FX and Hulu Team Up for Docuseries About Tupac and His Mother

On Thursday (March 22), FX released a trailer for their upcoming docuseries Dear Mama: The Saga of Afeni & Tupac Shakur. The five-episode show releases its first two episodes on April 21 on FX and Hulu, with the next three episodes coming out the following three Fridays.

The executive producers for the series are Allen Hughes, Lasse Järvi, Quincy Delight Jones III, Staci Robinson, Nelson George, Charles King, Peter Nelson, Adel “Future” Nur, Jamal Joseph, and Ted Skillman. Additionally, the writers include Hughes and Järvi while the sole director is Hughes.

At the Television Critics Association (TCA) presentation for the series debut, Hughes spoke on the never-before-seen contents of the show, according to Deadline. “Wherever possible, we tried to find archival footage that hadn’t been seen so there’s a lot that we have in the five parts,” he said. “There’s also audio that’s never been heard. And not just some of his acapellas and vocals, there is a lot of stuff of Tupac from his baby years that had never been seen. For Tupac superfans, I believe that two of the most important things in the project is the never seen before. But most importantly, you get to understand why he made certain decisions.”

In the show’s trailer the late mother of Tupac, Afeni Shakur who passed away in 2016, speaks about the trials and tribulations of raising Tupac. “It was my responsibility to teach Tupac how to survive his reality,” she said. “It was very difficult for me to be a mom, but I knew very well how to protect my children.”

Footage of an interview from Tupac’s high school years is also shown. In it, he talks about how his mother did her best to raise him even though she wasn’t around too much in his adolescent years, because of her duties as a Black Panther. “My mother taught me to analyze society and not be quiet. If there’s something on my mind, speak it,” he said.

The announcement of Dear Mama: The Saga of Afeni & Tupac Shakur comes just a day after Hulu released the trailer for their upcoming RapCaviar Presents docuseries. It seems that hip-hop is in the air at the Hulu headquarters, and they’re ready to tell some intriguing stories from within the rap genre.

(Photo By Raymond Boyd/Getty Images)