Baking Black Cake
Black Cake showrunner Marissa Jo Crear and author Charmaine Wilkerson tell DQ how they partnered to create a show that blends family drama and murder mystery with a story set over several decades and in numerous countries. A globe-trotting, decades-spanning murder mystery wrapped in a family drama, Black Cake begins in 1960s Jamaica where a runaway bride named Covey disappears into the water and is feared either drowned or a fugitive after her husband’s murder. Then, in present day California, a widow named Eleanor Bennett loses her battle with cancer, leaving her two estranged children, Byron and Benny, with a flash drive that holds recordings of previously untold stories of her journey from the Caribbean to America. Narrated by Eleanor, these stories shock her children and lead them to challenge everything they thought they knew about their family’s origin. Based on Charmaine Wilkerson’s novel of the same name, the series stars Mia Isaac (Covey), Adrienne Warren (Benny), Chipo Chung (Eleanor), Ashley Thomas (Byron), Lashay Anderson (Bunny), Faith Alabi and Glynn Turman, as well as recurring guest stars Ahmed Eljah, Simon Wan and Sonita Henry. Showrunner Marissa Jo Cerar executive produces with Oprah Winfrey, Aaron Kaplan, Carla Gardini, Brian Morewitz, Wilkerson and Michael Lohmann. The series is a Two Drifters, Harpo Films, ABC Signature and Kapital Entertainment production. Debuting on Hulu in the US in November last year, all eight episodes have now launched on Disney+ in the UK and Ireland. Here, Crear and Wilkerson discuss the themes of the novel, … Continue reading Baking Black Cake
