Although we’ve known that a TV adaptation of Candice Carty-Williams’ best-selling novel Queenie was in the works for some time, things got serious in May when the new show’s cast was announced.
The novel, which follows the life of a 25-year-old British-Jamaican woman living in London, was a major hit, becoming a landmark publication when it was published in 2019.
It went to the top of the Sunday Times Bestseller hardback chart, won Book of the Year at the British Book Awards in 2020, won the Blackwell’s Debut Book of the Year 2019 award, and was the runner-up for the Costa First Novel Award in 2019.
It’s no real surprise, then, that fans of the book have been keen for every morsel of information they can gather about the new show. Here’s everything there is to know so far about Queenie, Channel 4’s upcoming series.
What is the novel about?
The novel follows twentysomething Queenie, who is on the verge of having a breakdown. She is facing a breakup, moving out from the flat she shares with her ex and potentially losing her job.
And all the while coping with the emotional fallout of these not-so-simple events, she is also navigating life in her Caribbean-heritage community in South London. She is pulled in many directions as she balances her relationships with her Jamaican immigrant family, with her friends and with her work colleagues.
The novel also deals with Queenie’s mental health issues as she struggles with anxiety and depression, and with sexual violence and objectification.
What do we know about the plot of the TV series?
The eight-episode series, which has now begun filming, will follow the storyline of the book.
“Queenie is about heartbreak and bad dates and worse sex,” said Channel 4 in its official synopsis.
“It’s about race, identity, culture and the politics that shape you. It’s about the love of friends, the chaos of family and community and all the other varying relationships in between, but especially the one with yourself.”
Who is in the cast?
In mid-May Channel 4 released the cast list, with Dionne Brown set to play Queenie Jenkins.
“I’ve been in love with the book since the moment I read it so to be able to audition much less play her (Queenie) is a dream come true,” said Brown, who has previously featured in ITV’s The Walk In and Apple TV’s Criminal Record. “I can’t wait for everyone to see exactly what we’ve been working on behind the scenes.”
Jon Pointing (Big Boys) will play Queenie’s boyfriend Tom, Singer Bellah will play Queen’s longest friend Kyazike, while Elisha Applebaum (Fate: The Winx Saga) will play Cassandra, Queenie’s best friend from university.
Sally Phillips (Bridget Jones) plays Gina, the editor at The Daily Read where Queenie works. Tilly Keeper (You) plays Darcy, Queenie’s colleague.
Llewella Gideon (GameFace) will play Queenie’s Grandma Veronica, while Michelle Greenidge (After Life) will play her Aunty Maggie.
Samuel Adewunmi (Secret Invasion and You Don’t Know Me), Mim Shaikh (Informer) and new face Cristale De’Abreu, will also feature.
“I can’t imagine bringing Queenie to life without each member of this exciting and enviable cast,” said Carty-Williams. “I can’t wait for viewers to see the chemistry, the talent and the brilliance of Queenie, her family and her friends, her lovers and her frenemies.”
Who is behind the production?
Carty-Williams is the showrunner and creator of the upcoming series, and the script has been written by Carty-Williams alongside actor and director Ryan Calais Cameron, award-winning writer Yolanda Mercy, novelist Natasha Brown and Sex Education season four writer Thara Popoola.
Queenie will be directed by Joelle Mae David (Greasy Spoon, Regeneration) and Makalla McPherson (Doctors).
Although a Channel 4 commission, Queenie is produced by Further South Productions and Lionsgate TV and will stream globally: on Channel 4 in the UK and Ireland, on Hulu in the US, on Star+ in South America and on Dinsey+ everywhere else.
On Disney’s it will be released via Onyx Collective, a content brand that’s focused on producing work by creators of colour.
When will it be released?
As of yet, no one knows. But since the production has only just started filming, it’s most likely that Queenie will land on screens towards the end of the year, or in 2024.
Who is Carty-Williams?
33-year-old Candice Carty-Williams was born in London to a mother of Jamaican-Indian heritage and to a Jamaican father who came to Britain aged 16. She worked in the publishing industry for years before beginning to write – Queenie was her debut novel.
While working at the HarperCollins imprint 4th Estate, she was reportedly one of the people behind the creation of The Guardian 4th Estate BAME Short Story Prize.
“It’s increasingly important that we run initiatives like this, both for prospective authors, and for the industry,” said Carty-Williams in 2016 about the prize. “We are constantly looking to broaden the scope of voices that we publish, and within the team there is a great deal of excitement for this new prize.”
What did the critics say about the novel, Queenie?
On the whole, they loved it. The Guardian called it “timely and important” and The Times called it “funny, clever and heartbreaking” in one piece and “a trailblazing bestseller with a blistering purpose” in another.
Bernardine Evaristo, winner of the Booker Prize, described it as, “A deliciously funny, characterful, topical and thrilling novel for our times.”
Queenie was marketed as the black Bridget Jones
When Queenie was first released, it garnered a lot of comparisons to Bridget Jones. But Carty-Williams argued that this couldn’t be the case, because of Queenie’s upbringing. “That’s how I thought of her in the beginning, too,” said the author to Stylist. “But this book is also naturally political just because of who Queenie is. She’s not Bridget Jones. She could never be.”
“Predictably enough, the novel has been hailed as the black Bridget Jones, and it does bear loose similarities in its portrayal of the conventional female quest for the love of a good man and the realisation that self-acceptance and self-sufficiency are more important,” said The Guardian.
“But Carty-Williams goes much deeper than that, casting a full glare on the damaging reductive stereotypes, born of slavery and colonialism, that surround black women’s bodies, sexuality and psychology.”
Time magazine published an article titled ‘Don’t Call Queenie a ‘Black Bridget Jones.’ This Book Is So Much More’.
