Series Creator/Executive Producer Ava DuVernay Continues Handpicked All-Female Directorial Team for Third Consecutive Season: DeMane Davis, Patricia Cardoso, Shaz Bennett, Maria Govan and Lauren Wolkstein

(Black PR Wire) Los Angeles – “Queen Sugar,” the critically acclaimed drama series from Academy award-nominated filmmaker Ava DuVernay (“A Wrinkle in Time,” “13th,” “Selma”), executive producer Oprah Winfrey and Warner Horizon Scripted Television, returns for its third season with a two-night premiere event on OWN Tuesday, May 29, and Wednesday, May 30 (10 p.m. ET/PT each night). The series will regularly air Wednesday nights at 10 p.m. ET/PT. Continuing a creative initiative established in the show’s first season, series creator/executive producer DuVernay has once again assembled an all-female directing team for the third consecutive season. Season 3 directors include DeMane Davis, Patricia Cardoso, Shaz Bennett, Maria Govan and Lauren Wolkstein, several of whom will be making their television directorial debut, with additional names to be announced.

On March 30, the complete second season of "Queen Sugar" will become available to stream exclusively on Hulu, making it possible for viewers to catch up on all past episodes of the series ahead of the season three premiere.

“Queen Sugar” was named Television Show of the Year from both American Black Film Festival (ABFF Honors) and African American Film Critics Association (AAFCA) for the second consecutive year and was nominated for an NAACP Image Award for Best Drama Series. In 2017, Queen Sugar was Wednesday night’s #1 original cable series among African-American W25-54 and Wednesday night’s #2 original scripted cable series W25-54.

In the series’ third season, the contemporary drama returns as the Bordelons find themselves continuing their fight to save their family farm and father’s legacy as they navigate their own personal journeys. They soon find that their fight extends beyond their close-knit family, but also to the community.  Charley (Dawn-Lyen Gardner) remains in the thick of the trials and tribulations in both her personal and professional life as she continues to battle the Landry family while also trying to ensure Micah’s safety and future. Ralph Angel (Kofi Siriboe) is still reeling from learning from Darla (Bianca Lawson) that he might not be the biological father of his son, Blue (Ethan Hutchison), and attempts to push forward as the new cane season begins. A new and unexpected love in the form of an old friend comes into Nova’s (Rutina Wesley) life and challenges her long-held notions of relationships while also offering her something she didn’t think she could ever have.

The expansive cast also includes Tina Lifford as the siblings’ free-spirited Aunt Violet; Omar J. Dorsey as Violet’s much younger fiancé Hollywood Desonier; Dondré T. Whitfield as trusted Bordelon family friend Remy Newell; Additionally, recurring guest stars Timon Kyle Durrett portrays Charley’s estranged husband and pro basketball player Davis West and Henry G. Sanders plays Prosper Denton, a farmer and longtime friend of the late Bordelon family patriarch, Ernest. 

Acclaimed filmmaker Kat Candler serves as season three showrunner. Candler’s award-winning film “Hellion” played in competition at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival, and she was a participant at the Sundance Creative Producing Lab. She is also a grant recipient of the San Francisco Film Society/Kenneth Rainin Foundation. 

About “Queen Sugar” Season Three Directors: 

• DeMane Davis: DeMane Davis returns to season three of “Queen Sugar” as a producing director having previously directed episodes of the series in season two. Davis has written and directed commercials and independent films. Her two feature films premiered in Dramatic Competition at the Sundance Film Festival, including “Lift,” starring Kerry Washington, which was nominated for two Independent Spirit Awards. Davis currently directs commercials for Sweet Rickey, a female-helmed production company. 

• Patricia Cardoso: Patricia Cardoso is an award-winning director. Her feature film, “Real Women Have Curves” starring America Ferrera in her first major role, was awarded a Sundance Audience Award and Humanitas Prize. Her credits also include feature film “Teresa’s Journey,” television movies “Meddling Mom” and “Lies in Plain Sight,” and the web-series “Ro.” Her short films include “The Water Carrier,” “The Air Globes,” and “La Clave.”

• Shaz Bennett: Shaz Bennett was one of eight women selected into the prestigious AFI Directing Workshop for Women and winner of the New York Women in Film & Television’s Nancy Malone Award. Bennett’s debut feature “Alaska Is a Drag” is currently on the festival circuit. Bennett first television writing job was on “The Glades.” She later joined the writing team for “UnReal” and currently writes on the police procedural “Bosch.” “Queen Sugar” will mark Bennett’s television directional debut.

• Maria Govan: Maria Govan’s award-winning film “Rain” premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in 2008 and later licensed to Showtime Networks. Maria’s second feature “Play the Devil” premiered at the Los Angeles Film Festival in 2016 and was selected for the Caribbean spotlight at Latin American film market Ventana Sur in Buenos Aires and also Panama Film Festival’s Primera Mirada. The feature is set to be released in May. Govan is currently in development on her next projects, “My Life in a Dojo” and “Epiphany.” “Queen Sugar” will mark Govan’s television directional debut. 

• Lauren Wolkstein: Lauren Wolkstein’s short film “Cigarette Candy” received the SXSW Grand Jury Prize in 2010 and her award-winning short film “Social Butterfly” premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2013. Wolkstein co-directed short film “The Strange Ones,” which debuted at Sundance and SXSW film festivals in 2011. The film was adapted into a feature film of the same name and premiered at SXSW in 2017. Wolkstein was previously named one of the top twenty-five emerging filmmakers through The Film Society of Lincoln Center and the Independent Filmmaker Project’s inaugural Emerging Visions program at the New York Film Festival. “Queen Sugar” will mark Wolkstein’s television directional debut.

“Queen Sugar” is produced for OWN by Warner Horizon Scripted Television. The executive producers are Ava DuVernay, Oprah Winfrey and Kat Candler. The series is based on the book by Natalie Baszile.

About OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network

OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network is the first and only network named for, and inspired by, a single iconic leader. Oprah Winfrey's heart and creative instincts inform the brand and the magnetism of the channel.  OWN is a leading destination for premium scripted and unscripted programming from today's most innovative storytellers.   OWN connects with its audience wherever they are, inspiring conversation among a global community of like-minded viewers on social media and beyond. Launched on January 1, 2011, OWN is a joint venture between Harpo, Inc. and Discovery Communications.  The venture also includes the award-winning digital platform Oprah.com.  Access OWN anytime, anywhere on WatchOWN.tv or across mobile devices and connected TVs.  For more information, please visit www.oprah.com/own and https://press.discovery.com/us/own/. 

About Warner Horizon Scripted Television

A division of the Warner Bros. Television Group, Warner Horizon Scripted Television was founded in 2006 and is one of the entertainment industry’s leading producers of dramatic and comedic programming for the cable and subscription/on-demand marketplace. Series produced by Warner Horizon Scripted Television include Animal Kingdom and Claws for TNT; People of Earth for TBS; American Woman for Paramount Network; Famous in Love for Freeform; Fuller House and Longmire for Netflix; Krypton for SYFY; Love Is___, Queen Sugar and the Untitled Tarell Alvin McCraney Project for OWN; and You for Lifetime.

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