‘Get Millie Black’, series by Jamaican writer Marlon James, to make HBO debut
KINGSTON, Jamaica – The long-awaited series, Get Millie Black, created by Jamaican novelist Marlon James, will be released via HBO on Friday, November 25.
The cable network made the announcement via its official Instagram page on Monday. Filming for the series began in 2022 and is set to feature at least seven Corporate Area locations. British actress Tamara Lawrence plays the lead role in the six-part series which follows ex-Scotland Yard detective Millie-Jean Black, who returns to Kingston to work on missing persons for the Jamaican police.
According to the series’ synopsis, “Black soon picks up the trail of an investigation that begins in the steaming streets of downtown Kingston and works its way up to the hill plantations of the postcolonial elite. She soon finds herself on a quest to save a sister who won’t be saved, to find a boy who can’t be found, to solve a case that will blow her world apart and prove almost as tough to crack as Millie Black. Events eventually explode onto the international stage, propelling Millie back to the UK, where, pretty soon, everyone is out to get Millie Black.”
The series will also feature the likes of actors such as Joe Dempsie (Game of Thrones) as Scotland Yard inspector Luke Holborn and Gershwyn Eustache Jnr (The Yellow Birds) as Jamaican police officer Curtis.
Dorothy ‘Patra’ Smith will be appearing as Hit Girl, a go-go bar owner. Actress Chyna McQueen will also appear as Hibiscus, one of Jamaica’s ‘gully queens.’
In the trailer which was also released on Monday, the series’ narrator can be heard saying “this is just another story about Jamaica. It won’t add up. It won’t make sense. But like every story about this country…this is a ghost story.”
The series will mark the screenwriting debut of James, the 2015 Man Booker Prize-winning author and is a Channel 4 release from Motive Pictures, the British production company run by Simon Maxwell, who is “a former Channel 4 international drama boss and co-creator of Fox’s international drama series, Deep State”.
Marlon James
Back in 2022 as the crew began filming, Maxwell praised the quality of the cast and crew.
“We are immensely proud to announce such a stellar line-up of talent on Get Millie Black – from directors Tanya Hamilton and Annetta Laufer, to writers Theresa Ikoko, Lydia Adetunji and Joshua St Johnston, to a cast that showcases some of the most exciting acting talents from Jamaica and the UK, led by Tamara Lawrence, Joe Dempsie, Gershwyn Eustache Jr and a debut performance destined to electrify audiences from rising Kingston star, Chyna McQueen,” said Maxwell.
