“Queen Sugar” is sticking with its feminist hiring practices for its third season. The Root confirms that Season 3 of the Ava DuVernay’s OWN family drama will be directed entirely by women, as was the case for Seasons 1 and 2.
Patricia Cardoso (“Real Women Have Curves”), Shaz Bennett (“Alaska Is a Drag”), Maria Govan (“Play the Devil”), and Lauren Wolkstein (“The Strange Ones”) are among the helmers “Queen Sugar” has tapped for its third season. The latter three will be making their TV directorial debuts.
DeMane Davis is also set to direct on Season 3. She previously helmed the second season eps “Line of Our Elders” and “Copper Sun.”
“The fact that we have all female directors is just something that’s astonishing,” Omar J. Dorsey, who portrays Hollywood on “Queen Sugar,” told The Root. “I’ve done TV for 20 years, and I can probably count on my one hand how many women directors I’ve been directed by,” he said. “It’s an amazing experience.”
“For us, [hiring only women directors] is not a trend, this is not a publicity stunt. This is our choice,” DuVernay has said. “Just like it’s their choice never to think about hiring a woman,” she added in reference to series like “Game of Thrones,” the last season of which was directed entirely by men.
While shows like “Big Little Lies,” “Call the Midwife,” “Harlots,” and “Jessica Jones” have committed to seasons with an all-female directing team, women helmers are still extremely underrepresented in television. The DGA found that women directed 21 percent of episodes in the 2016–17 season. Shows like “GOT,” “Mr. Robot,” and “Mom” went the whole season without a woman directing. And plenty of series — such as drug cartel drama “Narcos” and Zach Galifianakis dramedy “Baskets” — have never employed a female director.
“Queen Sugar” stars Rutina Wesley, Dawn-Lyen Gardner, and Kofi Siriboe as siblings who attempt to revive the family sugar cane business after the death of their father. Season 3 will have a two-night premiere on Tuesday, May 29 and Wednesday, May 30. After that “Queen Sugar” will air Wednesdays at 10 p.m.
