With its elegiac tone and leisurely pace, director Ava DuVernay’s first foray into television feels true to its showrunner while being entirely different than a lot of what is on TV. “Queen Sugar” shares the most DNA with DuVernay’s films “Middle of Nowhere” and “I Will Follow,” as well as SundanceTV’s “Rectify.” Here, there’s a similar emphasis on the importance of family and the promise of second chances without any need to speed through plot or dialogue. This OWN drama is a slow burn, driven by characters rather than plot or action.
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Based on the novel by Natalie Baszile, “Queen Sugar” centers on a trio of siblings in St. Josephine, Louisiana and their family sugarcane farm. A tragedy brings the Bordelons together as they must figure out next steps for the family’s land. Nova (Rutina Wesley) is a local journalist, intent on fighting for various causes. Charley (Dawn-Lyen Gardner) arrives in the small Southern town from her glamorous life as the wife and manager of a Los Angeles NBA star, leaving behind a scandal in California. Ralph-Angel (Kofi Siriboe) is just out of prison, intent on a fresh start for himself and his young son, Blue (an almost too adorable Ethan Hutchison). Their aunt Violet (Tina Lifford) and her younger boyfriend Hollywood (Omar J. Dorsey) have deep ties to Blue after taking care of him during Ralph-Angel’s incarceration and are the closest to the farm. The sisters and their brother attempt to sift through the recent events and their own emotions, as they rebuild ties to each other and their family’s land, while experiencing the challenges of being black farmers in Louisiana.
Most series don’t spend this much time dwelling on grief, which is at once to the credit of “Queen Sugar” and its detriment with its slow-moving sensibility. It does waste little time in getting to its driving tragedy, but that means that we aren’t as close to those experiencing the sadness as we might have been later on. It’s a universally experienced emotion, but TV shows rarely devote more than an episode or two (max) to the feelings of those left behind after a death. The first three episodes were made available for preview, and it’ll be interesting to see how much mourning colors the rest of the 13-episode first season, much like it would in real life.
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Since Wesley appeared to be the punching bag of the “True Blood” writers room – what didn’t happen to poor Tara? – she got to run through pretty much every imaginable emotion on HBO‘s vampire series. Here, she’s largely more restrained, which follows with the more realistic surroundings, and it’s a great fit for her talents. She’s the most interesting of the Bordelon siblings, though her character didn’t exist in the drama’s source material, and the first three episodes raise a lot of questions about her character and her history. As the powerful Charley, Gardner is steely, but the cracks in her exterior show an interesting depth. Siriboe doesn’t initially seem like he can keep pace with the other actors, but by the third episode, “Thy Will Be Done,” small looks from him begin to communicate more about Ralph-Angel than the sometimes-too-obvious dialogue does.
DuVernay’s show doesn’t just feature women and people of color at the heart of its drama, she also hired an all-female slate of directors. DuVernay helms the first two episodes, “First Things First” and “Evergreen” herself, with others like Salli Richardson-Whitfield, Tina Mabry and So Yong Kim stepping in for an episode or two later in this first season. That perspective behind the camera — and from a writers room largely populated by women — makes “Queen Sugar” one of the rare TV shows with a distinctly female gaze. Set to “Faithful” by Me’Shell Ndegéocello (who also provides the show’s score), an early sex scene isn’t shy about the camera showing the woman’s pleasure or admiring the figure of her lover. Older women and younger men are still rare pairings in TV, but Hollywood demonstrates a clear passion, devotion and respect for Violet.
Director of photography Antonio Calvache worked with Todd Field on “In the Bedroom” and “Little Children,” and he brings an especially cinematic eye to this show. Whether he’s lingering on skin in a moment of tenderness or showcasing the rural beauty of St. Josephine in a wide shot, he and DuVernay have created a distinctly beautiful look for the show that’s often tinged with green even when they aren’t on the farm. The cinematography, as well as small details about the town and relationships, go far in building the world of St. Josephine and its culture.
Given the show’s patient pace, watching just the three episodes available for press doesn’t provide the full picture, and it may also be challenging for viewers to fully engage with it. Executive producer Oprah Winfrey’s OWN has already renewed the series for a second season ahead of its premiere, which means that the show hopefully has enough time to find its footing and its audience. [B]
“Queen Sugar” debuts on OWN on Tuesday, September 6th.
