BET+ Sets Premiere Date for ‘The Porter’ Civil Rights Drama (Exclusive)

The Porter, a Canadian civil rights drama about North American railway workers on and off the train tracks, will debut on BET+ on May 5.

The eight-parter about unionizing train porters is part of a revolution in Canadian TV toward greater Black representation on the CBC, the country’s public broadcaster, and other local channels.

Set in the roaring 1920s in Montreal and Chicago, the drama from Inferno Pictures and Sienna Films follows two Black railway porters — war buddies Junior Massey and Zeke Garrett, played by Aml Ameen and Ronnie Rowe Jr. — who hustle, dream, cross borders and confront racial barriers on and off the railways that crossed North America.

One pushes to create the first ever Black union and the other chases power on the wrong side of the law, as both aim to free themselves and their families from oppression. The Porter debuted in Canada on the CBC on Feb. 21.

The drama also stars Mouna Traoré, Loren Lott, Olunike Adeliyi, series co-creator Arnold Pinnock and Clemency star Alfre Woodard, who plays the character of Fay and also executive produces. Annmarie Morais and Marsha Greene are showrunners, co-creators and executive producers, with Aubrey Nealon serving as a co-creator.

And Charles Officer and R.T. Thorne directed the series and share executive producer credits.