(Photo: OWN Communications)
Ava DuVernay’s “Queen Sugar” returns to OWN, Tuesday, February 16, 2021 at 8 p.m. EST. The series, which was just picked up for a sixth season ahead of the season five return, has been lauded for its powerful portrayal of an African-American family in the Deep South and for DuVernay’s continued hiring of women directors. Season five was helmed entirely by three filmmakers, including producing director Lauren Wolkstein, Lisa France and Cierra Glaude.
During the production stop-down in 2020 due to COVID-19, DuVernay decided to completely revamp the season five storyline to address the very real issues our country was facing through the lens of the beloved Bordelon family and the fictional community of St. Josephine.
DuVernay reconceived the character arcs and storylines, writing alongside returning showrunner Anthony Sparks and supervising producer Norman Vance to tackle head-on the COVID-19 pandemic, the Black Lives Matter protest movement that swept the country, and corruption in politics to showcase the specific impact and ramifications these issues have on communities and people of color.
Through it all, viewers will see the joy around the pain, and humanity’s ability to persevere and find light in the darkest of times. Led by the talented cast of Rutina Wesley, Dawn-Lyen Gardner and Kofi Siriboe, “Queen Sugar’s” storylines continue to delve into important topics such as police brutality, addiction and recovery, and systemic racism, among many others.
The new season of “Queen Sugar” returns on Tuesday, February 16 at 8PM ET/PT. Catch up on the first four seasons of the series exclusively on Hulu.
This post was curated by Nsenga K. Burton, Ph.D., founder & editor-in-chief of The Burton Wire. Follow Nsenga on Twitter @Ntellectual.
Follow The Burton Wire on Twitter @TheBurtonWire.
