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The Remarkable Legacy of Queen Sugar
Illustration by Charles Chaisson for TIME
BYÂ TANISHA C. FORD
NOVEMBER 28, 2022 12:15 PM EST
The New Orleans set of Queen Sugar is buzzing with energy. Itâs a relentlessly humid July day, and creator Ava DuVernay has returned to direct the series finale, which will air on Nov. 29, her first time helming an episode since its debut season, in 2016. DuVernay yells âCut!â and rises from her chair, moving nimbly through the immaculately decorated living room of the showâs central character, Nova Bordelon (Rutina Wesley). DuVernay converses with camera operators and grips. She positions props to her liking. Her light but authoritative touch is on everything from scripts to wardrobe. She finally stops in front of the couch where Wesley lies under a thick blanket, adjusting it to ensure that the actorâs striking face isnât obscured. They talk briefly about the scene. âWe have an unspoken language,â Wesley tells me later. âAva would speak to me through her pen, and then I would respond with my work.â
To watch DuVernay in action is to understand her creative process on a deeper level. Later she will tell me that she likes to film many takes of the same sceneââcollecting my toys,â she calls itâso she has options in the editing room. Sheâs looking for emotive glances, subtle shifts in posture, the âgentle momentsâ that characterize Queen Sugarâs intimate storytelling. The Juilliard-trained Wesley is a master at this kind of emotional dexterity. She begins delivering the last words Nova Bordelon will ever utter. As the crew looks on, they seem to carry the bittersweet knowledge that the series into which theyâve poured so much is coming to an end after seven seasons.
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Queen Sugar, arguably the longest-running African American family drama in history, has revolutionized TV. DuVernay and executive producer Oprah Winfrey charted a path for the show on OWN. It averaged more than a million weekly viewers in its first seasonsâa major feat for a boutique cable network during the rise of streaming. AfricanâŻAmerican viewers were hungry for a show that authentically depicted the lives of everyday Black people, that didnât pathologize them or shroud them under a veil of respectability. The nuanced characters, lighting that celebrated the beauty of melanated skin, and soulful soundtrack galvanized a legion of Twitter fans who shared their commentary using #gimmiesugar. DuVernay and members of the cast and crew joined in, mirroring the type of community the show itself exemplified.
Read more:Â Ava DuVernay on What Gives Her Hope
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Kofi Siriboe, Rutina Wesley and Dawn-Lyen Gardner on 'Queen Sugar'
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Queen Sugar the show would not exist without Queen Sugar the novel, and Queen Sugar the novel might never have been put in front of DuVernay if not for Winfrey. And not just casually put in front of her: Winfrey was so determined for DuVernay to read Natalie Baszileâs 2014 book, about a woman who inherits an 800-acre family farm in rural Louisiana, that during the directorâs stay at Winfreyâs Maui estate in 2014, the host placed copies of Queen Sugar in Avaâs room, at the kitchen table, on the porch. DuVernay finally devoured it, so inspired that she wrote the treatment for the television show on the flight back to Los Angeles.
When it came time to write the pilot, Winfrey encouraged DuVernay to let the book go and filter what sheâd read through her own imagination and her own familyâs Southern roots. Taking this note, DuVernay conjured magic, creating the Nova Bordelon character, who didnât exist in the book but became the showâs spiritual anchor. She fleshed out the fictional milieu of St.âŻJosephine, La. And while this worldmaking allowed DuVernay to tackle salient social issues, at its core, Queen Sugar is a show about the power and possibilities of Black love: familial love, romantic love, and love for oneâs community. There is the love story between Darla and Ralph Angel, who piece their lives together after battles with addiction and incarceration. Mature Black women appreciated the May-December romance between Violet Bordelon and her devoted husband Hollywood Desonier. Seeing Nova bring her bourgeois sister Charley and nephew Micah deeper into the Movement for Black Lives acknowledged the rich history of grassroots community activism across the South.
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Queen Sugar | Official Trailer | Oprah Winfrey Network
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Winfrey unilaterally greenlighted the show for OWN. âI didnât give it any thought,â she told me over the phone. âAll of the great things Iâve ever done have come out of feeling and instinct.â Winfrey had launched OWN in 2011âa peak moment in TVâs golden eraâto break new ground and support new talent. This golden age may have been in full swing ever since Tony Soprano took a seat in his therapistâs office, but the vestiges of Jim Crow segregation in the industry made it difficult for Black showrunners and executives to seize the moment. By the 2010s, some had busted through, producing shows across genreâScandal, Being Mary Jane, Empire, Power,Black-ishâabout multi-faceted African American characters who defied stereotypes. Shonda Rhimes, Issa Rae, Donald Glover, Lena Waithe, Kenya Barris, Lee Daniels, Courtney A. Kemp, Mara Brock Akil became voices of the so-called Black TV renaissance.
