Monica Macer (former co-executive producer of ABC’s “Nashville”) will take over as showrunner for season 2 of OWN’s hit freshman drama series “Queen Sugar,” replacing Ava DuVernay who’s certainly quite busy (TV, film, distribution company). Macer will also assume executive producer duties.
DuVernay, who’s currently in pre-production on Disney’s “A Wrinkle in Time” film adaptation (the $100 million project she’s directing) said about Macer’s hiring: “I am delighted that Monica is joining the ‘Queen Sugar’ family, adding her unique voice and creative vision to the Bordelon siblings’ journey for season two… With our successful series launch well underway, we are fortunate to be able to include Monica as we prepare for all of the great things to come in the next season.”
Macer’s past credits include story editor on “Prison Break,” staff writer on “Lost,” producer of “Deception” and “Teen Wolf” and more.
“Queen Sugar” delivered the highest-rated two-episode debut in OWN network history (9/6/16 and 9/7/16), averaging 2.4 million total viewers and a 1.9 W25-54 rating over its two-night premiere. In OWN’s key demo of W25-54, “Queen Sugar” was the highest-rated two-episode debut in network history, drawing 2.7 million total viewers, and averaged a 2.07 W25-54 rating, becoming Tuesday night’s #2 cable telecast for women. The telecast was the #2 series debut in OWN history across all key measures. Meanwhile, Wednesday night’s “Queen Sugar” episode drew 2.14 million total viewers, averaging a 1.72 W25-54 rating.
In 2016, OWN has two of the top three scripted cable debuts in W25-54 with “Queen Sugar” and “Greenleaf.”
“Queen Sugar” airs on Wednesdays at 10pm. It received a second season renewal before season 1 premiered.