Reactions
Upon announcement, Confederate received backlash on Twitter over its featuring a modern-day Confederate States in which slavery is legal. April Reign, who created the protest hashtag #OscarsSoWhite, created the hashtag #NoConfederate, which became the number one trending topic during the airing of an episode of Game of Thrones. Jake Nevins of The Guardian was concerned the show would act as wish fulfillment for white supremacists. He also cited the lack of diversity on Game of Thrones as a foundation for their concerns. Reign questioned the intent of the show, asking: "Who is the intended audience? It can't possibly be black people, right? Because then what you're saying is, 'Hey, black people, we know slavery is bad, but we want to show you how bad it was'."
The Guardian reported that the announcement of the show led to "widespread anger on social media". MSNBC host Joy Reid commented on the show, saying: "It plays to a rather concrete American fantasy: slavery that never ends, becoming a permanent state for black people. Repugnant." Ta-Nehisi Coates, writing for The Atlantic, said "African-Americans do not need science-fiction, or really any fiction, to tell them that this 'history is still with us'", and criticized its lack of originality because "'What if the white South had won?' may well be the most trod-upon terrain in the field of American alternative history." Author and activist Roxane Gay described Confederate as "slavery fan fiction", adding "if it's not being made for people of color, then that means this is made for white folk. Why, as a white person, would you want to see that unless it appeals to your base desire to see people enslaved and in pain?"
Weiss and Benioff with executive producers Nichelle Tramble Spellman and Malcolm Spellman defended the show in an interview with Vulture.com in which they asked critics to defer judgment until the show aired. At the Television Critics Association press tour, Casey Bloys acknowledged that the announcement of the show was poorly executed, but stood behind the decision to green-light the show.
After the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, on August 12, 2017, KJ Whittaker worried that Confederate could intensify hate groups in America. HBO representatives responded to these concerns on August 15 with a statement to The New York Times:
"HBO has a long history of championing intelligent storytelling and we will approach this project with the same level of thoughtfulness that has always defined our programming. We recognize the sensitivity of this project and will treat it with the respect that it deserves. Our creative partners should be given time to develop the series rather than face prejudgment."
In February 2019, Bloys said the series was still in development and not affected by the controversy. However, in August 2019, it was announced that Benioff and Weiss had closed a multi-million dollar deal with Netflix, and it was reported that the deal "wipes Confederate off HBO's books." In January 2020, Bloys confirmed that the project had been officially canceled.
