Queen Sugar creator and executive producer Ava DuVernay, who directed the pilot, will return to direct the series’ final episode. Production on the seventh and final season has begun in and around New Orleans.
DuVernay will wrap up seven seasons of an all-women directorial team for OWN’s award-winning drama series. In addition to DuVernay, season 7 directors include Kat Candler, Stacey Muhammad, showrunner Shaz Bennett, Patricia Cardoso, Aurora Guerrero and DeMane Davis.
When Queen Sugar first began production in 2016, DuVernay made a commitment to exclusively hire women as directors, and kept that promise through the entire series run. Over the course of its seven seasons, Queen Sugar has employed 42 women to direct episodes of the show, with 39 of those being first-time scripted television directors in the United States.
Guest stars for the final season include the return of Glynn Turman, the late father of the Bordelon siblings; Tracie Thoms, as Nova’s long lost highschool love, and Sharon Lawrence as Charley Bordelon’s mother Lorna; Greg Vaughan as Nova’s former partner; Vanessa Bell Calloway (This Is Us, Shameless), Amirah Vann as family nemesis Parker Campbell; and Brian Michael as Ralph Angel’s high school friend and current police officer Toine. Kaci Walfall (Naomi), and Lamman Rucker (Greenleaf) join returning recurring cast members that include Reagan Gomez who portrays Nova’s former lover Chantal; Grammy Award-winner Ann Nesby as Sandy, the at-home nurse who catches Prosper Denton’s eye; Tanyell Waivers, Micah’s ex-girlfriend Keke; McKinley Freeman, Nova’s anthropologist boyfriend Dominic; and Vivien Ngô, Ralph Angel’s ex-girlfriend Trinh.
Queen Sugar is produced for OWN by DuVernay’s ARRAY Filmworks and Harpo Films in association with Warner Bros. Television. Executive producers are DuVernay, Oprah Winfrey, Paul Garnes and Shaz Bennett.
The lauded drama series, based on the book by Natalie Baszile, won the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Drama Series in both 2017 and 2022. Recently nominated for a 2022 Humanitas Award, the African-American Film Critics Association has honored the series as Best TV Drama for four consecutive years, along with the Impact Award and multiple Best Writing awards. DuVernay will receive the International Emmy Awards’ Founders Award this fall.