Dawn-Lyen Gardner, Ava DuVernay, Kofi Siriboe and Rutina Wesley on May 20, 2018 in New York City
Paul Bruinooge/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images
DuVernay vowed to keep that door open for others. She proposed to Winfrey that they hire only women to direct the show. That one decision established a creative ethos for Queen Sugar while helping transform industry hiring practices. âI give all, all praise to [Ava],â Winfrey says. At the time, women directorsâespecially Black women and other women of colorâwho wanted to break into episodic television were stymied by retrograde industry norms that granted men the most prestigious jobs. This created a maddening paradox: women couldnât get hired if they didnât have the experience, and they couldnât gain the experience without getting hired.
Of the 42 women recruited to direct Queen Sugar, 39 had never directed an episodic series in the U.S. âAva handpicked all of us,â says Shaz Bennett, who has directed, written, and served as the Season 7 showrunner. âFrom the beginning, [Ava] would say, âWatch the show, and get the feeling of it, but I want you to bring your skill to this.ââ Each directorâs creative bent brought an emotional texture that enhanced what Bennett describes as Queen Sugarâs âbeautiful feminine gaze.â
Read more:Â 24 Essential Works of Black Cinema Recommended by Black Directors
The show counts among its alumnae Victoria Mahoney, Aurora Guerrero, Amanda Marsalis, and DeMane Davis, whoâve all gone on to have stellar careers in TVâMahoney went on to direct for Lovecraft Country and The Morning Show, Marsalis for Westworld and Ozarkâand their successes reflect those of their peers. Pioneering indie filmmaker Julie Dash, who had never directed a scripted series, had her TV career jump-started. âItâs changed the way people look at women directors,â says Bennett. âNow if you donât have women directors on your roster, itâs like, âYou havenât even been looking.ââ DuVernay is proud to see the women and people of color whoâve made up Queen Sugarâs production team parlay that big break into other high-profile opportunities. But she told me what matters most to her is being intentional about leveling the playing field.
âQueen Sugar has been my second job for six years,â DuVernay told me when I visited the set. Sheâs juggled Sugar while directing other projects, including A Wrinkle in Time and When They See Us, while also distributing films by underrepresented directors through her independent production company, ARRAY Filmworks. Now Queen Sugar is ending on her terms. âIt feels complete,â she says. I looked around the set at Novaâs bungalow, Aunt Viâs diner, and the Bordelonsâ farmhouse, and realized I was standing in the brick-and-mortar manifestation of DuVernayâs imagination. She had dreamed this world and collaborated with people who could help her make it a reality. More than anything, I could feel the love between cast and crew, and the palpable spirit of creative excellence that captivated viewers week after week. This is Queen Sugarâs greatest legacy.
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SCAD aTV Fest 2021: 'Queen Sugar' w/ Rutina Wesley, Kofi Siriboe & More | Entertainment Weekly
SCAD aTV Fest 2021: âQueen Sugarâ w/ Rutina Wesley, Kofi Siriboe & More | Entertainment Weekly
Queen Sugar returns as Nova (Rutina Wesley), Charley (Dawn-Lyen Gardner), and Ralph Angel (Kofi Siriboe) and their communities face multiple upheavals throughout 2020, including the COVID-19 pandemic, the Black Lives Matter movement that swept the country, and the build-up to the 2020 elections. Through the Bordelon family, viewers see the joy around the pain and humanityâs ability to persevereâŚ
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JLove CalderĂłn via instagram: "#tbt with some @weinspirejustice fam đŚâ¨đ¸âĄď¸đ love yâall!!!!"
