Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson Premieres on Hulu

The New York Times bestseller, Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson is available on Hulu (US) as of November 1st. Three episodes are available to stream, with the remaining five to be shared weekly on Wednesdays. The show will be coming to Disney+ in the UK and rest of Europe once an airdate is confirmed.

Adapted for television by Marissa Jo Cerar, this Hulu series stars an impressive cast of Mia Isaac, Adrienne Warren, Chipo Chung, Ashley Thomas, Lashay Anderson, Faith Alabi, Glynn Turman, Ahmed Eljah, Simon Wan, and Sonita Henry. Oprah Winfrey’s Harpo Films and Aaron Kaplans’ Kapital Entertainment have been behind the show, turning the novel into a must-watch, gripping drama.

Featured on Barack Obama’s Summer 2022 Reading List and chosen as a Read with Jenna Book Club Pick, Black Cake creates a mesmerizing web of secrets, betrayal, family history and discovery across generations.

In the late 1960s, a runaway bride named Covey disappears into the surf off the coast of Jamaica and is feared drowned or a fugitive on the run for her husband’s murder. Fifty years later in California, Eleanor Bennett, a widow in her 60s, loses her battle with cancer, leaving her two estranged children a flash drive that holds previously untold stories of her journey from the Caribbean to America. These stories, narrated by Eleanor, shock her children and challenge everything they thought they knew about their family’s origin.

‘At turns delightfully juicy and then stunningly wise, Black Cake is a winner.’ Taylor Jenkins Reid, New York Times bestselling author of Malibu Rising

‘Black Cake is a character-driven, multigenerational story that’s meant to be savored. . . . thought-provoking and poignant.’ Time

The trailer, shared by The Today Show, gives the first sneak peek into the series, introducing the mystery drama and elusive backdrops as the setting changes across Jamaica, London, Italy, Scotland and America. Variety and The Hollywood Reporter have both reviewed the series, commending the flashback elements of the show as multiple timelines are revealed throughout the episodes, diving into character depths, motives and arcs.

The book and series are named after a dish that signifies the marriage of cultures at the heart of the story. Black cake evolved from the British plum pudding that colonizers brought to the West Indies. Islanders then modified the recipe, incorporating their local ingredients.

‘Like the cuisine it’s named for, the series is a blend of cultures brought together to make something magnificent and complex.’ Variety

We are so thrilled for Charmaine and can’t recommend the series enough. Stream it on Hulu in the US and read (or re-read!) the novel in preparation!