The new drama is based on the best-selling novel by Charmaine Wilkerson.
If you’re an avid reader of fiction, you’ll undoubtedly have heard of Charmaine Wilkerson’s Black Cake, the debut novel from the author that quickly skyrocketed up best-selling lists when it was released in 2022.
It became a New York Times best-seller, was selected as part of Barack Obama’s summer reading list that year, and has now been transformed into an eight-part series by Marissa Jo Cerar, Oprah Winfrey and Aaron Kaplan.
Cerar adapted the book for the screen, also serving on the series as showrunner and executive producer alongside Oprah Winfrey.
When chatting to RadioTimes.com about the series, author Wilkerson reflected on the process of having her debut novel get a new life on screen – and having the opportunity to work with Winfrey as a fellow executive producer.
She said: “Well, it’s exciting to see the story interpreted for the screen, and even more exciting to know who’s involved, people like Marissa Jo Cerar, Oprah Winfrey and, of course, a number of other executive producers, writers.
“It’s an exciting thing to see, because when you write a book, you leave a lot to the imagination, and it’s a conversation with the reader. Well, what happens when some of those readers decide to take that story and bring it to life? It’s exciting.”
The series centres on a story that spans decades and countries, focusing on a runaway bride who forged a new life for herself – but also kept secrets and lies, all to be revealed after her death.
As per the synopsis: “In the late 1960s, a runaway bride named Covey disappears into the surf off the coast of Jamaica, and is feared drowned or a fugitive on the run for her husband’s murder.
“In present-day California, a widow named Eleanor Bennett loses her battle with cancer, leaving her two estranged children, Byron and Benny, a flash drive that holds previously untold stories of her journey from the Caribbean to America.
“These stories, narrated by Eleanor, shock her children and challenge everything they thought they knew about their family’s origin.”
Read more:
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The series stars Mia Isaac (Not Okay) as Covey, Chipo Chung (Silo) as Eleanor, Ashley Thomas (The Ipcress File) as Byron and the Tony Award-winning Adrienne Warren (Rustin) as Benny.
The cast also includes Lashay Anderson, Faith Alabi and Glynn Turman, as well as recurring guest stars Ahmed Eljah, Simon Wan and Sonita Henry.
When speaking to RadioTimes.com about the series, showrunner Cerar admitted to wanting the cast to have a chance of experiencing their own Big Little Lies-esque production.
Talking about wanting to adapt the novel, Cerar said: “I just loved the nuanced, elevated people of colour as the main characters in this stunning character drama that was also a murder mystery.
“I just thought that this is the time for us to have our Big Little Lies, our big splashy streaming series. I just fell in love with it. Charmaine’s writing is just so beautiful, and I cried every five pages, like a gut punch – but there’s so much joy in it.
“It just had so much, and it also took us on this amazing rollercoaster of mystery and all over the world. There was just everything as a TV writer and producer, all the things that you want, it was just there.”
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Black Cake will premiere on Disney Plus on Wednesday 31st January. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide to see what’s on tonight.
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