Sarah returns to the chaos she discovers all that has been going on and once again puts her business first.
4
"A Credit to the Race"
DeMane Davis
Nicole Jefferson Asher
March 20, 2020 (2020-03-20)
T13.21554
As Sarah is expanding her empire out of New York City she learns that she is dying and begins to pressure Leila to provide her with an heir, unaware that Leila is in love with a woman and has been in a relationship with her for years. Meanwhile Charles returns wanting to finalize his divorce with Sarah and threatens to reveal the secret behind her formula if she doesn't sign the papers.
Production
Development
On November 10, 2016, it was announced that Zero Gravity Management had optioned the screen rights to A'Lelia Bundles' biography of Madam C. J. Walker, entitled On Her Own Ground, with the intent of developing it into a limited series. The production was expected to be written by Nicole Asher, directed by Kasi Lemmons, and produced by Octavia Spencer, Christine Holder, and Mark Holder.[4]
On July 6, 2017, it was announced that Netflix had given the production a series order consisting of eight episodes. Executive producers are expected to include LeBron James, Maverick Carter, Mark Holder, Christine Holder, Janine Sherman Barrois, and Elle Johnson. Lemmons is set to direct and executive produce the first episode. Production companies involved with the series are slated to consist of SpringHill Entertainment alongside Zero Gravity Management.[3] The series premiered on March 20, 2020.[2]
On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the miniseries holds an approval rating of 68% based on 25 reviews, with an average rating of 5.66/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Self Made doesn't always live up to its namesake, but there's no denying that Octavia Spencer's spectacular embodiment of the singular Madam C.J. Walker is a sight to be seen."[10] On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 64 out of 100, based on 17 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[11] Other reviews report disappointment because of the fictionalization and inaccuracies in the storyline. Addie Monroe is a fictionalized character intended to portray Annie Malone, another self-made millionaire who actually was the mentor of Walker.[12] She is portrayed as a villain while another falsification is the portrayal of Walker's daughter as a lesbian.[13][14]
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