Queen Sugar, the Ava DuVernay television drama on Own is getting a second season. The new trailer just dropped giving hints about what might be happening with the Bordelon family next. First up, we know that Charley (the most excellent Dawn-Lyen Gardner) is going to become the first black woman to own and run a mill in Louisiana. Charley started Season 1 as the wife of an athlete who had a very public affair that mostly ended their marriage. She went back to Louisiana, to her family farm, where she meets up with her sister and brother as they find ways to keep the family farm afloat or sell it and split the profits.
Queen Sugar really is the perfect project for DuVernay and Winfrey, considering both of them are pioneers in their fields, collaborate often and speak some of the same language. Queen Sugar, though, really does exist in its own universe, separate from anything we’ve seen from them — although it very much has DuVernay’s narrative stamp both with tone and intention; she often focuses on complex women of color whose lives are mostly ignored in mainstream film and television – real women living real lives that don’t fall into the cliches we see time and time again.
Each of the sibs on Queen Sugar have their own arc, and often their objectives clash with each other’s. But it is such an enjoyable experience to sink into this world, to spend time with these characters, to worry for them, hope for them and cheer them on.
Needless to say, we’re very excited for Season 2 which drops June 21 on Own: