Last year was a pretty good year for Black television. FX gave us Donald Glover’s show Atlanta and HBO gave us Issa Rae’s Insecure. One great show that may have slipped your radar came from Oprah’s OWN network: Queen Sugar, based on the book of the same name. While I haven’t read the book yet, I really enjoy the TV show. The show’s creator, Ava Duvernay, directed the film Selma and the Netflix documentary 13th, which recently got nominated in the Best Documentary Feature category of this year’s Academy Awards.

Queen Sugar follows the Bordelon siblings, who all come together when their father passes away suddenly. Ralph-Angel, the youngest, recently got out of prison and is trying to turn his life around, not only for himself, but for his son, Blue (who is just the cutest). Nova is a journalist who stands up for social justice. Then there’s Charley, who lives in L.A. with her husband, Davis (an NBA player) and their 15 year-old son, Micah. The family is going through a lot with the passing of their father and having to handle the business of his sugarcane farm. Meanwhile, each sibling is dealing with their own personal struggles.

 

Ralph-Angel is trying to get back into the workforce after being released from prison, and Darla, his ex-girlfriend and mother of his child, resurfaces wanting to be in her child’s life, and ultimately Ralph-Angel’s as well. Things had ended badly, so Ralph-Angel is hesitant to let her back in. Nova is trying to get a story off the ground at the newspaper she works for and, at the same time, is dealing with a very complicated love life. Speaking of love lives, Charley’s gets very messy after she finds out that Davis is cheating on her. She and Micah end up coming to New Orleans where the other siblings live to help with the business of the farm.

This show deals with a lot of different topics including racism, the prison system, sexuality and much more. This show is beautifully shot and showcases how beautiful the city of New Orleans is. One other interesting and amazing fact about this show is that each episode is directed by a woman, which is very hard to find these days on network television. While the TV show isn’t available in our catalog (yet), the book is.

Have you read the book Queen Sugar or watched the TV show? Let us know what you think in the comments below!

~Kayla

Kayla works at Squirrel Hill as a Clerk, so when you come up to the customer services desk you might see her face! When she’s not at the library she enjoys reading, watching TV & listening to music. You might also find her at your local Starbucks, because she loves her Frappuccinos.