DuVernay tries TV with ‘Queen Sugar’

Associated Press

NEW YORK

The new family drama “Queen Sugar” follows three estranged siblings in a rural Louisiana town as they struggle to make sense of their lives while preserving a family legacy: a failing sugar-cane farm.

Nova (Rutina Wesley, “True Blood”) is a fiery journalist and activist. Charley (Dawn-Lyen Gardner, “Unforgettable”) is the wife and no-nonsense manager of an NBA star. Ralph Angel (Kofi Siriboe, “Awkward”) is a devoted young father with a criminal past.

The series, which premieres on OWN network tonight and Wednesday at 10 p.m., is based on the novel by Natalie Baszile and is co-produced by Oprah Winfrey with the acclaimed filmmaker Ava DuVernay (the Oscar-nominated “Selma,” her new documentary “The 13th”), who is also the series’ co-creator, writer and director.

DuVernay explained why she chose this project for her TV debut. “I love good family dramas,” she said. “Not super plot-driven, but character-driven stories. And I thought, ‘Gosh, I wish I could see that with some black folk.”’

A while back, Winfrey handed her Baszile’s novel to read on holiday.

“Oprah sent me to Maui,” DuVernay laughed, “and I ended up with work.”

The book – up close and personal, yet broad in scope – sparked the series she had always wanted to see.

“Charley is dealing with her family in the South while she’s pursuing a professional life in Los Angeles. With Ralph Angel, what a great opportunity to get to know a formerly incarcerated black man – the second-class citizens we make them. And in this incredible Black Lives Matter moment, which I think parallels in so many ways the civil rights movement, it’s incredible to have a character in Nova who embodies that spirit. “I fell in love with the possibilities.”