Black PR Wire

PHOTOS COURTESY OF OPRAH.COM AND TWIITER

LOS ANGELES – The Oprah Winfrey Network has announced the addition of five new cast members to the ensemble of its upcoming lyrical drama “David Makes Man,” the television debut from Academy Award winner Tarell Alvin McCraney (“Moonlight”). Additionally, four directors have been tapped to helm episodes of the premiere season of the series which is produced by Warner Horizon Scripted Television.

Alana Arenas will join the cast in a series regular role, while Gillian Williams, Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Elvis Nolasco and Randy Gonzalez will appear as recurring guest stars. The roster of talented directors joining the one-hour drama include Michael Francis Williams, Kiel Adrian Scott, Daina Reidand Cheryl Dunye.

McCraney serves as executive producer of the series alongside Dee Harris-Lawrence (“Shots Fired,” “Unsolved: The Murders of Tupac and the Notorious B.I.G.,”) who serves as showrunner.

Mike Kelley and Melissa Loy (“Revenge,”) under their Page Fright production banner, Michael B. Jordan (“Creed”) via his Outlier Society Productions and Oprah Winfrey are also executive producers.

“David Makes Man” centers on a 14-year-old prodigy from the projects who is haunted by the death of his closest friend and relied on by his hardworking mother to find a way out of poverty. He must choose between the streets that raised him or the higher education that may offer him a way out. Set in South Florida, the series, inspired by events in McCraney’s own life, explores the inherent trauma sustained in the fight for survival.

The series is produced by Page Fright and Outlier Society Productions in association with Warner Horizon Scripted Television. It is currently in production in Orlando, Florida and set for a 2019 premiere on OWN.