‘Queenie’: Disney’s Onyx Collective Orders For UK Drama, Hulu To Air In The U.S.

Disney+’s Onyx Collective is venturing across the pond to London with the series order for Queenie, which is set for Hulu in the U.S.

Onyx Collective announced Tuesday that it has partnered with Channel 4 to give Queenie a straight-to-series pickup. The series comes from Further South Productions in association with Lionsgate TV and will stream in the U.S. on Hulu, Star+ in Latin America and Disney+ in all other territories. It will air on Channel 4 in the U.K. and Ireland.

The series is comprised of eight episodes and follows Queenie Jenkins, “a 25-year-old Jamaican British woman living in south London, straddling two cultures and slotting neatly into neither,” according to the description.

“After a messy breakup with her long-term boyfriend, Queenie seeks comfort in all the wrong places and begins to realize she has to face the past head-on before she can rebuild,” the description continues.

Dionne Brown stars as Queenie, a “curvy, pretty south Londoner” who “speaks her mind, especially when she shouldn’t.” She is trying to achieve her dreams “in a predominately white workplace” and feels she is always having to play catch-up with herself due to her unconscious habit of self-sabotage.

“As soon as she stops to reflect, everything she’s been running from hits her, and it is the worst emotional pileup imaginable,” the description states. “Our protagonist is thus hellbent on outrunning her demons and disassociating–a strategy destined to implode.”

The series also stars Bellah as Kyazike, Queen’s long-time best friend, and Samuel Adewunmi as Frank, Kyazike’s older cousin. Kyazike and Frank are both of Ugandan background, and Kyazike is fashionable and searching for a man with the right bank account.

Kyazike “works in a bank where she can cross-reference eligible men with their bank balances,” according to her description. “She always has the longest hair, the best nails, the highest designer heels, and the funniest stories. Kyazike is firmly on her quest for Mr. Right, who must have financial clout. While Queenie doesn’t find her friend’s quest aspirational, she definitely finds it inspirational.”

Frank, on the other hand, is described as having “grand plans in life.”

Frank is described as being “from Ends, is invested in his community and has known Queenie since her high school days. He has seen her on occasion with Kyazike over the years, although not since she hooked up with Tom [a character yet to be described by Onyx Collective]. Frank is emotionally intelligent, well-read, and articulate — an intellectual match for Queenie. He thinks and speaks from the heart and challenges Queenie. He’s her Truth Teller, straightforward and unapologetic but with a good heart.”

The series is created by Candice Carty-Williams, who wrote the novel the series is based. Carty-Williams serves as executive producer and showrunner. Steve November and Sarah Conroy of Further South will also executive produce with Lisa Walters co-executive producing and serving as series producer.