New series spotlights Huey P. Newton

By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — The life of Huey P. Newton, the charismatic and controversial leader of the Black Panther Party, is the subject of a forthcoming limited series on Apple TV+. The network has now released the first trailer for the series, which is titled “The Big Cigar,” and stars Andre Holland. The full series begins May 17, with two episodes. After that, new episodes will be released every Friday through June 14.& In addition to being the series’ executive producer, actor Don Cheadle will direct the opening two episodes. The show is based on a powerful magazine story by Joshuah Bearman, who will also serve as executive producer. The “Big Cigar” is a wild caper about Newton escaping from the FBI to Cuba with the assistance of famed producer Bert Schneider. The series also stars Alessandro Nivola, Tiffany Boone, PJ Byrne, Marc Menchaca, Moses Ingram, Rebecca Dalton, Olli Haaskivi, Jordane Christie and Glynn Turman. Janine Sherman Barrois is the showrunner and Jim Hecht wrote the first episode. The series is from Warner Bros. Television, where Barrois and her Folding Chair Productions are under Barrois and Hecht executive produce alongside Bearman, Joshua Davis and Arthur Spector through their...