EMMY WINNER GLYNN TURMAN TO GUEST STAR IN OWN: OPRAH WINFREY NETWORK'S NEW ORIGINAL DRAMA SERIES "QUEEN SUGAR," FROM AVA DUVERNAY AND WARNER HORIZON TELEVISION

Los Angeles - Emmy winner Glynn Turman will guest star in the new original series "Queen Sugar," from award-winning filmmaker Ava DuVernay ("Selma") for OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network and produced by Warner Horizon Television.

Turman portrays Ernest Bordelon, the patriarch and proud father of Nova (Rutina Wesley), Charley (Dawn-Lyen Gardner) and Ralph Angel (Kofi Siriboe). An intelligent and loving man, Ernest is sugar cane farmer who has kept from his family the fact that the farm is failing, and he hasn't brought in a successful crop in two years.

A New York native, Turman was just 13 years old when he starred on Broadway in "A Raisin in the Sun" opposite Sidney Poitier and Ruby Dee. He won an Emmy in 2008 for his guest appearance on "In Treatment," and has earned several NAACP Image Awards for both acting and directing throughout his career. Turman portrayed a mayor on the award-winning drama series "The Wire," and has most recently appeared in "House of Lies," where he plays Don Cheadle's father.

Executive produced by Oprah Winfrey and DuVernay, the series is based on Natalie Baszile's acclaimed novel Queen Sugar. DuVernay developed "Queen Sugar" for television, wrote its pilot episode and will direct multiple episodes of the show's first season.

About "Queen Sugar"

"Queen Sugar" chronicles the lives and loves of the estranged Bordelon siblings in Saint Josephine, Louisiana: Charley, the savvy wife and manager of an NBA star; Nova, a world-wise journalist and activist; and Ralph Angel, a formerly incarcerated young father in search of redemption. After a family tragedy, the Bordelons must navigate the triumphs and struggles of their complicated lives in order to run an ailing sugarcane farm in the Deep South. "Queen Sugar" is produced for OWN by Warner Horizon Television. The executive producers are Oprah Winfrey and Ava DuVernay. The series is based on the book by Natalie Baszile.

About OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network

OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network is the first and only network named for, and inspired by, a single iconic leader. Oprah Winfrey's heart and creative instincts inform the brand - and the magnetism of the channel. Winfrey provides leadership in programming and attracts superstar talent to join her in primetime, building a global community of like-minded viewers and leading that community to connect on social media and beyond. OWN is a singular destination on cable. Depth with edge. Heart. Star power. Connection. And endless possibilities. OWN is a joint venture between Harpo, Inc. and Discovery Communications. The network debuted on January 1, 2011 and is available in 85 million homes. The venture also includes the award-winning digital platform Oprah.com. For more information, please visit www.oprah.com/own.

About Warner Horizon Television

Warner Horizon Television (WHTV) is one of the entertainment industry's leading producers of scripted series for the cable marketplace and primetime reality series for both network and cable. A division of the Warner Bros. Television Group, WHTV was founded in 2006. Its current scripted programs are Rizzoli & Isles and the forthcoming Animal Kingdom for TNT, the upcoming People of Earth for TBS, Pretty Little Liars for Freeform, Longmire and Fuller House for Netflix, and Queen Sugar for OWN. WHTV's unscripted series are The Voice and the upcoming Little Big Shots for NBC, as well as The Bachelor franchise - which also includes The Bachelorette and Bachelor in Paradise - and 500 Questions for ABC, among others.