The long-awaited series adaptation of Ghanaian-Canadian author Esi Edugyan’s acclaimed novel Washington Black is set to premiere on Hulu on Wednesday, July 23, with all eight episodes dropping at once. Internationally, the series will be available on Disney+.

Led by Emmy-winning actor Sterling K. Brown, who also serves as executive producer, Washington Black brings to life the epic 19th-century journey of George Washington “Wash” Black, a young boy born into slavery on a Barbados sugar plantation whose brilliant scientific mind sets him on a transformative adventure across continents.

Adapted from Edugyan’s bestselling novel, the series charts Wash’s escape from a life of bondage after a violent incident forces him to flee. Aided by Christopher “Titch” Wilde (played by Tom Ellis), the eccentric brother of the plantation owner, young Wash (portrayed by Eddie Karanja) embarks on a globe-spanning journey that ultimately leads him to Halifax, Nova Scotia, where he is taken under the wing of town leader Medwin Harris (played by Brown).

The series stars Ernest Kingsley Jr. as the older Wash, alongside a strong ensemble cast including Rupert Graves, Iola Evans, Edward Bluemel, Sharon Duncan-Brewster, Eddie Karanja, and Billy Boyd.

Executive producer and showrunner Kimberly Ann Harrison, talking to Entertainment Weekly, calls the show a blend of adventure and coming-of-age storytelling. “I’ve never seen the story being told through the lens of a young enslaved boy,” she says. “To be in the lens of that child and dreaming… You haven’t seen something like this. I’m really excited for the world to go on this grand adventure with Washington Black.”

The series features a dual timeline format, departing from the novel’s linear structure. “If we told the story linearly, we wouldn’t get to adult Wash until episode 7,” explains co-showrunner and executive producer Selwyn Seyfu Hinds in the same article. “So the structure suggested itself.”

Hinds, whose Caribbean roots mirror Wash’s origin story, felt a personal connection to the material. “When I read the book, Wash’s journey felt a lot like my own,” he shares. “I left the Caribbean as a young boy and found my way to agency and manhood through traveling.”

Brown’s expanded role as Medwin wasn’t about star power, but thematic balance. “So much of this tale is about mentorship, who you mentor and who you’re mentored by,” Hinds explains. “We already had that character in the book in Medwin, so from there it was just building it out.”

Brown echoed that sentiment to EW: “There’s something really lovely about the question, ‘Am I my brother’s keeper?’ and ‘Who is your brother?’ And Black folks looking out across the diaspora… finding community, finding family, finding a sense of purpose and agency amongst ourselves that is quite lovely and maybe strangely applicable to today, even though the story takes place in the 1800s.”

The mentorship theme also played out behind the scenes. “Sterling was his character in real life,” says Hinds. “He was the mentor, uncle, big brother… There wouldn’t be a Washington Black without Sterling.”

In addition to exploring Wash’s coming-of-age journey, the series also delves into the life of his love interest, Tanna (Iola Evans), the biracial daughter of an aristocrat grappling with identity and societal expectations. “Tanna came from a place with her mother of wanting to dream and not letting anyone put a roadblock up,” says Harrison.

Produced by 20th Television in association with Indian Meadows Productions and The Gotham Group, Washington Black is executive produced by Hinds, Harrison, Brown, Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, Wanuri Kahiu, Mo Marable, Rob Seidenglanz, Jeremy Bell, Lindsay Williams, D.J. Goldberg, Jennifer Johnson, and Anthony Hemingway. Edugyan also serves as co-producer.

Washington Black is poised to be one of summer’s most compelling new series!