The Six Triple Eight is a 2024 American war drama film written and directed by Tyler Perry on the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, an all-black, all-female battalion, in World War II. It is based on the article "Fighting a Two-Front War" by Kevin M. Hymel. The film's ensemble cast includes Kerry Washington, Ebony Obsidian, Milauna Jackson, Shanice Shantay, Sarah Jeffery, Pepi Sonuga, Gregg Sulkin, Susan Sarandon, Dean Norris, Sam Waterston, Kylie Jefferson, Moriah Brown, and Oprah Winfrey.
The Six Triple Eight had a limited theatrical release on December 6, 2024, then began airing on Netflix on December 20. The film received mixed reviews from critics. Its historical accuracy was criticised by military historian Dick Cole, who identified numerous departures from the historical record, including the depiction of trench warfare in Italy and the portrayal of racial segregation, and argued that its exaggerated portrayal of racist characters diminished rather than strengthened its treatment of the discrimination faced by the 6888th. Its song, "The Journey", was nominated for Best Original Song at the 97th Academy Awards. The film was nominated for and won five awards at the 56th NAACP Image Awards, including Outstanding Motion Picture and acting wins for Washington, Obsidian, and the ensemble cast.
Plot
A West Virginian mother waits daily for news from her two sons serving overseas while childhood friends Lena and Abram face the difficulty of their budding romance (Lena is black and Abram is Jewish) in 1940s Philadelphia. Abram, on notice for deployment, promises Lena's mother he will come to her house and court Lena properly after the war. When Abram is killed in action as a fighter pilot, the heartbroken Lena enlists after graduating from school. She befriends other enlistees on the train to Georgia for basic training.
Captain Charity Adams Earley and Lieutenant Abbie Noel Campbell train the recruits but the battalion is not deployed overseas. The West Virginian mother convinces First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt that mail from relatives overseas is severely delayed. President Franklin D. Roosevelt discusses the issue at a meeting with Mary MacLeod Bethune in attendance and learns supply shipments have been prioritized over mail, leaving millions of letters and packages piled up in Britain. Clearing the backlog has become a logistical nightmare that several units have been unable to resolve, including a white Women's Army Corps (WAC) unit. Bethune insists the black WAC unit commanded by Adams can do it.
The battalion travels to Glasgow aboard without naval escort.This was standard practice for the fast prewar ocean liners, which could outrun U-Boats easily. Once ashore the racist commanding officer, General Halt, forces them to march through the city to a disused, rat-infested, unheated boarding school. The newly-promoted Major Adams and Captain Campbell are given six months to turn the school into a post office and barracks, and clear the two-year backlog of undelivered mail, a deadline intended to ensure their failure.
The battalion establishes liveable quarters, a pristine mess hall, and an efficient mail sorting hall. Lena loses her composure watching nonchalant handling of dog tags found in damaged letters, breaks down and confides to her friends her connection to Abram. Memories of not receiving any of his letters makes her appreciate how important their job is. Her friends promise to watch for letters addressed to her, and Major Adams tells Lena that her story has also made her realize the importance of their work.
The battalion learns their first two months of sorted mail was undeliverable, and is asked to host black soldiers at a dance to boost morale. Lena sees Hugh there, whom she had met previously at the 6888th's training base in Georgia. They start to dance, but she leaves upon hearing a song she associates with Abram. They decide to be friends.
When white officers discover that letters are occasionally opened, the battalion's members respond by describing the challenges they face, such as multiple instances of identical names, multiple locator cards for soldiers as their units move, rats damaging the packages, and mold from care packages from home destroying addresses. The same day that a letter from Abram to Lena is found, two women of the 6888th are killed by an unexploded bomb. After their burial at Brookwood Cemetery, Lena visits Abram's grave, where she reads his letter. In it, he tells her to live a long life and she finally receives closure.
Lieutenant General Halt visits the battalion, delivers a harsh critique, and declares Major Adams incompetent. When he announces his intent to replace her with a white male officer, Adams responds, "Over my dead body" and confronts him. The soldiers who witness the exchange remain at attention until she returns to release them for duty, at which point they give her a rousing ovation. General Halt, working on Major Adams' court martial, hears cheers from his unit as their mail finally arrives. The 6888th has succeeded in eliminating the two-year backlog of 17 million pieces of mail in just 90 days. The unit is sent to Rouen, France, to clear a similar backlog. After the war, Lena marries Hugh and enjoys a long life with him.
Decades later, Michelle Obama oversees a ceremony honoring the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion. On April 27, 2023, the U.S. Army renamed Fort Lee as Fort Gregg-Adams to honor Adams, making it the first U.S. military base named for a black woman.
Cast
Production It was announced in December 2022 that Tyler Perry would write and direct the film Six Triple Eight for Netflix. The film is based on historian Kevin M. Hymel's article, "Fighting a Two-Front War", published in the February 2019 issue of WWII History magazine. In January 2023, the cast, including Kerry Washington, Sam Waterston, Susan Sarandon, and Oprah Winfrey was announced, with Washington also joining as an executive producer.
