Queen Sugar Information

Queen Sugar is an American drama television series, created, directed and executive produced by Ava DuVernay alongside Oprah Winfrey. The series is based on the novel of the same name by Natalie Baszile. The series set to air on Oprah Winfrey Network and will premiere on September 6, 2016. On August 1, 2016, the series was renewed for a second season ahead of television premiere.

The series follows the life of three siblings: two sisters, Nova Bordelon (played by Rutina Wesley), the formidable journalist and activist from New Orleans, and Charley Bordelon (Dawn-Lyen Gardner), a modern woman, who, with her teenage 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 a single father struggling with unemployment and absentee, former drug addict as the mother of his child.

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. 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. 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. On February 15, 2016, Neema Barnette joined the series as director and producer. Award winning director Tina Mabry is a producer and will also direct two episodes, and Anthony Sparks, an award winning TV writer and professor, is a supervising producer for the series.

Casting

On January 13, 2016, it was announced that Rutina Wesley will play the leading role of Nova Bordelon. 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. 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. On February 16, 2016, it was announced that Tina Lifford, Dondre Whitfield, Timon Kyle Durrett and Nicholas L. Ashe was cast as a series regulars. On February 23, 2016, Bianca Lawson and Greg Vaughan joined the cast as regulars, while Henry G. Sanders as recurring. Meanwhile, Oprah Winfrey Network said that Oprah Winfrey, who earlier was announced as a recurring, will not have an onscreen role. On March 11, 2016, it was announced that Marycarmen Lopez also was cast as regular.

Cast and characters

Regular cast

• Rutina Wesley as Nova Bordelon
• Dawn-Lyen Gardner as Charley Bordelon West
• Kofi Siriboe as Ralph Angel Bordelon
• Tina Lifford as Violet Bordelon
• Omar Dorsey as Hollywood Desonier
• Dondre Whitfield as Remy Newell
• Bianca Lawson as Darla
• Timon Kyle Durrett as Davis West
• Greg Vaughan as Calvin
• Nicholas L. Ashe as Micah West
• Ethan Hutchison as Blue Bordelon
• Marycarmen Lopez as Reyna Velez

Recurring cast

• Glynn Turman as Ernest Bordelon
• Henry G. Sanders as Prosper Denton
• True O'Brien as Stella