Ashley Thomas has been cast as the male lead opposite Mia Isaac and Adrienne Warren in Hulu drama series Black Cake, from Women of the Movement creator Marissa Jo Cerar, Oprah Winfrey’s Harpo Films and Aaron Kaplan’s Kapital Entertainment. Additionally, Zetna Fuentes (This Is Us) has been tapped to direct the pilot episode, replacing Andrew Dosunmu.
Written by Cerar based on the book by Charmaine Wilkerson, Black Cake is a family drama wrapped in a murder mystery with a diverse cast of characters and a global setting that spans decades. The story takes place in Jamaica, Rome, Scotland, England and Southern California.
In the late 1960s, a runaway bride named Covey (Isaac) 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, a widow named Eleanor Bennett loses her battle with cancer, leaving her two estranged children, Byron (Thomas) and Benny (Warren), 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.
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Thomas’ Byron Bennett is a brilliant ocean scientist, whose formidable work ethic has made him a leader in his field and a popular social media influencer. His professional success comes second only to his relationship with his mother, Eleanor. In the wake of her death, Byron is tasked with carrying out her final wish – a task that forces a reunion with his estranged sister, Benny, and brings to light harrowing secrets, confronting everything Byron thought he knew about himself and his family.
Black Cake is executive produced by Cerar, Harpo Films’ Winfrey and Carla Gardini and Kapital Entertainment’s Kaplan, Brian Morewitz and Michael Lohmann. Harpo’s Emily Rudolf co-executive produces. Jessie Abbott is overseeing for Kapital.
Thomas can next be seen in the upcoming ITV/Britbox limited series, Ipcress File as well as in the FX limited series Great Expectations starring opposite Olivia Coleman. He most recently starred in Little Marvin’s Amazon limited series Them, for which he received an Independent Spirit Award nomination for best actor. He can also be seen in the Netflix series Top Boy and CBS’ Salvation. Thomas is repped by ICM Partners and Independent Talent in UK.
At Hulu, Fuentes recently directed episodes of The Old Man and The Girl From Plainville.
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