# The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey

The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey is an American drama miniseries created by Walter Mosley for Apple TV+. Based on the 2010 novel of the same name by Mosley, the series stars Samuel L. Jackson, Dominique Fishback, Cynthia McWilliams, Damon Gupton, and Marsha Stephanie Blake. It premiered on March 11, 2022, and concluded on April 8, 2022, consisting of six episodes.
The series received seven Black Reel Award nominations, winning four, including Outstanding Television Movie or Limited Series. It also received six NAACP Image Award nominations, while Jackson and Fishback were both nominated for Critics' Choice Awards for their performances.

## Premise

A lonely 91-year-old man with dementia is temporarily able to remember his past and uses the time to investigate the death of his nephew.

## Cast
### Main

* Samuel L. Jackson as Ptolemy Grey
* Dominique Fishback as Robyn
* Cynthia Kaye McWilliams as Sensia
* Damon Gupton as Coydog
* Marsha Stephanie Blake as Niecie
* Walton Goggins as Dr. Rubin

### Supporting

* Omar Benson Miller as Reggie Lloyd
* Maury Ginsberg as Moishe Abromovitz
* JoAnn Willette as Judge Alison McCarty
* Arischa Conner as Sonia Lavendrell
* Patrick R. Walker as Roger Dawes
* DeRon Horton as Hilly
* Percy Daggs IV as Young Ptolemy

## Episodes

| No. | Title | Directed by | Teleplay by | Original release date |
| 1 | "Reggie" | Ramin Bahrani | Walter Mosley | March 11, 2022 (2022-03-11) |
| Ptolemy Grey's memory is getting worse. |||||
| 2 | "Robyn" | Debbie Allen | Walter Mosley & Jerome Hairston | March 11, 2022 (2022-03-11) |
| Kicked out by Niecie, Robyn moves in with Ptolemy and accompanies him to a doctor's appointment for an experimental treatment. |||||
| 3 | "Sensia" | Hanelle M. Culpepper | Walter Mosley & Jerome Hairston | March 18, 2022 (2022-03-18) |
| Ptolemy begins treatment to restore his memories, drifting in and out of fever dreams about his life as Robyn keeps vigil at his side. |||||
| 4 | "Coydog" | Guillermo Navarro | Walter Mosley | March 25, 2022 (2022-03-25) |
| After unearthing a long-forgotten treasure, Ptolemy makes a plan. Later, he meets with a friend of Reggie's and learns revelatory details. |||||
| 5 | "Nina" | Guillermo Navarro | Walter Mosley | April 1, 2022 (2022-04-01) |
| Ptolemy looks to his longtime friend and lawyer to help protect Robyn. A family gathering in Reggie's honor brings both healing and confrontation. |||||
| 6 | "Ptolemy" | Hanelle M. Culpepper | Walter Mosley | April 8, 2022 (2022-04-08) |
| Ptolemy must settle all scores and make peace with his past-before he loses his memories once and for all. |||||

## Production

The series was announced in December 2020, with Samuel L. Jackson set to star in and executive produce the series with Walter Mosley adapting his own novel into the screenplay. Dominique Fishback was added to the cast in March 2021. Walton Goggins, Marsha Stephanie Blake, Damon Gupton, Cynthia Kaye McWilliams and Omar Benson Miller were added to the cast in April 2021, with production beginning that month. Episodes were directed by Ramin Bahrani, Debbie Allen, Hanelle Culpepper, and Guillermo Navarro. Filming concluded on June 26, 2021. Craig DeLeon is the composer for the limited series.

## Release

The limited series premiered on March 11, 2022 on Apple TV+.

## Reception
### Critical response

The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported an 88% approval rating with an average rating of 7.1/10, based on 41 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey loses some luster in its final stretch, but Samuel L. Jackson and Dominique Fishback's sterling performances make this an unmissable elegy." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 75 out of 100 based on 22 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

### Accolades

| Year | Award | Category | Recipient(s) | Result |
| 2022 | 6th Black Reel Awards for Television | Outstanding Television Movie or Limited Series | Diane Houslin | Won |
| 2022 | 6th Black Reel Awards for Television | Outstanding Actor, TV Movie or Limited Series | Samuel L. Jackson | Won |
| 2022 | 6th Black Reel Awards for Television | Outstanding Supporting Actress, TV Movie or Limited Series | Dominique Fishback | Nominated |
| 2022 | 6th Black Reel Awards for Television | Outstanding Directing, TV Movie or Limited Series | "Robyn" Debbie Allen | Won |
| 2022 | 6th Black Reel Awards for Television | Outstanding Directing, TV Movie or Limited Series | "Ptolemy" Hanelle Culpepper | Nominated |
| 2022 | 6th Black Reel Awards for Television | Outstanding Writing, TV Movie or Limited Series | "Robyn" Walter Mosley, Jerome Hairston | Nominated |
| 2022 | 6th Black Reel Awards for Television | Outstanding Writing, TV Movie or Limited Series | "Ptolemy" Walter Mosley | Won |
| 2022 | 2nd Hollywood Critics Association TV Awards | Best Actor in a Streaming Limited or Anthology Series or Movie | Samuel L. Jackson | Nominated |
| 2022 | 37th Imagen Awards | Best Director – Television | Guillermo Navarro | Nominated |
| 2023 | 28th Critics' Choice Awards | Best Actor in a Limited Series or Movie Made for Television | Samuel L. Jackson | Nominated |
| 2023 | 28th Critics' Choice Awards | Best Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie Made for Television | Dominique Fishback | Nominated |
| 2023 | 54th NAACP Image Awards | Outstanding Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special | The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey | Nominated |
| 2023 | 54th NAACP Image Awards | Outstanding Actor in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special | Samuel L. Jackson | Nominated |
| 2023 | 54th NAACP Image Awards | Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special | Omar Benson Miller | Nominated |
| 2023 | 54th NAACP Image Awards | Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series | "Robyn" Debbie Allen | Nominated |
| 2023 | 54th NAACP Image Awards | Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series | "Sensia" Hanelle Culpepper | Nominated |
| 2023 | 54th NAACP Image Awards | Outstanding Make-up | Michele Lewis | Nominated |