Tony award winner Daveed Diggs and Rafael Casal bring Blindspotting back to your screens, this time as a comedy drama series.
Casal is set to star, direct, executive produce, and act as showrunner of the upcoming series. If you recall, in 2018 Blindspotting was released detailing the story of a recent parolee, Collin [Daveed Diggs] who had three days left on his sentence. His intention was to keep his head down and stay out of trouble when he witnesses a police shooting that causes friction between him and his longtime friend, Miles [Rafael Casal]. The psychological drama criticizes the relationship with police and Black America as well as the undeniable gentrification of Oakland, California causing a sense of loss of identity, home and belonging.
Blindspotting the series picks up six months after the film, this time focusing on Ashley [Jasmine Cephas Jones], the girlfriend of Miles and mother to their child. We are introduced to Jones’ character in the film however she becomes the main interest of the series after Miles is suddenly incarcerated, forcing her to move in with Miles’s eccentric mother, Rainey [Helen Hunt] and his relentless sister, Trish [Jaylen Barron]. “Jasmine Cephas Jones is the reason that there’s a Blindspotting TV show. We think she’s incredible, we think the character she created with us in the film has such a unique perspective and is someone whose story, if there’s a platform to tell it should be told,” stated Diggs. The comedic series will also introduce new characters Janelle [Candace Nicholas Lippman] and Earl [Benjamin Earl Turner] as viewers garner a fresh perspective to the broken prison system, the after math for friends and family dealing with an incarcerated loved one and reconciling with the cards life may have dealt you.
As mentioned earlier, the series introduces new faces to the narrative including Oscar winning actor, Helen Hunt. Hunt became a part of the team after tweeting Casal about the extraordinary work he did with the film. They remained in contact and started creating a screenplay that is still in the works while Diggs joked that there may be a part for Hunt in his upcoming series. “Suddenly they said, so we’re not joking anymore there’s this part. So, I read what they had so far and talked to them and told them what I needed to say yes and then I said yes,” Hunt describes. Diggs and Casal have collectively been working on Blindspotting the film and series for 13 years now and it is clear that they have a passion for their work and the message that are trying to share with a large audience. But most importantly, their love for Oakland, the people, and the culture is evident and can almost be felt through the screen.
Blindspotting will premiere on STARZ and internationally on STARZPLAY on June 13.
