OWN Renews Ava DuVernay’s ‘Queen Sugar’ for Season 6

Queen Sugar Season 4 (Credit: OWN)

There will be more episodes of Queen Sugar coming in the future.

OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network announced this week that it’s picked Ava DuVernay’s critically acclaimed drama series for a sixth season.

Season five of the series is set to premiere on Feb. 16. The drama was forced to halt production in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. During the break, DuVernay decided to completely revamp the season five storyline to address real issues confronting the nation through the lens of the Bordelon family and the fictional community of St. Josephine.

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[Watch the trailer for season 5 below]

DuVernay reconceived the new character arcs and storylines, writing alongside returning showrunner Anthony Sparks and supervising producer Norman Vance.

“What a joy and an honor to continue the stories of Queen Sugar with our partners at OWN and Warner Bros.,” DuVernay said in a statement. “On behalf of every producer, editor, costumer, grip, writer, cast member and all departments involved in making this series, we’re delighted to delve into a sixth season and to bring our beautiful audience more of the Bordelon family.”

The new season will take on the coronavirus crisis, the Black Lives Matter movement that swept the nation over the summer, and corruption in politics — to explore the impact these issues have on communities and people of color.

“The way Ava creates space to allow these characters to embody real-world experiences is television at its finest and we are proud to continue this ground-breaking series,” said Oprah Winfrey, CEO of OWN. “I hear from so many people that they see themselves in the Bordelon family, and my hope is that through this kind of storytelling the hearts and minds of people are opened for a deeper understanding and empathy of one another.”

Added OWN President Tina Perry: “When Ava came to us with the idea to revamp the storyline for the new season after production was halted due to the pandemic, we knew it was the right decision to give our viewers her unique perspective on the very real issues impacting their daily lives and the affect the demand for racial equality has had on the Black community and our society as a whole.”

The series stars Rutina Wesley, Dawn-Lyen Gardner and Kofi Siriboe. The first four seasons are available to stream on Hulu, for viewers to catch up on all past episodes.

Season five of Queen Sugar premieres Tuesday, Feb. 16 at 8 pm ET/PT on OWN.