ESSENCE FESTIVAL 2016! Getting The Royal Treatment With Oprah’s Newest Series Queen Sugar

By The DivaaGals | July 4, 2016 | Dish!, Entertainment

Happy Fourth DivaGals! One of the best moments of the Essence Festival this past weekend was hanging with Oprah to celebrate her newest series Queen Sugar, for the OWN Network.

Oprah and team held a Q&A about the new series, which comes from the mind of Selma director Ava DuVernay. The series chronicles two sisters: Nova Bordelon (Rutina Wesley), a formidable journalist and activist from New Orleans; and Charley Bordelon (Dawn-Lyen Gardner) who moves back from Los Angeles with her teenage son Micah to claim an inheritance from her recently departed father — an 800-acre sugarcane farm. One of the most exciting notes revealed during the session is that the series is using all female directors!

THe night culminated a cocktail reception at Legacy Kitchen, where the cream de la crop celebrated the new series, including series cast members Rutina Wesley, Dawn-Lyen Gardner, Kofi Siriboe, Omar Dorsey, Tina Lifford, Dondre Whitfield, Nicholas Ashe and Bianca Lawson.

Queen Sugar will debut as a two-night event Tuesday, Sept. 6 and Wednesday, Sept. 7 at 10 p.m on OWN.