Onyx Collective, Channel 4 Picks Up Candice Carty-Williams’ ‘Queenie,’ Dionne Brown, Samuel Adewunmi, Bellah Attached to Star

BreAnna Bell

Onyx Collective and Channel 4 have placed a straight-to-series order for Candice Carty-Williams’ “Queenie.” The eight-episode series will be available on Channel 4 in the U.K. and the Republic of Ireland and will stream exclusively on Hulu in the U.S., Star+ in Latin America, and Disney+ in all other territories.

“Queenie Jenkins is a 25-year-old Jamaican British woman living in south London, straddling two cultures and slotting neatly into neither. After a messy breakup with her long-term boyfriend, Queenie seeks comfort in all the wrong places and begins to realize she has to face the past head-on before she can rebuild,” reads the logline. The series is based on Carty-Williams’ best-selling novel.

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Dionne Brown will lead the cast as Queenie. She’ll be joined by Samuel Adewunmi as Frank, and Bellah as Kyazike.

According to their description, Queenie is a 25-year-old, curvy, pretty south Londoner, who speaks her mind — especially when she shouldn’t. Queenie is from a Jamaican family, striving to achieve in a predominantly white workplace. She is constantly playing catch up with her emotions and the situations she finds herself in due to a hard-wired habit of self-sabotaging, which she is mostly unaware of. As soon as she stops to reflect, everything she’s been running from hits her, and it is the worst emotional pileup imaginable.

Brown will next be seen as series regular DC Chloe Summers in “Criminal Record,” alongside Cush Jumbo and Peter Capaldi for Apple TV. Prior to this, she featured in “The Walk-In” for ITV, directed by Paul Andrew Williams. She is repped by Christina Shepherd and Luke Reilly at The Artists Partnership.

Adewunmi’s Frank is described as Kyazike’s older cousin, a man with his own van and grand plans in life. He is from Ends, is invested in his community and has known Queenie since her high school days. He has seen her on occasion with Kyazike over the years, although not since she hooked up with Tom. Frank is emotionally intelligent, well-read, and articulate — an intellectual match for Queenie. He thinks and speaks from the heart and challenges Queenie. He’s her Truth Teller, straightforward and unapologetic but with a good heart.

This year, the BAFTA nominee will be seen in In 2023, he will be seen in a series regular role in Marvel Studios’ “Secret Invasion” on Disney+ alongside Olivia Colman, Samuel L. Jackson and Ben Mendelsohn. He’s repped by Kate Buckley at 42, as well as Brandt Joel and Elan Ruspoli at WME.

Kyazike is Queenie’s longest-serving best friend from school. Born with Ugandan heritage, she was raised in south London and is also 25 years old. She works in a bank where she can cross-reference eligible men with their bank balances. She always has the longest hair, the best nails, the highest designer heels, and the funniest stories. Kyazike is firmly on her quest for Mr. Right, who must have financial clout. While Queenie doesn’t find her friend’s quest aspirational, she definitely finds it inspirational.

Bellah is a singer-songwriter from north London. She has officially been recognized as a “one to watch” by the likes of British Vogue, BBC Radio 1Xtra and Capital Xtra, among other platforms. She’s repped by Anna Tune at Independent and Sonitus Management.

“Queenie” is created and executive produced by Candice Carty-Williams, who will also serve as showrunner. Further South’s Steve November and Sarah Conroy will also executive produce, with Lisa Walters as co-executive producer and series producer. The show hails from Further South productions in association with Lionsgate TV.

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