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RADICAL is a limited-run drama series based upon the true story of Jason "Radical" Russell — self-proclaimed Dream Evangelist, accused white savior, and charismatic creator of the world’s most viral video: KONY 2012.
RADICAL takes us behind the scenes of Jason’s organization as he leads his devoted team with obsessive passion and the belief that their work will change the course of human history. But when KONY 2012’s popularity gets out of hand, the fallout takes a toll on Jason’s mental state — and the world watches as his collapse is broadcast on TMZ.
The story of a fanatic dreamer, the vision that birthed the world’s most viral video, and the blind arrogance that brought an entire movement to a halt.
It has been seven years since Jason “Radical” Russell helped found Invisible Children, a non-profit working to end what he dubbed “Africa’s longest-running war.” His films built a nationwide grassroots fundraising network — but the war still hasn’t ended. Idealistic and uncompromising, Russell believes something bigger, something revolutionary, is necessary to redefine history. In 2011 he and his team harness their storytelling in a propaganda and street campaign around their biggest film yet: KONY 2012. Capturing people’s attention is power.
Laying the groundwork, Invisible Children launches the inaugural Fourth Estate summit — a weekend of talks, dance parties and celebrity appearances, building a network of “global citizens.” If you’re going to try to save Africa, it should at least be fun. In his closing speech, Jason charges the room with bringing warlord Joseph Kony — a man, in a jungle, on the other side of the world — to justice. In his own words: “Stop at nothing.”
Reinvigorated, Jason returns to the San Diego headquarters to immerse himself in the campaign. In his mind the pieces are coming together, but leadership begins to question his judgement; fundraising goals go unmet and new projects drain resources, and Jason is too isolated to see it. When the interns return from tour, chaos consumes the office — gag games, musical numbers and an intern locked in a cage, all livestreamed to manufacture urgency ahead of the release.
When KONY 2012 drops, its tepid reception knocks the vigor from Jason — until a single tweet changes everything. Oprah is on board and the floodgates open: Bieber, Kardashian, Seacrest, Rihanna. The film racks up millions of views at unprecedented speed, but no one was prepared for this. Not everyone is happy about his oversimplified, white-washed film, and criticism grows as fast as the views. As Invisible Children’s systems fail, those closest to Jason begin to fear his grip on reality is crumbling too.
The fastest-spreading video in history. No one on the team was ready for what came next.
How one film turned a warlord into the most-viewed name on Earth.
The believers, the builders, and the man who could not stop.
Jason “Radical” Russell is a dreamer — obsessive and idealistic, trying to change the world. One of three Invisible Children co-founders, he is the only one left at the helm. He believes relentlessly in the good in people and the power of his storytelling — if only more people could hear his message. In 2003, on the other side of the world, he told a Ugandan boy he would stop this “war.” Nearly a decade later, that unfulfilled promise still drives him — and he believes KONY 2012 is his last, best shot.
Ben Keesey is the CFO of Invisible Children — the voice of reason to Jason and Jedidiah’s chaotic, childish energy. He believes in the goal; he’s inspired and passionate, but at the end of the day he’s the business guy, doing the tedious work no one else wants so the mission can keep moving forward. Sometimes he worries he lends too much credibility to the office antics — but being called a naysayer gets exhausting. Maybe Ben is in too deep. In the end, he trusts Jason’s vision.
Jedidiah Jenkins is the Director of Ideology — a title as nebulous as its job description. He takes the role seriously as the millennial philosopher, waxing important-sounding ideology, borrowing from history and pointing Invisible Children toward the future with repurposed propaganda. Simultaneously contemplative and an extroverted unicorn, he is too earnest for self-doubt. As Jason’s best friend, his words give depth and validity to his crazy.
Once an intern, Kimmy has become indispensable to Invisible Children’s operations — Jason’s day-to-day support and the gatekeeper to his time. Not only does she know everything her superiors do, she can actually make things happen. She takes pride in being a doer surrounded by dreamers. Jason’s helplessness at daily tasks can run her ragged, but she has always believed in the cause. After all — what would Jason do without her?
Angela and Carl are interns in the spotlight — their youth and passion the face of Invisible Children, engaging directly with supporters. In an attention economy, keeping eyes on you is priority number one, and this live-streaming duo won’t let the somber subject matter bring anyone down. Warzone updates go down easier sandwiched between office hijinks and goofy fundraising challenges.
Danica Russell is Jason’s wife — his confidante, cheerleader and dance partner. Snarky and energetic, she moonlights as a writer for Invisible Children while raising the couple’s two children. When her family is thrust into the international spotlight, she struggles to hold all the pieces together as her husband grows more and more isolated.
Kinetic, handmade, always a little out of control.
Quick, kinetic, always a little out of control — one part Christian summer-camp, one part Silicon-Valley startup. Rapid-fire dialogue and bizarre true events lace satire through an unsettling rise-and-fall: a thrilling ride, and a cautionary tale about the man who built the world’s first viral movement.
What it all meant — and the sound that carries it.
At its most simple, RADICAL is the rise and fall of an activist turned messianic leader — the boundaries we push for something we believe in, and how far we can stretch before something breaks.
The power of storytelling — and what happens when the content is inextricably tied to the creator. In a closed room, what reads as passion may not land the same played out on YouTube for all the world to watch.
A coming-of-age of the internet, where mass information and reality begin to intersect. Retweets for a cause, collectible bracelets, Shepard-Fairey-style street art and interns in Toms — hallmarks of a time before we knew what the internet could do.
Massive indie-festival anthems of the early 2010s set the tone. Kanye West, Mumford & Sons, Passion Pit, Kid Cudi — music in 2012 was exciting, eclectic and discoverable, the soundtrack for a do-nothing generation, the music that reminds us what it felt like to believe in something. Juxtaposed against the real events of KONY 2012, larger-than-life tracks with soul-baring lyrics score Jason’s journey of incendiary success and catastrophic defeat.