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DeWanda Wise, Tian Richards & Marcus Mitchell To Star In Starz Black Rodeo Drama
Starz has cast DeWanda Wise, Tian Richards and Marcus Mitchell as series regulars in an untitled Black rodeo drama, marking a significant new project for the premium cable network. The eight-episode, hour-long series is set in Southeast Texas and follows three siblings navigating the rodeo legacy left by their mother and unresolved business from their father, with the network describing it as blending "hip hop swagger and country soul".
Wise plays Anaya Clarke-Reagan, the polished eldest sibling and mayor of Trinity City who hides darker impulses behind a conservative public image built with her judge husband. Richards plays her younger brother Rodney, an openly gay bar owner drawn into a revenge plot after a violent robbery at his business, while Mitchell plays Julius Calhoun, a devout and decorated bull rider eyeing a career beyond Trinity City. Kirk A. Moore serves as showrunner, with Mark Johnson, Myki Bajaj, Tony Hernandez, Elise Henderson and Lilly Burns among the executive producers; production is expected to begin in Atlanta later this month.
In short
- Starz casts DeWanda Wise, Tian Richards, Marcus Mitchell in rodeo drama
- Eight-episode series set in Southeast Texas, following three siblings
- Production starts in Atlanta later this month
Explained simply
Rodeo is a sport and spectacle built around events such as bull riding, with deep roots in rural American life. Black rodeo traditions have their own history, and the series is set in Southeast Texas, where it centres on a family shaped by its mother’s rodeo legacy.
The story follows three siblings in the fictional Trinity City as they deal with their father’s unresolved affairs and different ambitions. DeWanda Wise plays Anaya, the city’s mayor; Tian Richards plays Rodney, a bar owner; and Marcus Mitchell plays Julius, a bull rider.