Sure, George Washington crossed the Delaware, but Hulu’s Washington Black is ready to take to the skies. In the trailer for the new series based on Esi Edugyan’s bestselling novel, George Washington “Wash” Black (Ernest Kingsley Junior as older Wash and Eddie Karanja as Young Wash) flees the sugar plantation for a life of adventure. Hulu’s eight-episode series brings the bestseller’s globe-trotting coming-of-age story to life, sending Wash into the sky, to the bottom of the ocean, and across the desert in search of freedom. Set during the 19th century, the series follows Wash as he travels from Barbados to the ends of the Earth, wowing onlookers with his mastery of science and unbreakable spirit.
Here’s the synopsis:
Based on the bestselling novel of the same name, Washington Black follows the 19th-century odyssey of George Washington “Wash” Black, an eleven-year-old boy born on a Barbados sugar plantation, whose prodigious scientific mind sets him on a path of unexpected destiny. When a harrowing incident forces Wash to flee, he is thrust into a globe-spanning adventure that challenges and reshapes his understanding of family, freedom, and love. As he navigates uncharted lands and impossible odds, Wash finds the courage to imagine a future beyond the confines of the society he was born into.
Executive produced by and starring Sterling K. Brown, Washington Black has been in the works since 2021. Brown plays Medwin Harris, a refugee who settled in Halifax, where he became a community leader to Black people escaping slavery and hoping to find a life for themselves. Like Wash’s mentor, Christopher ‘Titch’ Wilde (Tom Ellis), who helps Wash flee slavery, Medwin takes a shine to the boy and his brilliant mind.
All eight episodes of Washington Black premiere on Hulu on July 23.