Filming began on January 17, 2023, in Atlanta. Production also occurred in Little Germany, Bradford, and at Imperial War Museum Duxford in February. Filming took place in Cedartown, Georgia, on March 28, 2023. The Six Triple Eight had a budget of $70 million, making it Perry's largest and most expensive production to date.
Music
The Six Triple Eight (Soundtrack from the Netflix Film) was released digitally on December 6, 2024, through Netflix Music. The album consisted of the film score composed by Aaron Zigman, in his eleventh collaboration with Perry, and jointly produced by Zigman, Perry and music supervisor Joel C. High. The film's end credits song, "The Journey" written by Diane Warren and performed by H.E.R., was nominated in the category of Best Original Song at the 97th Academy Awards.
Release In February 2024, The Six Triple Eight was reported to be part of Netflix's 2024 release calendar, with a specific date yet to be announced. In August 2024, Netflix announced that the film, now titled The Six Triple Eight, would be released in a limited theatrical release on December 6, 2024, with a streaming release two weeks later on December 20 on Netflix.
The Six Triple Eight amassed 52.4 million views over its first four weeks on Netflix becoming Tyler Perry's most-watched film on the service to date. The historical drama has also boosted viewership for Perry’s four other Netflix films, Mea Culpa, A Jazzman's Blues, A Madea Homecoming, and A Fall from Grace by more than 45% since The Six Triple Eight began streaming on Dec. 20. Plus, the film reached the Top 10 in more than 85 countries, the most of any film he’s made for the streamer.
Reception Critical reception Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 51 out of 100, based on 14 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.
Film critic Peter Debruge from Variety gave it a positive review, writing: "The Six Triple Eight gives Perry his best and most substantial feature to date (only 2010's ensemble melodrama For Colored Girls comes close)... The film boasts a large enough cast to launch a dozen or so careers, and yet, one performance stands head and shoulders above the others: That would be Washington's forceful turn as Adams, who holds her own against arrogant white officers." Frank Scheck from The Hollywood Reporter also gave it a positive review, praising Obsidian and Washington's performances. Jesse Hassenger from The Guardian gave it 2/5 stars, writing: "Kerry Washington hams it up in the writer-director's stodgy ode to a battalion of women in the second world war who deserve far better".
Alison Willmore of New York gave the film a negative review, writing that, in attempting to give the 6888th “their belated due onscreen,” it becomes “more about what they endured than about what they accomplished.” Willmore described the film as a “clunky excuse for a war movie” and criticised its heavy-handed treatment of the battalion's experiences.
Accolades AwardDate of ceremonyCategoryRecipient(s)Result Academy Awards 2 March 2025 Best Original Song "The Journey" – Diane Warren African-American Film Critics AssociationFebruary 19, 2025Beacon AwardNicole AvantBlack Reel AwardsFebruary 10, 2025Outstanding Lead PerformanceKerry Washington Outstanding Original Song"The Journey" – Diane Warren; Performed by H.E.R.Celebration of Cinema and TelevisionDecember 9, 2024Icon AwardTyler PerryHollywood Music in Media AwardsNovember 20, 2024Original Score – Feature FilmAaron Zigman Best Original Song – Feature Film"The Journey" – Diane Warren; Performed by H.E.R.NAACP Image AwardsFebruary 22, 2025Outstanding Motion PictureThe Six Triple Eight Outstanding Actress in a Motion PictureKerry WashingtonOutstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion PictureEbony ObsidianOutstanding Breakthrough Performance in a Motion PictureOutstanding Ensemble Cast in a Motion PictureThe cast of The Six Triple Eight Satellite Awards January 26, 2025 Best Original Song "The Journey" – Diane Warren Society of Composers & Lyricists Awards February 12, 2025Outstanding Original Song for a Dramatic or Documentary Visual Media Production DAR National Defense Night Awards June 28, 2025 DAR Media and Entertainment Award Tyler Perry Studios
Controversies
Historical accuracy Military historian Dick Cole, editor of the Air Force Public Affairs Association newsletter News and Notes, criticised the film's historical accuracy. Cole, who stated that he had worked as a military historian and an adviser to motion picture production companies during the making of three military films, wrote that there was "much to find wrong with Perry's The Six Triple Eight." He argued that Perry was attempting to create a film similar to Hidden Figures, with both films depicting Black women succeeding in traditionally male fields while confronting racism and sexism. However, Cole concluded that The Six Triple Eight "falls well short of that level of tone, authenticity and historical truth."
Cole identified several specific historical inaccuracies. He criticised the opening battle sequence, arguing that "there was no trench warfare in WWII like that depicted in the film, particularly in Italy". He also noted that the film depicts Lena Derriecott attending a non-segregated school in 1942 and entering an interracial relationship at a time when anti-miscegenation laws remained in force in almost every state. Cole argued that these alterations weakened rather than strengthened the film's treatment of racism, writing: "including these untruths in a period drama makes the true racism that the women face in the film less important than it should be and easier to disregard." He added that a more historically accurate treatment "would have increased the importance of what the 6888th achieved 80 years ago."