An estranged family, infidelity, mass incarceration, gender identity, racism, class and colorism, and drug addiction set in present day New Orleans against the backdrop of a sprawling sugarcane farm. That’s “Queen Sugar,” the critically acclaimed drama series from Academy award-nominated filmmaker Ava DuVernay (“13th,” “Selma”), and executive producer Oprah Winfrey.
I am pleased to let BSO and “Queen Sugar” fans know that we will be doing episode recaps all season long. The series will regularly air Wednesday nights on OWN at 10 p.m. ET/PT and our recaps will post Thursday mornings at 10 am EST.
Season 1 introduced us to the Bordelon siblings: two sisters, Nova Bordelon (played by Rutina Wesley), a take no prisoners activist/journalist from New Orleans, and Charley Bordelon (Dawn-Lyen Gardner), a businesswoman, 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 the absentee, former drug addict mother of his child. If you need to catch up, season 1 is available on Hulu, the exclusive subscription-streaming partner for the drama series.
Just as with season 1, showrunner and creator DuVernay has assembled an all-female directing team for season two including: Kat Candler, DeMane Davis, Cheryl Dunye, Aurora Guerrero and Amanda Marsalis.
Queen Sugar is a fantastic drama series and another example of the expanding opportunities for black actors on television. Check back on June 22nd for our recap of the two-night premiere of Season 2. We will also have interviews with select cast members throughout the season.
See the season 2 trailer below.