Honestly, most period dramas feel like they’ve been dipped in wax. They’re pretty, sure, but they’re stiff. The Porter TV series is the exact opposite of that. It’s loud. It’s sweaty. It’s incredibly tense. If you haven't seen it yet, you're missing out on a piece of television that manages to turn labor union history—which sounds kind of dry on paper—into a high-stakes thriller about survival, ego, and the birth of a movement.
It’s set in the 1920s, mostly in Montreal and Chicago. We aren't looking at the "Roaring Twenties" through the eyes of Gatsby or some wealthy socialite. Instead, the show focuses on the Black train porters—the men who made the luxury of the railway possible while being treated as invisible servants.
What makes The Porter TV series so different?
Most people think of history as something that happened to people. This show argues that history is something people make, often out of desperation.
The story follows two main characters: Junior Massey and Zeke Garrett. They are best friends and war vets, but they handle the crushing weight of systemic racism in totally different ways. Zeke is the idealist. He wants to start a union. He wants dignity. Junior, on the other hand, sees the system as a game to be rigged. He gets into bootlegging and organized crime because, in his mind, why wait for a seat at the table when you can just buy the whole house?
It's a gritty perspective.
The show was a massive collaboration between the CBC in Canada and BET+ in the States. It swept the Canadian Screen Awards for a reason. It doesn't use the 1920s as a costume party; it uses the era to talk about ambition. You’ve got the jazz clubs of St. Antoine (Montreal's "Harlem of the North") clashing with the brutal reality of the Canadian Pacific Railway.
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The real history of the BSCP
While the characters like Junior and Zeke are fictional, they are deeply rooted in the history of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters (BSCP). This was the first Black-led labor union to receive a charter from the American Federation of Labor.
In real life, men like A. Philip Randolph fought these battles. In the show, we see the localized version of that struggle. It’s fascinating because it highlights how international the movement was. People were moving between Montreal, Detroit, Chicago, and New York. The railway wasn’t just a job; it was a communication network. Porters would smuggle Black newspapers like the Chicago Defender into places where they were banned, spreading news and ideas that fueled the civil rights movements of the future.
The talent behind the camera
You can’t talk about the show without mentioning Aml Ameen and Ronnie Rowe Jr. Their chemistry is what holds the whole thing together. Ameen plays Junior with this dangerous, flickering energy. You never quite know if he’s going to hug Zeke or betray him.
Then there is Mouna Traoré as Marlene, a worker with the Black Cross Nurses. Her storyline is just as vital. It shows that the struggle for Black liberation wasn't just a "men on trains" thing. It was happening in hospitals, in community centers, and in the domestic sphere.
The production design is also incredible. They managed to make Winnipeg look like 1920s Montreal. Think about that for a second. The cinematography uses these deep, saturated colors—lots of ambers and shadows—that make it feel noir-ish. It’s a vibe.
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Why didn't we get a Season 2?
This is the part that genuinely sucks. Despite the critical acclaim and winning 12 Canadian Screen Awards—the most for any comedy or drama in a single year—The Porter TV series was canceled after one season.
What happened? Basically, the funding fell apart. BET+ decided not to renew their partnership for a second season, and the CBC couldn't foot the bill alone. It’s a common tragedy in modern TV. High-quality, high-budget period pieces are expensive. If one major partner pulls out, the whole deck of cards usually collapses.
Fans were devastated. The creators had a multi-season arc planned that would have followed the characters further into the Great Depression. We missed out on seeing how Junior’s criminal empire would have collided with Zeke’s unionizing efforts as the world economy tanked.
Why you should still watch it today
Even though it’s "only" eight episodes, the show feels complete in its emotional arc. It doesn't leave you on a cheap cliffhanger that ruins the experience. Instead, it leaves you thinking.
- The Nuance of Privilege: It explores the "colorist" hierarchies within the Black community of the 1920s.
- The Cost of Ambition: It asks what you’re willing to sacrifice to get ahead. Is it better to be a "good man" who is broke, or a "bad man" who can protect his family?
- The Power of Organizing: It’s a blueprint for how people with zero power can actually take on a massive corporation.
The writing is sharp. It avoids the "preachy" tone that dooms a lot of historical dramas. The characters swear, they make terrible mistakes, they're selfish, and they're brave. They feel like people you’d meet at a bar tonight, just wearing better hats.
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Where to find it
If you’re in Canada, it’s usually streaming on CBC Gem. In the United States, it’s on BET+. It’s also available for purchase on platforms like Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV in certain regions.
It’s the kind of show you want to watch with the subtitles on, not because the dialogue is hard to hear, but because the slang and the period-specific references are so rich you don't want to miss a single word.
Actionable steps for fans of the show
If you’ve finished the series and want more, don’t just let the credits roll and move on. The history it covers is a rabbit hole worth falling down.
- Read "The Pullman Porter" history: Check out the work of historians like Larry Tye. His book Rising from the Rails is the gold standard for understanding how the porters created the Black middle class.
- Support the Creators: Follow Marsha Greene and Annmarie Morais. They are the showrunners who fought to get this story told. Watch their future projects. The industry needs to know there is a demand for this kind of storytelling.
- Visit the Museums: If you’re ever in Montreal, visit the Little Burgundy neighborhood. It’s where much of this history actually lived. In the U.S., the A. Philip Randolph Pullman Porter Museum in Chicago is a must-visit.
- Spread the Word: Since there won't be a season 2, the best way to honor the show is to make sure it doesn't disappear into the "content graveyard." Recommend it to people who liked Peaky Blinders or Boardwalk Empire. It has that same DNA but with a perspective we rarely get to see on screen.
The Porter isn't just a TV show about trains. It's a show about the engine of change. It’s a reminder that the rights we have today weren't "given"—they were taken by people who were tired of being invisible.