Bonnie & Clyde (miniseries)

*Bonnie & Clyde*
Bonnie & Clyde
Genre	Historical fiction
Written by	John Rice; Joe Batteer
Directed by	Bruce Beresford
Starring	Emile Hirsch; Holliday Grainger; Sarah Hyland; Elizabeth Reaser; Holly Hunter; William Hurt
Theme music composer	John Debney
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of episodes	2
Production
Producers	David A. Rosemont; Craig Zadan; Neil Meron
Cinematography	Francis Kenny
Editors	John David Allen; David Beatty
Running time	174 minutes (two parts)
Production company	Sony Pictures Television
Original release
Network	A&E; History; Lifetime
Release	December 8 –; December 9, 2013

Bonnie & Clyde is a revisionist 2013 miniseries about Great Depression-era outlaws Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow starring Emile Hirsch as Clyde Barrow and Holliday Grainger as Bonnie Parker. The two-part series aired on consecutive nights, December 8 and 9, 2013, simultaneously on A&E, History, and Lifetime (all owned by A&E Networks).^[1] The first previews were released on September 23, 2013.^[2] The series was widely criticized for its historical inaccuracies, particularly as it was aired on History.^[3]

Plot

The two-part television series is based on the true story of Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker. Barrow, a charismatic convicted armed robber, sweeps Parker – a young and impressionable, petite, small-town waitress, who is already married – off her feet. In the early 1930s, the two embark on one of the most infamous crime sprees in American history.

Part 1: Tells the story of Clyde Barrow's childhood growing up in rural Texas with his older brother Buck as they steal chickens, and later they do a stint in prison for stealing bigger and better things. After Buck ends up incarcerated again, Clyde meets the love of his life Bonnie Parker, who dreams of becoming a movie star in Hollywood. Soon the couple goes on a crime spree, robbing banks together after Clyde's partner is caught. They are able to stay one step ahead of the "laws" while they rob bigger banks in the state.

Part 2: Clyde asks his newlywed brother Buck to help them. Not wanting to be alone at home, his wife Blanche becomes the fourth member of the Barrow Gang. However, Bonnie pushes Clyde to commit more dangerous crimes and rob banks across the state line to generate headlines in the newspapers, and their life of crime soon leads to their deaths.

Cast

Emile Hirsch as Clyde Barrow, bank robber and getaway driver
Holliday Grainger as Bonnie Parker, married waitress turned bank robber
Lane Garrison as Marvin "Buck" Barrow, Clyde's older brother
Sarah Hyland as Blanche Barrow, Buck's young wife who is a member of the Barrow Gang
Holly Hunter as Emma Parker, Bonnie's mother
William Hurt as Frank Hamer, retired Texas Ranger called out of retirement to track down and capture Bonnie and Clyde
Austin Hebert as Ted Hinton, Dallas County, Texas, Deputy Sheriff and posse member of Bonnie and Clyde's capture
Elizabeth Reaser as P.J. Lane, The Herald newspaper reporter who wrote about Bonnie and Clyde's crime spree
Desmond Phillips as Ray Hamilton, bank robber and first member of Bonnie and Clyde's gang
Aaron Jay Rome as Ralph Fults, outlaw and escape artist of the Barrow Gang
Garrett Kruithof as Henry Methvin, bank robber and last member of the Barrow Gang
Jonathan Vane as Captain Harley Grace

Reception

Ratings

Part 1 of Bonnie & Clyde delivered 9.8 million total viewers simulcast on three networks. This is cable's best miniseries opening in ratings since 2006's Broken Trail, outside of History's Hatfields & McCoys and The Bible.^[4] A&E Networks closed out its two-part miniseries with 7.4 million viewers.^[5]