Sterling K. Brown Chosen For Lead Role In Upcoming Hulu Washington Black Show

Sterling K. Brown has been cast for the lead role in the upcoming Hulu Washington Black series.

The 45-year-old, who will also produce the show, will play Medwin Harris in the nine-episode series, adapted from Esi Edugyan’s novel Washington Black, Variety reported on Tuesday.

The Hulu show will be written and produced by Selwyn Seyfu Hinds, according to the outlet.

“Washington Black inspires me! The This Is Us actor told Variety in a statement. “This young man and the adventure he undertakes remind me of how the power of the imagination and the creativity of art can transform the world in which we live.

“Selwyn Seyfu Hinds has taken the transcendent words of Esi Edugyan and created a spectacular universe that embodies the power of the possible.”

The script for the series is based on 11-year-old George Washington ‘Wash’ Black, who leaves the Barbados sugarcane plantation in the midst of a shocking death. The character of Harris, played by Brown, is the de facto mayor of Black Halifax and a mentor to Washington Black.

Harris’ role comes as Brown’s NBC show This Is Us ends after six seasons. Brown won a Golden Globe in 2018 and an Emmy for Best Leading Actor in a Drama Series in 2017 for his work on the series as Randall. He has been nominated five times for the latter honor.

Hinds in a statement spoke about writing the adaptation over the past two years, many of them during the pandemic.

“The world felt like it was living in the darkest night, stumbling to find and hold onto a pole star to move forward,” said Hinds. “Like many of us, I have felt lost too often. But writing Washington Black for the past two years has brought me home.

‘This story of a young black boy who becomes an artist, scientist and inventor globetrotter. This story of real human superpowers: hope, love, empathy, perseverance. These ideas have been my pole star.

Hinds said that “the promise that we will go through the long night and take flight like Wash under the sunlight,” for “this spectacle has been a vector of that faith for those of us who created it, and we are more than happy to be about to share it with all of you.

Hulu’s Head of Scripted Content Jordan Helman said in a statement that “what Selwyn, Sterling and their team of inspired collaborators have come up with is a deeply romantic, globetrotting adventure that’s very entertaining and unlike anything else. nothing else on television.

“It’s a remarkable story of hope, wonder and perseverance, and we are honored to have the opportunity to work with such incredible storytellers to bring this series to the screen.”