Ava DuVernay returns to OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network for what will be her second project for the cabler, the romantic anthology series “Cherish the Day,” which is set for a February 2020 premiere. Each season will document the ups and downs of a relationship between a single couple, capturing the everyday and the extraordinary, with each episode spanning 24 hours.
Chapter One stars Xosha Roquemore (“The Mindy Project”) as Gently James and Alano Miller (“Underground”) as Evan Fisher, a young couple who meet and fall in love in Los Angeles. The first season will span five years and unfold over eight episodes.
The legendary Cicely Tyson joins Roquemore and Miller as Miss Luma Lee Langston, a renowned star of stage and screen of decades past. Gently James is Miss Langston’s live-in assistant and is encouraged by her wise employer to enter into a romance with Evan Fisher.
Additional cast members in recurring roles include Michael Beach (as Ben, Gently’s foster father, a former gang member who works as deliveryman for the Los Angeles Times), Anne-Marie Johnson (as Dana, Evan’s mother who disapproves of his relationship with Gently and is not shy about sharing her reservations), and Kellee Stewart (as Ellene, Evan’s well-bred, religious sister).
Episodes are directed by filmmakers Tanya Hamilton (“Night Catches Us”), Blitz Bazawule (“The Burial of Kojo”), Aurora Guerrero (“Mosquita Y Mari”) and Deborah Kampmeier (“Split,” “Hounddog”).
The DuVernay-led project, which received a straight-to-series order earlier this year, recently announced that it had achieved full gender parity with a production crew of over 50% women, including 18 female department heads.
It’s DuVernay’s immediately follow-up to her critically-acclaimed Netflix limited series “When They See Us,” which received 16 nominations at the 71st Primetime Emmy Awards, winning for Outstanding Casting and Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie.
Star Jharrel Jerome is also nominated for the Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie SAG Award.
“Cherish the Day” is produced for OWN by ARRAY Filmworks and Harpo Films in association with Warner Horizon Scripted Television. DuVernay, Paul Garnes (“Queen Sugar”), Tanya Hamilton, and Oprah Winfrey serve as executive producers.
OWN has released a first-look teaser trailer for the anthology series. Check it out:
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