While the upcoming television season’s slate includes many of the usual subjects—legal procedurals, political thrillers, and broad multicamera sitcoms chief among them—one cable show in particular is worth keeping an eye on as we head into the fall. That’d be Queen Sugar, the new OWN series created by Ava DuVernay and executive produced by Oprah Winfrey. After a glimpse of the upcoming drama dropped a few weeks ago, OWN has now unveiled an extended full-length trailer—and goodness is it gorgeous.
The trailer introduces the Bordelon family as they reluctantly reunite at their ailing sugarcane farm in Louisiana, after the passing of the family patriarch. The series is based on Natalie Baszile’s eponymous 2014 novel and includes in its cast of siblings Rutina Wesley (of True Blood fame), Dawn-Lyen Gardner, and newcomer Kofi Siriboe. But as set against a melancholy original score from Meshell Ndegeocello, this sampling of Queen Sugar—equal parts joyful and sorrowful and featuring lush cinematography in the Deep South—most notably showcases DuVernay’s unique talents as a filmmaker.
She is the latest in a long line of directors to make the shift to television, even as she stays active on the feature side of things. (It was announced yesterday that her new Netflix documentary The 13th, which tackles the U.S. incarceration epidemic, will open this year’s New York Film Festival.) She described her approach to Queen Sugar as one where “you have to sink into it,” enlisting a group of exclusively female directors for the first season to help realize her vision.
The series will premiere Sept. 6 on OWN.
