QUEEN SUGAR: FIRST THINGS FIRST {SERIES PREMIERE} (TV)
Summary
The first of two programs on this asset. The first in this drama series, based on the novel by Natalie Baszile, which explores the lives of the Bordelon family of Louisiana. In this episode, activist and spiritual healer Nova Bordelon spends a quiet morning with her lover Calvin, while elsewhere her troubled brother Ralph Angel impulsively robs a convenience store before dropping his young son Blue with his loving aunt Violet and her partner, "Hollywood." Their glamorous half-sister, Charley, married to famous L.A. basketball star Davis West, ponders joining a reality TV series with her fellow "WAGs," but is then shocked to learn that some of the team members have been caught on camera assaulting a young woman. News of the scandal spreads, and the siblings' father Ernest calls Charley from his sugarcane farm to inquire about the matter, but she assures him that she has already begun damage control and will pay him a long-delayed visit as soon as the trouble has passed.
Violet is uncertain when Ralph Angel, who has struggled to find work since leaving prison, offers her money for her frequent care of Blue, and they are both dismayed when the boy voices his hopes that his mother Darla, an unreliable and oft-absent drug addict, will attend his upcoming birthday party. Charley tries to comfort a worried Davis, who wonders if the scandal will necessitate their leaving Los Angeles, and the news media praises the couple for their "class and grace" when they offer their official statements on the ongoing case. Blue and his classmates are delighted when their teacher, kindhearted Miss Velez, joins the birthday party, but Ernest suddenly suffers a stroke and is rushed off to the hospital.
Further video footage of the gang rape then reveals that Davis was in fact an active participant in the crime, and Charley explodes with rage and shock at her husband in front of a crowd of stunned basketball spectators and a fleet of TV cameras. Miss Velez cares for Blue as Nova and Ralph Angel stay by their father's side in the hospital, and Violet urges Micah, Charley and Davis' son, to get his mother to Louisiana as soon as possible. Ralph Angel is angered when Darla suddenly arrives outside of the hospital, swearing that she has secured a new job and begging to see their son, and the family is further stunned to learn that Ernest's once-prosperous farm has not yielded any crops for nearly two years. Nova seeks comfort with Calvin – who is then revealed to be married with a child – and Ralph Angel gently prepares Blue to say goodbye to his beloved grandfather. Charley rushes in and is devastated to learn that she is too late and her father is gone, and she privately promises Ernest that she will "fix it." Commercials deleted.
For the second episode on this asset, "Give Us This Day," see ACCNUM 136298.
Details
- NETWORK: OWN
- DATE: 10:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:59:21
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: 136136
- GENRE: Drama
- SUBJECT HEADING: African-American Collection - Drama; Drama; Families
- SERIES RUN: OWN - TV series, 2016-
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Oprah Winfrey … Executive Producer
- Melissa Carter … Executive Producer
- Ava DuVernay … Executive Producer, Director, Created by, Writer
- Jason Wilborn … Supervising Producer
- Anthony Sparks … Supervising Producer
- Paul Garnes … Producer
- Carla Gardini … Producer
- Neema Barnette … Producer
- Tina Mabry … Producer
- Christiana Hooks … Associate Producer
- Natalie Baszile … Based on the book by
- Meshell Ndegeocello … Music by
- Rutina Wesley … Cast, Nova Bordelon
- Dawn-Lyen Gardner … Cast, Charlotte "Charley" Bordelon West
- Kofi Siriboe … Cast, Ralph Angel Bordelon
- Nicholas L. Ashe … Cast, Micah West
- Omar J. Dorsey … Cast, Hollingsworth "Hollywood" Desonier
- Dondré T. Whitfield … Cast, Remy Newell
- Timon Kyle Durrett … Cast, Davis West
- Greg Vaughan … Cast, Calvin
- Ethan Hutchison … Cast, Blue Bordelon
- Marycarmen Lopez … Cast, Reyna Velez
- Tina Lifford … Cast, Violet Bordelon
- Glynn Turman … Cast, Ernest Bordelon
- Bianca Lawson … Cast, Darla
- Henry G. Sanders … Cast, Prosper Denton
- Estrella Nouri … Cast, Melina Gold
- Alma Martinez … Cast, Raquel "Rocky" Ortiz
- Holly Bonney … Cast, Cashier
- Dominic "Taz" Alexander … Cast, Rid
- Adella Gautier … Cast, Elderly Woman
- Shontel Crosby … Cast, Renee
- KJ Smith … Cast, Lena
- Neil Wells … Cast, Coach
- Michael Hill … Cast, News Anchor
- Michael Buonomo … Cast, Sports Reporter
- Omar Washington … Cast, Young Worker #1
- Derrick A. Freeman … Cast, Young Worker #2
- Jeremiah Eric Westbrook … Cast, Mr. Delacroix / Boy #1
- Haley Milsap … Cast, Lacy
- Samuel Billions … Cast, Alvarez
- Landon Abercrombie … Cast, Boy #2
- Melanie Allyn Williams … Cast, Young Mother
- Mary Peyton Hodge … Cast, Cute Little Girl
- Semya Mickens … Cast, Miss Sanchez
- Kernesha Miller … Cast, Strong Voice