Netflix just keeps putting out content for history lovers. Directed by George C. Wolfe (The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks) and produced by Denzel Washington, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom looks to be loaded with style in its bluesy 1920s Chicago setting.
Academy Award winner Viola Davis finds herself in the title role, alongside Chadwick Boseman in what would sadly be his final performance.
Washington and Davis last collaborated in 2016 on Fences, another August Wilson adaptation.
You can check out the trailer and synopsis for Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom below. It hits Netflix on December 18 after a limited theatrical run in November.
Chicago, 1927. A recording session. Tensions rise between Ma Rainey (Viola Davis), her ambitious horn player (Chadwick Boseman), and the white management determined to control the legendary “Mother of the Blues.” Based on Pulitzer Prize winner August Wilson’s play.