Ta-Nehisi Paul Coates (/ˌtɑːnəˈhɑːsi/TAH-nə-HAH-see; (born September 30, 1975) is an American author, journalist, and activist. He gained a wide readership as a national correspondent at The Atlantic, where he wrote about cultural, social, and political issues, particularly regarding African Americans and white supremacy. In 2015, Coates received a MacArthur Fellowship from the MacArthur Foundation. His work has been published in numerous periodicals. He has published four nonfiction books: The Beautiful Struggle(2008), Between the World and Me(2015), We Were Eight Years in Power: An American Tragedy (2017), and The Message (2024). Between the World and Me won the 2015 National Book Award for Nonfiction. He has also written a Black Panther and Captain America series for Marvel Comics. His first novel, The Water Dancer, was published in 2019. Description above from the Wikipedia article Ta-Nehisi Coates, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
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Biography from TMDB.
- September 30, 1975 (51)
- Baltimore, Maryland, USA
- Producer and writer, also actor
- 5 on MovieCove · 7 credits in all
Known for
What are Ta-Nehisi Coates' films like?
Across their 5 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Society and Ideas.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 3
Light 1 · Serious 0 · Dark 2
Grounded 2 · Stylized 1 · Heightened 0
Gentle 0 · Charged 3 · Intense 0
Steady 2 · Shifting 1 · Whiplash 0
Straight-faced 3 · Some laughs 0 · Funny 0
Slow burn 2 · Even-paced 1 · Relentless 0
Casual 1 · Engaged 1 · Full focus 1
A split, not a type: Easy watch 1 · Affecting 0 · Heavy 2
Resolved 3 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 0
Moods and endings
- Bittersweet3
- Ambiguous1
- Cyclical1
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Ta-Nehisi Coates' films?
As of October 24, 2026, 4 of their 5 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Disney+ (3).
Subscription and free streaming for Ta-Nehisi Coates' titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
7 credits, 5 with a MovieCove page; 14 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.
When a Witness Recants(2026)
Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films
What If...?(2021)
Midcredits score: 60th percentile of all shows
Midcredits score: 56th percentile of all shows
Between the World and Me(2020)
Midcredits score: 84th percentile of all films
Black Panther(2018)
Midcredits score: 89th percentile of all filmsThe Water Dancer (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Wrong Answer (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Career shape
A full career of 7 titles, 5 of them dated from 2018 to 2026.
Biggest box office
Ex Libris (2017)
Highest rated
Ex Libris (2017)
Most popular right now
Oprah's Book Club (2019)
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it.
How do Ta-Nehisi Coates' films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 89th percentile, the median of all 3; across a limited sample of 3 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 93rd percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up3
- 50th to 74th2
Shape of the crowd
3 of their 5 titles are Crowd Pleasers.
- Cult Classic1
- Crowd Pleaser3
- Broadly Agreed1
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Who does Ta-Nehisi Coates work with?
People who share at least 2 of Ta-Nehisi Coates' MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Kamilah Forbes shares the most, 2.
Producers
- Kamilah ForbesShared titles: When a Witness Recants (2026), Between the World and Me (2020)See all 2 shared titles with Kamilah Forbes
- Lisa HellerShared titles: When a Witness Recants (2026), Obama: In Pursuit of a More Perfect Union (2021)See all 2 shared titles with Lisa Heller
- Nancy AbrahamShared titles: When a Witness Recants (2026), Obama: In Pursuit of a More Perfect Union (2021)See all 2 shared titles with Nancy Abraham
- Sara RodriguezShared titles: When a Witness Recants (2026), Obama: In Pursuit of a More Perfect Union (2021)See all 2 shared titles with Sara Rodriguez
