Colman Domingo’s protagonist in the Netflix conspiracy thriller series The Madness has a notorious activist father. Created by playwright Stephen Belber of The Laramie Project and Tape acclaim, The Madness follows Muncie Daniels’ rapidly unraveling life after discovering a dead body in a remote cabin neighboring his wooded rental home. Muncie believes he’s being set up for the murder of a man named Mark Simon, a prominent online figure and spearhead of a rogue white supremacy group called The Forge.
The Madness arrives months after Domingo’s Oscar-buzzy prison drama Sing Sing amidst a swell of new A-lister-led thriller series like Michael Fassbender’s The Agency and Eddie Redmayne’s The Day of the Jackal. Domingo is best known for his inspired work in films like Rustin and his Emmy-winning performance in Euphoria. His lead role as Victor Strand in the dystopian sci-fi series Fear the Walking Dead offered an initial glimpse of his less-utilized skills as a physical actor, which are also put on display in The Madness.
Muncie Daniels’ Dad Was In Prison For Murder Or Attempting Murder
Muncie’s dad was an activist who resorted to extreme violence
Although Muncie Daniels’ father is not portrayed onscreen in The Madness, several characters mention him on numerous occasions. Based on the context clues and limited information about the specifics of Muncie’s dad, it’s clear that his dad was in prison and that he either killed someone or attempted to kill them. Muncie’s father was a notorious activist who used violence as a tool for his activism which naturally had disastrous results for his life and his cause.
It appears that most if not all of the characters in The Madness are fully aware of who Muncie’s father is, which casts a large shadow over Muncie’s reputation and career. The “sins” of Muncie’s father, as one key character alludes to in the series, come about during Muncie’s predicament as he desperately tries to prove his innocence against powerful shadow forces. Muncie has to actively work against his infamous family legacy caused by the headlining acts of violence done by his father.
How Muncie Was Affected By What His Dad Did
Muncie tries but struggles to not repeat his father’s mistakes
Muncie’s entire adult life can be summarized as a response to “the sins of his father.” In The Madness, Muncie says that he tried to change the system from the inside rather than the outside like his father did and ultimately didn’t want to be a killer. Muncie morally wrestles with having to resort to violence, which is a key theme and source of internal conflict within his character. He learns in certain moments how violence, or at least threats of violence, seems to be the most effective tool to achieve a desired outcome. The Madness shows Muncie struggling to rise above his father’s reputation while also needing to defend himself from violence and employ violence for self-defense.
