Queen Sugar is Back
The wait is over as Queen Sugar returns with it’s 5th season. The Bordelon family is back and the struggle to maintain strength, ownership and triumph over every day challenges as a black family in the south continues, but a lot has changed.
Season 5
Every Tuesday @ 8PM EST on OWN
2020 brought upon a new normal that many of us are still adjusting to. Life as we know it is forever changed and our worlds are still being affected daily. That’s why it was important to creator and executive producer Ava DuVernay to “rewrite the story”. The greenlight was given to resume filming in August after the start of the coronavirus pandemic brought production to a pause earlier in the year. Most of the season’s episodes were already written and Queen Sugar 5 was set to return in the fall , which later proved to be an obstacle given the year’s events. Once the creative team headed back to work, DuVernay decided to scrap everything except the season premier. Why? “You can’t just skip over 2020.” She says. 8 episodes were rewritten to reflect the current day realities we face in our country and communities. The effects of the Pandemic, the Black Lives Matter movement, social injustice and economic changes will now play out in the lives of The Bordelone Family on screen.
Check out the season trailer for a preview of what’s ahead.
The season premier will also introduce viewers to the work of young director Cierra Glaude. Honoring the model of putting women directors at the head of every episode in Season 1, DuVernay says the goal is to keep moving forward in the midst of changes. With the pandemic’s restrictions forcing a smaller footprint in staff, this season has been broken down to split episodes between 3 directors, all of which are women, still at the forefront.
Glaude was a production assistant on the set of the Queen Sugar’s debut in 2016. Five years later, DuVernay brings her back, this time in the directors seat. Continuing to shine the light on other women in film, Queen Sugar will also feature the work of season directors Lauren Wolkstein and Lisa France. All that #GirlGlitter.
