There’s no bigger secret than a family secret. Coming up next in Hulu’s lineup of book-to-television adaptations is the mystery family drama Black Cake. Adapted from Charmaine Wilkerson’s New York Times best-selling novel of the same name, Black Cake introduces audiences to estranged brother and sister Byron (Ashley Thomas) and Benny Bennett (Adrienne Warren) as they uncover the long-lost secrets kept by their late mother, Eleanor. From Oprah Winfrey’s Harpo Films and executive produced by Marissa Jo Cerar (The Handmaid’s Tale), Black Cake brings the audience on a generational trip unlike never before. Currently available for early screening with Barnes & Noble Premium, here’s everything we know so far about Black Cake.
When Is ‘Black Cake’ Coming Out?
Black Cake makes its official debut on November 1, 2023, exclusively on Hulu. If you haven’t joined the streaming platform, viewers have the option to sign up for Hulu with plans starting at just $7.99 per month for the ad-supported subscription.
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Is There a Trailer for ‘Black Cake’?
The trailer for Black Cake was released by Hulu on October 2, 2023, revealing the tension audiences can expect from the family drama. The clip opens with Eleanor’s two estranged children, Benny Bennett (Adrienne Warren) and Byron Bennett (Ashley Thomas), meeting in an office for the reading of their late mother’s will. Despite being siblings, it’s apparent that the two have a sour relationship and don’t really see eye-to-eye. As they listened to her will, none of them had expected Eleanor to leave them with a single flash drive containing their mother’s biggest secret: “Eleanor is not my real name”.
Throughout the rest of the clip, audiences are introduced to Eleanor’s hidden past, spanning decades and different countries. A series of flashbacks unveils that her real name is Covey, and was forced into an arranged marriage at only 16 years old to pay off her father’s debt. Not wanting to be trapped in a loveless relationship, Covey takes desperate measures and kills her husband. With her at risk, Covey escapes her hometown – marking the start of her tumultuous journey to freedom. Below is the official Hulu description for Black Cake:
“Eleanor Bennett loses her battle with cancer, leaving her children a flash drive that holds untold stories of her journey from the Caribbean to America; the stories shock her children and challenge everything they know about their family’s origin.”
Who’s In the ‘Black Cake’ Cast?
Broadway star Warren joins Black Cake as Benny Bennet, Eleanor’s daughter. An artist and empath at heart, Benny distanced herself from her family due to mysterious circumstances. But after Eleanor’s passing, Benny must now face the music and confront the ghosts of her past. Playing her brother, Byron Bennett is Thomas. A gifted ocean scientist, Byron isn’t exactly on best terms with his sister. All that’s about to change when Byron is given the responsibility of fulfilling his mother’s last wish. Rising star Mia Isaac takes the spotlight in Black Cake as Covey, a biracial 16-year-old raised in Jamaica in the late 1960s. An incredibly talented swimmer, Covey finds herself stuck at a crossroads with her family and her personal dreams. Little does she realize that the decision she makes sets the course for her future family in years to come.
The rest of the cast lineup includes Chipo Chung as Eleanor; Faith Alabi as Pearl Thomas, a caretaker at the Lyncook household; Ahmed Elhaj as Gibbs Grant, who falls head over heels for Covey, and; Lashay Anderson as Bunny Pringle, a Covey’s childhood best friend in Jamaica and a fellow swimmer. Black Cake also sees appearances by Rupert Evans, Cara Horgan, Rebecca Calder, and Anthony J. Abraham.
What Is ‘Black Cake’ About?
Adapted from Wilkerson’s New York Times-bestselling novel, Black Cake brings audiences back in time to the Caribbean in the late 1960s, when a young Eleanor (a.k.a.) Covey murders her husband in a desperate attempt to escape her forced marriage. Spending the next few decades on the run and in hiding, Covey’s journey to America is finally revealed to her children after her passing. Eleanor’s origin story, which has long been kept secret for the sake of her family, is finally revealed for the first time. A murder mystery at heart, the series is crafted as a titillating family drama that emphasizes the importance of knowing your roots.
Featured in major presses such as The Washington Post and BBC News, Wilkerson’s Black Cake is recognized as one of Barack Obama’s Favorite Books of 2022 and Oprah Daily’s Best Books of 2022. Check out the official novel synopsis for Black Cake:
“Byron and Benny haven’t seen each other in years. Now these estranged siblings must set aside their differences to deal with their mother’s hidden past. When their mother Eleanor dies in California, they are left with a puzzling inheritance: a traditional Caribbean black cake and a voice recording whose contents will change Byron and Benny’s lives.
Will hearing their story help them to repair their broken family bonds and resolve their own struggles with identity? Or will they end up feeling more lost than ever? Theirs is a journey of discovery that takes them from the Caribbean to the UK and back to California. This is a story of how the inheritance of betrayals, secrets, memories, and even names, can shape relationships and history.”
Who Is Making ‘Black Cake’?
Marissa Jo Cerar takes the lead in Black Cake as showrunner and executive producer, together with Winfrey’s Harpo Films, and Kapital Entertainment. This isn’t the first time Cerar has worked together with Hulu. She also serves as the supervising producer for the Primetime Emmy Award-winning dystopian series The Handmaid’s Tale, another television adaptation based on the 1985 novel by Margaret Atwood. Directors for Black Cake include Zetna Fuentes, nominated for Best Director – Television at the Imgen Awards in 2022 for This Is Us, and Andrew Dosunmu. Black Cake is based on Wilkerson’s debut novel of the same name. Hailing from New York, Wilkerson graduated from Barnard College and Stanford University. Paving her career as a former US news and communication professional, her short fiction work has gone on to win awards and appeared in numerous anthologies and magazines.
