DAWN-LYEN GARDNER, KOFI SIRIBOE AND OMAR J. DORSEY JOIN THE CAST OF OWN: OPRAH WINFREY NETWORK’S ORIGINAL DRAMA SERIES ‘QUEEN SUGAR,’ FROM AVA DUVERNAY AND WARNER HORIZON TELEVISION
January 27, 2016
Dawn-Lyen Gardner ("Unforgettable," "Heroes”), Kofi Siriboe (“Awkward,” “Whiplash”) and Omar J. Dorsey (“Ray Donovan,” “Selma”) have joined the cast of the new original drama series “Queen Sugar,” from award-winning filmmaker Ava DuVernay (“Selma”) for OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network and produced by Warner Horizon Television.
- In the series, Gardner will star as Charley Bordelon West, the charismatic and savvy manager and wife of professional basketball superstar Davis West, with whom she has a challenging, conflicted relationship. The proud mother of Micah, Charley is originally from New Orleans, but never seems to get the time to go back home in the midst of her busy, exciting and public life in Los Angeles.
- Siriboe will star as Ralph Angel Bordelon, the youngest Bordelon sibling. Formerly incarcerated and somewhat worn out by life, Ralph Angel is trying to make a new start — and find a job — while raising his beloved 6-year-old son Blue with the help of family members, notably his aunt Violet.
- Dorsey will star as Hollywood Desonier, a rugged, resourceful man and staunch supporter of the Bordelon family. The longtime boyfriend of Violet Bordelon (aunt to Charley, Nova and Ralph Angel), Hollywood clearly loves her — and doesn’t think anything of their 20-year age difference.
They join the previously announced Rutina Wesley (“True Blood”) in the cast, with Wesley playing Bordelon sibling Nova, a formidable journalist and activist.
Executive produced by Oprah Winfrey and DuVernay, the series is based on Natalie Baszile’s acclaimed novel Queen Sugar. DuVernay developed “Queen Sugar” for television, wrote its pilot episode and will direct multiple episodes of the show’s first season.