For the past six years, Queen Sugar has tugged at the heartstrings of people across the nation. The series, created by Ava DuVernay, has managed to touch on almost every subject faced by Black Americans in today’s society. From the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic to police brutality, and beyond, the series has become a safe space for people to just be.
As fans prepare to embark on the show’s seventh and final season, Shadow and Act caught up with some of the cast and crew to discuss the space that their characters have graduated into from the first to the final scene.
“Wow. So [Darla] is a new mom [at the top of the season],” said Bianca Lawson of her character in the beloved series. “So it’s six months into the future and baby True is six months old, so she’s having a very happy family life. It’s all about new beginnings in a really upbeat way. But you know, then life happens so that’s where we’re starting off.”
For Rutina Wesley’s character Nova Bordelon, each season has turned over a new leaf of healing and growth. When asked if her character has fulfilled her purpose on the show, Wesley says, “You’ll just have to wait and see.”
"I think people are going to continue to watch Nova grow and she grows in so many ways this season, that's what I'll say," Wesley told Shadow & Act.
“There’s a lot of ways that she grows as a woman that I think people are going to be like, ‘There she is.’ They’re these beautiful little moments that I just can’t give away, but it’s gonna be good,” she recalled. “I’m going to be just as satisfied as you will be watching, because I’ll be watching it for the first time too. We’re gonna continue to watch that growth for sure.”
Tina Lifford credits show writers and creator Ava DuVernay to the full circle closing that comes with her character Aunt Vi in this final season.
“One of the beautiful things that our brilliant writer and of course show creator Ava DuVernay’s brilliance and commitment to this story is how naturally the characters evolve, she said. “How realistically they evolve, like Vi. Vi had an edge in the beginning, she loved her family. The hurt, her expression of love, or her depth of love and commitment to loving is unchanged. That was consistent, it has been constant.”
"But what changed is her own capacity to be present as a human being," said Lifford.
“Her own capacity for kindness, you know, letting herself be more open to that,” she continued.
For Omar Dorsey, bringing his character Hollywood to life allowed him to be a person that so many people could see a little bit of themselves in, specifically Black men from the south.
"The most rewarding part is that I get to bring a person who I see every day, but I've never seen on television [to life]," Dorsey explained.
“A blue-collar brother, who’s out here in the south – I’m from the south, I live in the south – who loves his family and is doing all of these different things. It’s not just this hyper-reality. He’s not a basketball player, he’s not a football player, or a dope dealer,” he shared. “He’s a regular guy who works offshore drilling, who loves this woman (Aunt Vi) and would do anything in the world for her.”
Queen Sugar’s final season premiered Tuesday (Sept. 6), with new episodes airing weekly on OWN.
