Oprah and Ava DuVernay to Create Drama Series for OWN

Ava DuVernay is having a good year. The filmmaker is teaming up with Oprah to create a new series for the Oprah Winfrey Network based off of the novel Queen Sugar. DuVernay will wear multiple hats as the writer, director and executive producer of the series, while Oprah will executive produce and have a recurring role in the series.

The novel, by Natalie Baszile, is described as a mother-daughter story about reinvention—a very on-brand theme for our friend Oprah. Via an OWN press release:

Adapted from the celebrated first-time novel “Queen Sugar” by Natalie Baszile, the contemporary series will chronicle a spirited woman who leaves her upscale Los Angeles lifestyle behind to claim an inheritance from her recently departed father – an 800-acre sugar cane farm in the heart of Louisiana. Her world and identity are turned upside down as she and her teenage daughter attempt to navigate a new and very different environment while rebuilding their farm from scratch. She is met with curiosity and community, with resistance and romance. It isn’t long before a transformation begins and she realizes that she’s been living a lot farther from her Southern roots than mere miles.

It’s always good to see Oprah working with someone who isn’t Tyler Perry. Perry currently writes, directs and produces two shows for OWN, Love Thy Neighbor and The Haves and the Have Nots.

This will mark the second collaboration between the two women. Oprah was a producer and had a supporting role in Ava DuVernay’s Oscar nominated film Selma. It’s looking like 2015 will involve quite a bit more of DuVernay’s work on our screens—she will also be directing a film about Hurricane Katrina later this year.