Emmy Award winner Glynn Turman (Queen Sugar) has been cast opposite André Holland (Moonlight) in Apple TV+’s upcoming series, The Big Cigar, as reported by Deadline. Turman will recur in the series as Walter Newton, father of activist and Black Panther Party co-founder Dr. Huey P. Newton.
The Big Cigar is based on the Playboy article of the same name written by Joshuah Bearman (Little America). The series will follow the hunt for Newton, who seeks help from film producer Bert Schneider, played by Alessandro Nivola (Black Narcissus), as he embarks on an escape mission to Cuba. Turman will recur in the series as Walter, an ailing man revered by his son who works several jobs to support his family.
Additional members of the cast include Tiffany Boone (The Chi), P.J. Byrne (Never Have I Ever), Jordane Christie (Atlanta), Olli Haaskivi (Queer as Folk), Emmy nominee Moses Ingram (The Tragedy of Macbeth), and Marc Menchaca (Raising Dion), as previously announced by Deadline. Boone will co-star as Huey’s girlfriend, Gwen Fontaine, and Byrne will play Steve Blauner, Bert Schneider’s production partner. Christie will co-star as Black Panther Party co-founder Bobby Seale, with Haaskivi playing Artie Ross, a screenwriter who was blacklisted during the Red Scare infiltration in Hollywood. Ingram will recur as Teressa Dixon, Huey’s confidant and Black Panther Party member, and Menchaca will play Agent Sydney Clark, who goes undercover to pursue Newton.
The Big Cigar is executive produced by Bearman alongside Joshua Davis (Breaking) and Arthur Spector (The Shack). Janine Sherman Barrois (The Kings of Napa) will executive produce and serve as showrunner on the series, and Don Cheadle will executive produce and direct the first two episodes. Jim Hecht (Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty) serves as executive producer on the series and will write and produce based on the story he co-created with Bearman.
Turman’s recent turns include roles in Charles Murray’s The Devil You Know, ABC’s Women of the Movement, Academy Award-winning Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, and the fourth season of FX’s Fargo. Holland’s recent credits include Rebecca Hall’s Passing, Netflix’s The Eddy, High Flying Bird written by Academy Award winner Tarell Alvin McCraney, Hulu’s Castle Rock, and Ava DuVernay’s A Wrinkle in Time.
Apple TV+ has yet to announce a release date for The Big Cigar.