Sundance Channel Plans Week-Long Event for Brick City

NEW YORK: The Sundance Channel docuseries Brick City, executive produced by Forest Whitaker and filmmakers Marc Levin and Mark Benjamin, launches on September 21 at 10 p.m., airing for five consecutive nights.

The five one-hour episodes spotlight thee challenges facing the city of Newark, New Jersey, and its mayor, Cory Booker. The program looks at the inner-city’s struggles, and the community leaders, civil servants and life-long residents who are committed to its urban renewal. Brick City, named for Newark’s architectural style, will have its five-night run at 10 p.m. starting September 21, with an encore presentation each Sunday at 9:00 p.m., Monday at 12:00 a.m. and Saturdays at 12:00 p.m. through October 31.

"These personal stories are riveting," said Sarah Barnett, Sundance Channel’s executive VP and general manager. "The series plays out like a high-stakes drama—about life and death, dreams and disappointments, danger and determination and poverty and promise—but most importantly, it is storytelling at its finest."

Marc Levin, who executive produced and directed the docuseries, added: "Mark Benjamin and I were captivated by this city and Mayor Booker’s charisma. I grew up near Newark and I can testify, change is real here. But change is hard. It’s authentic human drama and that’s what we wanted to capture. From the personal to the political, the stories were so compelling, we used to joke, ‘We’re going to put the real back in reality programming’."