Hulu has announced that they have ordered a limited series adaptation of Esi Edugyan‘s bestselling novel Washington Black, and have secured Sterling K. Brown to star in the project. Selwyn Seyfu Hinds (The Twilight Zone) will write the series, which will consist of nine episodes. 20th Television will produce.
Edugyan’s novel tells the tale of a rugged explorer and inventor who traverses the globe and finds an unexpected and fraught love along the way. The book has been described as “a triumphant voyage of daring dreams, steampunk and the magic of the human heart” and has been critically acclaimed.
Karey Burke, President of 20th Television, said of the project: “Bringing Esi Edugyan’s prize-winning book to television has been a passion project for Selwyn and Sterling, and we are grateful to Hulu for their belief in this wildly ambitious and aspirational project.”
Hinds added:
“The world has felt like we’re living in darkest night, stumbling to find and hold onto a North Star to make a way forward. Like many of us, I’ve felt lost far too often. But writing Washington Black these past two years has guided me back home. This story of a young Black boy who becomes a globe-trotting artist, scientist and inventor. This tale of the true human superpowers: hope, love, empathy, persistence.
Those ideas have been my North Star. The promise that we will get through the long night and take flight like Wash under the light of the sun. This show has been a conduit to that faith for those of us who’ve been creating it, and we’re beyond thrilled to be about the business of sharing it with all of you.”
Brown has become a major name on television thanks to starring roles in This Is Us and The People vs. O.J. Simpson, which each earned him Emmy wins, while he’s also won Golden Globes and Screen Actors Guild awards for his This Is Us performances. So Washington Black is in good hands with him in the lead.
Brown is the only actor cast in the series thus far, and there are no further details. But expect plenty of news regarding the show, as it will likely be one of Hulu’s biggest in-development projects.
#Peace.Love.WashingtonBlack
