Queen Sugar

Queen Sugar is an American drama television series, which was created, directed and executive produced by Ava DuVernay, with Oprah Winfrey serving as an executive producer. The series is based on the novel of the same name by Natalie Baszile.^[1] The series airs on Oprah Winfrey Network and premiered on September 6, 2016.^[1][2][3] On August 1, 2016, the series was renewed for a second season ahead of its television premiere which aired in a two-night premiere on June 20 and June 21, 2017.^[4][5]

The series follows the life of three siblings: two sisters, Nova Bordelon (played by Rutina Wesley), a formidable journalist and activist from New Orleans, and Charley Bordelon (Dawn-Lyen Gardner), a modern woman, who, with her teenaged son Micah, leaves her upscale home in Los Angeles and moves to the heart of Louisiana to claim an inheritance from her recently departed father – an 800-acre sugarcane farm; and their brother Ralph Angel (Kofi Siriboe), a single father struggling with unemployment and an absentee, former drug addict mother of his child.

The second season premiered on OWN in a two episode special on June 20 and 21, 2017. The show was renewed for a third season on July 26, 2017.^[6]

Cast and characters

Main

• Rutina Wesley as Nova Bordelon, the eldest Bordelon child, a journalist, activist and herbal healer
• Dawn-Lyen Gardner as Charlotte "Charley" Bordelon West, the middle Bordelon child - half sibling to Nova and Ralph Angel, a sports manager, mother of Micah and wife of Davis
• Kofi Siriboe as Ralph Angel Bordelon, the youngest Bordelon child, the face-forward brother of Bordelon sisters looking to better himself after recently being released from prison
• Tina Lifford as Violet Bordelon, Ernest's younger sister, mother figure to the Bordelon children and Hollywood's girlfriend
• Omar Dorsey as Hollingsworth "Hollywood" Desonier, Violet's much younger oil rig worker boyfriend and supporter of the Bordelon family
• Dondre Whitfield as Remy Newell, an irrigation specialist who was a friend and confidante to Ernest who soon becomes a helping hand to Ernest's children
• Bianca Lawson as Darla, a recovering drug addict who is Ralph Angel's ex-girlfriend and Blue's mother seeking to reconnect with them both
• Timon Kyle Durrett as Davis West, Charley's charismatic star basketball player husband, client and Micah's father who is currently involved in a sex scandal as series unfolds
• Greg Vaughan as Calvin, a married police officer and Nova's longtime secret lover
• Nicholas L. Ashe as Micah West, Charley's and Davis's teenage son
• Ethan Hutchison as Blue Bordelon, Ralph Angel's and Darla's 6-year-old son
• Marycarmen Lopez as Reyna Velez, Blue's elementary school teacher and possible love interest to Ralph Angel (season 1)

Recurring

• Glynn Turman as Ernest Bordelon, the patriarch of the Bordelon family and older brother of Violet (season 1)
• Henry G. Sanders as Prosper Denton, a lifelong friend to Ernest and fellow farmer
• True O'Brien as Stella, Micah's girlfriend who he later breaks up with having finding out she had sex with several other guys (season 1)^[7]
• Issac White as Devonte "Too Sweet" Bonclair, a teen who after being falsely imprisoned becomes the main focus of Nova's current crusade on how the parish DA has been railroading African-Americans (season 1)
• Tanyell Waivers as Keke, a teenage friend of the family who Micah sets his sights on after meeting her at a family cook-out^[8]

Production

Development

On February 2, 2015, it was announced that Oprah Winfrey Network has ordered Queen Sugar, a straight-to-series drama based on novel with same name by Natalie Baszile.^{[1][2][9][10]} Ava DuVernay and Oprah Winfrey, who worked on the 2014 film Selma, co-created the series, while DuVernay is set to write and direct Queen Sugar. The first season began film in February 2016.^[11] The first season will have 13 episodes. DuVernay announced on January 27, 2016 in an interview that the series would feature an all-women directorial team.^[12] On February 15, 2016, Neema Barnette joined the series as director and producer.^[13] Award winning director Tina Mabry is a producer and will also direct two episodes, and Anthony Sparks,^[14] an award winning TV writer and professor, is a supervising producer for the series.^[15] It was later announced that singer-songwriter Meshell Ndegeocello would provide the score for the series. ^[16]

Casting

On January 13, 2016, it was announced that Rutina Wesley would play the role of Nova Bordelon.^[17][18][19] Further casting was announced January 27, 2016. Dawn-Lyen Gardner, Kofi Siriboe, and Omar Dorsey, who co-starred in Selma, were all announced in leading roles.^[20][21] On February 1, 2016, it was announced that Emmy Award-winner Glynn Turman will guest-star as Ernest Bordelon, the patriarch of the family who died in the first episode.^[22] On February 16, 2016, it was announced that Tina Lifford, Dondre Whitfield, Timon Kyle Durrett and Nicholas L. Ashe were cast as series regulars.^[23] On February 23, 2016, Bianca Lawson and Greg Vaughan joined the cast as regulars, while Henry G. Sanders joined in a recurring role. Meanwhile, Oprah Winfrey Network said that Oprah Winfrey, who earlier was announced as a recurring character, would not have an onscreen role.^[24] On March 11, 2016, it was announced that Marycarmen Lopez also was cast as regular.^[25]

Episodes

Season 1 (2016)

Season 2 (2017)

Novel

Queen Sugar, a novel written by UCLA graduate Natalie Baszile, is a mother-daughter story of reinvention. It tells the story about an African-American woman, who unexpectedly inherits a sugarcane farm in Louisiana.

Baszile started writing her African-American-themed tale of endurance and hope in the American South in the early 1990s, and the text was only ready ten years later. She first presented the manuscript to publishers in 2009 but without any success. After revising the book for another two years, she resubmitted the text, with one agent agreeing to represent her.

Baszile took part in a women writer's retreat in Hedgebrook. A friend of hers who was also at the retreat, the novelist Sarah Manyika, suggested that she read part of a chapter from Queen Sugar to fellow residents. Leigh Haber, Oprah magazine's book editor was attending and loved the novel and passed it to people at Harpo because she thought they might be interested in it. A few months after that, Harpo called to say they wanted to option the book for a project.^[47]

The book was published by Penguin in 2014 as the debut novel of Baszile and a few months later, Oprah television network OWN negotiated the deal to turn the book into a television series.

Accolades

References

External links

• Official Website
• Queen Sugar on IMDb