BLACK CAKE - TALKING WITH MARISSA JO CERAR

Dig in to a lifetime of secrets and a woman’s journey to outrun her past! Based on the Best Selling Novel of the Same Name, Comes a New Series on Hulu ( Disney + in Canada) Black Cake.

Based on The New York Times-bestselling book by Charmaine Wilkerson, “Black Cake” is a family drama wrapped in a murder mystery with a diverse cast of characters and a global setting. The story takes place in Jamaica, Italy, Scotland, England and Southern California.

In the late 1960s, a runaway bride named Covey disappears into the surf off the coast of Jamaica and is feared drowned or a fugitive on the run for her husband’s murder. In present day California, a widow named Eleanor Bennett, loses her battle with cancer, leaving her two estranged children, Byron and Benny, a flash drive that holds previously untold stories of her journey from the Caribbean to America.

These stories, narrated by Eleanor, shock her children and challenge everything they thought they knew about their family’s origin.

“Black Cake” is executive produced by Oprah Winfrey, Aaron Kaplan, Carla Gardini, Brian Morewitz, Charmaine Wilkerson, and Michael Lohman. Marissa Jo Cerar serves as both showrunner and executive producer. The series stars Mia Isaac, Adrienne Warren, Chipo Chung, Ashley Thomas, Lashay Anderson, Faith Alabi and Glynn Turman, as well as recurring guest stars Ahmed Eljah, Simon Wan, and Sonita Henry.

Marissa Jo Cerar began her career working as a writer and producer on hit series such as Netflix’s 13 REASONS WHY, Freeform’s THE FOSTERS, FOX’s SHOTS FIRED, and Hulu's THE HANDMAID’S TALE, for which she shares nominations for both the Emmys and Writers Guild Awards for Outstanding Drama Series for season three. She is a NAACP Image Award and Humanitas Prize winning writer-producer with a passion for socially conscious storytelling.

I spoke with Marissa Jo Cerar about adapting the novel into a series and finding the perfect actresses to play Covey/Eleanor.

PLEASE COPY AND PASTE LINK BELOW TO WATCH THE INTERVIEW

https://youtu.be/i6_UmLd7kX0