‘Queen Sugar’ Gets Season 5 Renewal From OWN; Anthony Sparks Back As Showrunner
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EXCLUSIVE: If you saw the Season 4 finale of Queen Sugar last night, you know that the series created by Ava DuVernay and from executive producer Oprah Winfrey didn’t bring a heavyweight like Amirah Vann on board for the closing minutes to wrap things up.
And they haven’t – Queen Sugar is coming back next year for a fifth season on OWN.
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Also, Anthony Sparks will be continuing as showrunner on the family drama produced by Warner Horizon Scripted Television. Having taken over from Kat Candler last year, the longtime Queen Sugar scribe is the first showrunner in the nimble series’ history to return for consecutive seasons.
“I’m thrilled to further explore the beauty, pain and triumph of this African-American family, with hopes that their story will continue to resonate with audiences who see themselves in the Bordelons,” DuVernay said Thursdsay of the renewal of the series led by Dawn-Lyen Gardner, Rutina Wesley and Kofi Siriboe. “It’s a real honor to create this work with Warner Horizon and OWN as their support is rock-solid and wonderful,” the When They See Us Emmy nominee added.
“Every character feels like family — our own,” Winfrey said of the multiple NAACP Image Award winner. “I am excited to see what Ava has unfolding next for the Bordelons.”
It is not yet clear how many episodes Season 5 will be. Seasons 1, 3 and 4 all were 13 episodes, while Season 2 was enlarged to 16 episodes in 2017. Whatever the number, it is clear that Queen Sugar is as solid as can be at OWN.
“Ava’s vision for Queen Sugar is one of inspired storytelling, and her execution of that vision has given us a remarkable series that makes us so proud,” said OWN boss Tina Perry. “Her leadership and creative spirit – including the commitment to exclusively hire female directors and establish an inclusive crew – is unprecedented and evident throughout each episode of this beautiful series. We are grateful to Ava and her entire team of talented writers, producers, cast and crew and look forward to another season.”
Averaging 1.6 million viewers every week this season, Queen Sugar also is Wednesday night’s No. 1 original series among African-American women and total viewers over both broadcast and cable. #GimmeSugar.
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