#matt mcgorry#we inspire justice#jlove calderĂłn#dawn-lyen gardner#piper anderson#jennifer cendana armas
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Queen Sugar - OWN - September 6, 2016 - Present
Drama (55 episodes to date)
Running Time:Â 60 minutes
Stars:
Rutina Wesley as Nova Bordelon
Dawn-Lyen Gardner as Charlotte "Charley" Bordelon West
Kofi Siriboe as Ralph Angel Bordelon
Tina Lifford as Violet Bordelon
Omar Dorsey as Hollingsworth "Hollywood" Desonier
Dondre Whitfield as Remy Newell
Bianca Lawson as Darla Sutton
Nicholas L. Ashe as Micah West
Ethan Hutchison as Blue Bordelon
Henry G. Sanders as Prosper Denton (Season 3; Recurring Seasons 1-2)
Timon Kyle Durrett as Davis West (Seasons 1-3)
Greg Vaughan as Calvin (Season 1; Guest Season 2)
Marycarmen Lopez as Reyna Velez (Season 1)
Recurring
Glynn Turman as Ernest Bordelon (season 1)
True O'Brien as Stella (season 1)
Reagan Gomez-Preston as Chantal Williams
Issac White as Devonte "Too Sweet" Bonclair (season 1; guest, season 3)
Tanyell Waivers as Keke Raymond
Deja Dee as Sierra
Sharon Lawrence as Lorna Prescott
Michael Michele as Darlene
Roger Guenveur Smith as Quincy
Alimi Ballard as Dr. Robert Dubois
Lea Coco as Jacob Boudreaux
David Jensen as Samuel Landry
Walter Perez as Romero (season 3)
Vivien NgĂ´ as Trinh Phan
Tony Aidan Vo as Khanh Phan (season 3)Â
Elyse Dinh McCrillis as Mrs. Phan
#Queen Sugar#TV#Drama#OWN#2000's#Rutina Wesley#Dawn-Lyen Gardner#Kofi Sirboe#Tina Lifford#Omar Dorsey#Dondre Whitfield#Bianca Lawson#Nicholas L Ashe#Ethan Richardson#Timon Kyle Durrett#Greg Vaughan#Marycarmen Lopez
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⪠Iâve got a feeling, Everythingâs gonna be alright âŞÂ
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Dawn-Lyen Gardner attends the New Wave Conversation during Film Independent's The New Wave at Geffen Warehouse on October 20, 2019 in Los Angeles, California
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Queen Sugar 4.10 - 4.13 GALLERY LINK : [x] Quality : HD Screencaptures Amount : 3823 files Resolution : 1280x720px
-Please like/reblog if taking! -Please credit grande_caps/kissthemgoodbye!
#queen sugar#queensugaredit#rutina wesley#dawn-lyen gardner#kofi siriboe#tina lifford#omar dorsey#dondre whitfield#bianca lawson#nicholas l ashe#ethan hutchinson#henry g sanders#capped by randomkiwibirds
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#queen sugar#qs: 311#dawn-lyen gardner#charley bordelon west#nicholas l. ashe#micah west#bianca lawson#michael michele#isaac white#tina lifford#violet bordelon#darla
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âAnd in the morning, and the years after, youâll only remember it as a dream. And itâll die, as all dreams must die at waking.â
[ the ghost and mrs. muir remake ] âź requested by @rob-anybodyÂ
dawn-lyen gardner as lucy muir | toby stephens as daniel gregg
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They look amazing!! I just got a second-hand glow from this photo..Â
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QUEEN SUGAR DEPICTS THE UNTOLD STORY OF BLACK CULTURE IN AMERICA
#queensugar#avaduvernay queensugar#queen sugar#avaduvernay#ava duvernay#rutina wesley#dawn lyen gardner#kofisiriboe#kofi siriboe
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hereâs my fancast for the Spawn reboot movie with Jamie Foxx as Al Simmons/Spawn. I nominated Chris Sullivan as Sam Burke and Evan Peters as Maximilian âTwitchâ Williams, Josh Gad as Clown with Javier Botet as The Violator in CGI and Andy Serkis as the voice of Violator, Liev Schreiber or Timothy Olyphant as Jason Wynn, Kerry Washington, Dawn-Lyen Gardner or Hannah Simone as Wanda Blake, Sterling K. Brown, Rob Brown or Lance Gross as Terry Fitzgerald, Steve Schirripa or Anthony LaPaglia as Antonio âTony Twistâ Twistelli, Brooke Ence as Jessica Priest/She-Spawn, Iain Glen, Ben Mendelsohn, Sam Neill or Christoph Waltz as Cogliostro and Fred Tatsciore as Malebolgia.
#Spawn Reboot Movie#Spawn#Spawn Reboot#Spawn Movie#fancast#Jamie Foxx#Chris Sullivan#Evan Peters#Josh Gad#Javier Botet#Andy Serkis#Liev Schreiber#Timothy Olyphant#Kerry Washington#Dawn-Lyen Gardner#Hannah Simone#Sterling K. Brown#Rob Brown#Lance Gross#Steve Schirripa#Anthony LaPaglia#Brooke Ence#Iain Glen#Ben Mendelsohn#Sam Neill#Chrisoptoph Waltz#Fred Tatasciore
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Kofi Siriboe, Rutina Wesley and Dawn-Lyen Gardner in âQueen Sugarâ
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Dawn-Lyen Gardner attends the premiere of OWN's "David Makes Man" at NeueHouse Hollywood on August 06, 2019 in Los Angeles, California
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