Hulu’s book-to-television adaptation is the mystery family drama Black Cake. It is adapted from Charmaine Wilkerson’s New York Times best-selling novel Black Cake. The story follows estranged brother and sister Byron and Benny as they uncover the secrets kept by their late mother, Eleanor. From Oprah Winfrey’s Harpo Films and executive produced by Marissa Jo Cerar, Black Cake brings the viewers on a never seen before generational trip.
Black Cake will debut exclusively on Hulu on November 1, 2023.
Trailer and Plot of Black Cake
The trailer for Black Cake was released on October 2, 2023. The trailer opens with Eleanor’s two estranged children, Benny and Byron, meeting in an office to hear their late mother’s will. Despite being brother and sister, it’s evident that the two don’t have a cordial relationship. With the will their mother left them with an unexpected secret: “Eleanor is not my real name.” Throughout the rest of the trailer, viewers are introduced to Eleanor’s secret past. A series of flashbacks reveals that her real name is Covey, and was compelled into an arranged marriage at the age of 16 just to pay off her father’s debt. Not willing to suffocate in a loveless relationship, Covey takes desperate measures and kills her husband. She escapes her hometown marking the beginning of her thunderous journey to freedom.
The official Hulu description for Black Cake: “Eleanor Bennett loses her battle with cancer, leaving her children a flash drive that holds untold stories of her journey from the Caribbean to America; the stories shock her children and challenge everything they know about their family’s origin.”
Cast of ‘Black Cake’
- Chipo Chung as Eleanor
- Mia Isaac as Covey (16-year-old Eleanor raised in Jamaica in the late 1960s)
- Adrienne Warren as Benny Bennett (Eleanor’s daughter)
- Ashley Thomas as Byron Bennett (Eleanor’s son and Benny’s brother)
- Faith Alabi as Pearl Thomas (a caretaker at the Lyncook household)
- Ahmed Elhaj as Gibbs Grant (Covey’s admirer)
- Lashay Anderson as Bunny Pringle (Covey’s childhood best friend)
Black Cake also sees appearances of Cara Horgan, Rupert Evans, Anthony J. Abraham, and Rebecca Calder.
Official Novel Synopsis
“Byron and Benny haven’t seen each other in years. Now these estranged siblings must set aside their differences to deal with their mother’s hidden past. When their mother Eleanor dies in California, they are left with a puzzling inheritance: a traditional Caribbean black cake and a voice recording whose contents will change Byron and Benny’s lives.
Will hearing their story help them to repair their broken family bonds and resolve their own struggles with identity? Or will they end up feeling more lost than ever? Theirs is a journey of discovery that takes them from the Caribbean to the UK and back to California. This is a story of how the inheritance of betrayals, secrets, memories, and even names, can shape relationships and history.”
If you have questions regarding Black Cake, feel free to ask in the comments below. For more content, stay tuned. As usual, like, subscribe, and share our articles as we are trying to build a community of people High On Cinema!
