Hulu Gives Limited Series Order to "Washington Black" Adaptation from Sterling K. Brown and Selwyn Seyfu Hinds

An adaptation of Esi Edugyan novel Washington Black is coming to Hulu as a limited series. According to Deadline, the streamer gave a straight-to-series order to the project which hails from writer Selwyn Seyfu Hinds and star and executive producer Sterling K. Brown.

Via Deadline (Photos: Mark Mann/Ajuke Hamit)

What’s Happening:

Hulu has given a straight-to-series order to Washington Black hailing from Sterling K. Brown and Selwyn Seyfu Hinds and based on the novel by Esi Edugyan.
Deadline writes that the nine-episode limited series is written by Hinds, with Brown attached to star and executive produce. The program has reportedly been in the works at Hulu for a couple of years. 20th Television will produce.
Brown will play Medwin Harris, one of the many new friends Washington Black meets along his journey.

Synopsis:

“Washington Black is the tale of a singular young man: pirate ship-stowaway-turned-initiate; rugged explorer of uncharted territory; survivor of the tundra, the desert and the high seas; an engineer; an inventor; an artist. He traverses the globe – from searing Barbados heat to Arctic ice – and finds an unexpected and fraught love along the way. Though he meets many an enigmatic figure in his travels, Wash quickly finds that he alone is the engine of his hero’s journey – a triumphant voyage of daring dreams, steampunk and the magic of the human heart.”

What They’re Saying:

Sterling K. Brown: “Washington Black inspires me. This young man and the adventure he undertakes remind me of how the power of imagination and the creativity of artistry 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 brings to fruition the power of possibility.”
Selwyn Seyfu Hinds: “The world has felt like we’re living in darkest night, stumbling to find and hold onto a North Star to make a way forward. Like many of us, I’ve felt lost far too often. But writing Washington Black these past two years has guided me back home. This story of a young Black boy who becomes a globe-trotting artist, scientist and inventor. This tale of the true human superpowers: hope, love, empathy, persistence. Those ideas have been my North Star. The promise that we will get through the long night and take flight like Wash under the light of the sun. This show has been a conduit to that faith for those of us who’ve been creating it, and we’re beyond thrilled to be about the business of sharing it with all of you.”
Jordan Helman, head of Scripted Content at Hulu: “What Selwyn, Sterling and their inspired team of collaborators have crafted is a deeply romantic, globe-trotting adventure that is highly entertaining and unlike anything else on television. It is a remarkable tale 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.”
Karey Burke, president of 20th Television: “Bringing Esi Edugyan’s prize-winning book to television has been a passion project for Selwyn and Sterling, and we are grateful to Hulu for their belief in this wildly ambitious and aspirational project. Our relationship with the amazing Sterling K. Brown dates all the way back to The People v O.J. and of course This Is Us, so we couldn’t be happier to be continuing our collaboration with him as both a producer and a performer on this beautiful series.”

Creative Team:

Washington Black is executive produced by:
- Selwyn Seyfu Hinds
- Sterling K. Brown
- Ellen Goldsmith-Vein
- Jeremy Bell
- Lindsay Williams and DJ Goldberg
- Anthony Hemingway and Jennifer Johnson
Esi Edugyan is co-producer