Just a few weeks after HBO confirmed that it is bringing Ta-Nehisi Coates’ groundbreaking stage play
Between the World and Me to mass audiences with a
special TV event, the cable network has revealed the star-studded cast that will bring the story to life on television and the first wave of casting for the project did not disappoint.Oprah Winfrey, Angela Bassett (
Black Panther), Alicia Garza (founder of
Black Futures Lab), Joe Morton (
Scandal), Phylicia Rashad (
The Cosby Show), musician Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter of The Roots, Courtney B. Vance (
Lovecraft Country), Pauletta Washington and Susan Kelechi Watson (
This Is Us) have signed up for what fans can now officially call a must-see event.[video_embed id='2001534']RELATED: HBO developing Ta-Nehisi Coates book & stage show into special TV event[/video_embed]The stage version of
Between the World and Me was based on Coates’ best-selling novel of the same name, which was written as a letter to the author’s teenage son. It highlighted the violence against the Black community as well as the author’s experiences growing up in Baltimore. The show was originally adapted and staged at the Apollo Theatre in New York in 2018 and at the Kennedy Centre in Atlanta.This TV adaptation will combine elements of the Apollo production, “including powerful readings from Coates’ book,” according to the press release. It will also “incorporate documentary footage from the actors’ home life, archival footage, and animation.” Production is currently underway following COVID-19 guidelines, with a planned fall premiere on HBO and HBO Max in the States, and on Crave here in Canada. Kamilah Forbes, who is a friend of Coates and who inspired the “Aunt Kamilah” character in the book, will direct.HBO did not confirm any other specific roles along with the casting news, but it’s worth noting that Kelechi Watson also starred in the stage adaptation and serves as a producer on this televised event. “If you think I have the words, think again...”
she posted on Instagram shortly after the casting release was sent out.In addition to airing the special, HBO is making donations to Howard University (Coates’ alma matter) and to the Apollo Theatre. The theatre, which launched the careers of James Brown and the Jacksons, has been an important fixture in Harlem for more than a century.“Through
Between the World and Me we intend to create a space of communion where Black people can metabolize our grief, celebrate our joys and continue to amplify the current discourse regarding race and culture in our country and around the world,” said Watson, who starred in the adaptations,
in a statement when the HBO iteration was first announced.“Ta-Nehisi’s words lend themselves to an experience that is shared by so many of us. I’m thrilled to work with HBO and these brilliant minds on a special that is both timely and urgent.”[video_embed id='2012026']Before you go: From Oprah to Regina King, the stars continue to demand justice for Breonna Taylor[/video_embed]
