The Long Road Home

It's a new 8 part miniseries about a 1st Cavalry Division Platoon ambushed in Sadr City, Iraq, on April 4, 2004, or "Black Sunday"...
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Production has begun on the National Geographic miniseries, “The Long Road Home,” which details the events of “Black Sunday,” April 4, 2004, when a 1st Cavalry Division platoon was ambushed in Sadr City, Iraq, and the rescue missions to save them, days into their yearlong deployment. Filming is ongoing at several locations across Fort Hood.

The miniseries, based on the New York Times bestseller by Martha Raddatz, tells the story not only of the battle that claimed the lives of eight U.S. Soldiers, but also the effects on the home front to present a 360-degree view of Soldiers’ and their Families’ experiences at war.

The project, which is slated to premiere later this year, will star Michael Kelly, Kate Bosworth Sarah Wayne Callies, Jason Ritter, Jeremy Sisto, E.J. Bonilla, Patrick Schwarzenegger and Noel Fisher, National Geographic announced last week.

Mike Medavoy, who has been involved with more than 300 films, including “Apocalypse Now,” “Rocky,” “The Thin Red Line,” “Platoon” and “Shutter Island,” is serving as an executive producer for the miniseries.

Medavoy, an Army veteran, has been interested in putting this story on film since he read Raddatz’s book.

“This is something we have been working on for a long time,” Medavoy said. “It’s an interesting story from a historical point of view.”

Mikko Alanne, executive producer, show runner and writer for the miniseries, said the process of turning the book into a movie began nine years ago, including meeting with then-Col. Gary Volesky and others involved in the battle at Sadr City during a visit to Fort Hood in 2008 to discuss the project.

Having not only those who were there, but also Fort Hood enmeshed in the project has been key.

“We felt from the beginning that they would be our guides in this process,” Alanne said.

Originally planned as a three-hour feature film, Medavoy and Alanne agreed that the story fit well as an eight-part miniseries.

Medavoy said the long format helps tell more about those involved and their experiences.

“It’s a great way of telling the story,” he said.
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