Hulu has officially announced that it will not be renewing its original drama series Black Cake for a second season. Starring Adrienne Warren and Mia Isaac, the cancellation follows a lengthy hiatus of ten months since the first season concluded.
This decision confirms the anticipated fate of the series, created by Marissa Jo Cerar, known for Women of the Movement, and produced by Oprah Winfrey’s Harpo Films alongside Aaron Kaplan’s Kapital Entertainment. Although there were whispers that Netflix might be interested in acquiring the critically acclaimed show, those discussions did not progress, as moving a series between major streaming platforms is often a complex and rare occurrence.
Originally, Black Cake had garnered significant interest, with Hulu winning a competitive bidding war for the project in 2021. Based on the novel by Charmaine Wilkerson, the series boasted a 94% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and received multiple accolades, including NAACP Image Awards nominations for Outstanding Drama Series and Outstanding Writing in a Dramatic Series for Cerar. It also earned a GLAAD Media Awards nomination for Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series. Just two weeks ago, Cerar won a Humanitas Prize for her work on the show.
Black Cake intricately weaves a family drama with a murder mystery set across Jamaica, Rome, Scotland, England, and Southern California. The narrative unfolds in the late 1960s when a runaway bride named Covey seemingly drowns off the coast of Jamaica, becoming a suspect in her husband’s murder. In the present day, Eleanor Bennett, a widow battling cancer, leaves behind a flash drive for her estranged children, containing revelations about her life journey from the Caribbean to America that upend their understanding of their family history.
The cast also featured Chipo Chung, Ashley Thomas, Glynn Turman, Lashay Anderson, Faith Alabi, and Ahmed Elhaj. The series was executive produced by Cerar, Winfrey, Carla Gardini, and Kaplan, with Emily Rudolf serving as co-executive producer.
