ABFF 2017: The Cast Of Queen Sugar Talk Season 2Posted by Wilson Morales
June 21, 2017
During the 22nd anniversary of the American Black Film Festival, the cast of OWN’s acclaimed drama series “Queen Sugar,” came down to South Beach, Miami and showed the first episode to Season 2.
Season 2 just premiere on the OWN network last night as a two-night event, launching on June 20 and June 21, at 10 p.m. on both nights.
The contemporary drama Queen Sugar, created by Ava DuVernay who also executive produces with Oprah Winfrey, is set in Louisiana. Based on the book by Natalie Baszile, the series chronicles the lives and loves of the estranged Bordelon siblings: Nova (Rutina Wesley), a worldly-wise journalist and activist; Charley (Dawn-Lyen Gardner), the savvy wife and manager of a professional basketball star; and Ralph Angel (Kofi Siriboe), a formerly incarcerated young father in search of redemption.
In the second season, Nova, Charley and Ralph Angel struggle to move forward with their lives as they strive to honor the legacy of their father after his unexpected passing. Charley relocates to Saint Josephine Parish to help run the family business. As the only black female sugarcane mill owner, she must fight to regain her independence while rebuilding her relationships with her estranged siblings. Ralph Angel struggles to transform from a formerly incarcerated single father to a landowner in the eyes of his family as he tries to re-establish a relationship with his son’s mother. Nova finds herself torn between her activism and her desire to be loved. As the season unfolds, the Bordelons must learn to rely on one another as they navigate the new reality into which they’ve been thrust.
Cast also includes Nicholas L. Ashe (Micah), Omar J. Dorsey (Hollywood), Dondré T. Whitfield (Remy), Timon Kyle Durrett (Davis), Bianca Lawson (Darla), Ethan Hutchison (Blue), and Tina Lifford (Aunt Violet). Additionally, guest star Henry G. Sanders recurs as Prosper Denton.
Julie Dash also joins an all-woman directing team that so far includes Kat Candler, DeMane Davis, Cheryl Dune, Aurora Guerrero and Amanda Marsalis.
During the festival, Blackfilm.com had the opportunity to speak with the cast about the new season.
What are we looking to expect in Season 2 and how has any of your characters evolved from last season?
Kofi Siriboe: Transformer, Rehabilitation and Identity. All of these that you saw in the beginning and jumped into their lives and you see why they are who they are, well we’re going back to their roots to see who they are becoming and how they are emerging. It’s a messy process.
Omar Dorsey: When we first jumped into the world of Queen Sugar, we were right there. Now, a year later, we’re seeing the growth with Vi and the confidence she will have this season. She’s flying into an area we have not seen her before.
When you have this many directors as last season, is the continuity the same?
Dawn-Lyen Gardner: It is because we are gratefully led on set by the incredible Kat Candler, who’s are producing director and she really has an exceptional eye to our aesthetic, to the point of our show, and to the pace of our show. She has been our champion with each director. She also has been a guide to the director themselves, to the pace of the show and to their own growth and learning indirectly for TV because they are a lot of folks new to TV coming in from the film world. That was Ava’s doing, to put her in that position. We’re so grateful. She’s kept her finger on that excellence button.
Dondre Whitfield: Never underestimate the power of our own cast being producers also. Particularly this season, most of us have a say to our characters. We’ve been vocal in some area and putting in the language that we can receive and we get the ultimate outcome, which is a great Queen Sugar.
Based on Episode 1 of this season, we’re seeing issues that others can resonate with such as police harassment. Will we see more of that?
Timon Kyle Durrett: Yes, we’re going to be tackling a number of universal issues. Growing up in the hood and seeding a lot of police brutality and having experienced it and being in certain scenes, it resonates with you and that’s the great thing about Queen Sugar. It transcends and it also transforms and it also transports. The things that we show in the show, the characters, it’s real life to me because it’s real the way that it’s presented. You can eat this stuff because it’s real, it’s organic. It’s something that you can understand even if you haven’t gone through it. You get to learn the intricacies through an artistic representation of the reality.
What’s a good reason to start catching up on the show if you’re starting to hear about now?
Rutina Wesley: You could be a little lost, so it would be good to starting watching Season 1 so that you don’t come into Season 2 asking yourself questions like, “Why is she mad at him?” It’s also great art to watch and it’s engaging and you will sit back and watch and you will think about things that you probably wouldn’t have. You might learn something. I learned by doing it. I hope that viewers will continue to be engaged with it and get other people to watch it.
