Palos Verdes Peninsula Author's Book Gets TV Treatment on Oprah's Network

PALOS VERDES, CA — A book by Palos Verdes High School alum has been turned into a TV series by Oprah Winfrey's OWN network and is set to premiere next month.

The book, "Queen Sugar" by Natalie Baszile, is about a Los Angeles woman who inherited a sugarcane farm after her father's death.

The series begins as Charley, a savvy and spirited woman living an upscale Los Angeles lifestyle, returns to her family home — an 800-acre sugarcane farm in the heart of Louisiana — when her father has a stroke. There, she reunites with her estranged siblings Nova and Ralph Angel, who are each navigating their lives and love relationships.

The show is set to premiere with a two-night event on Sept. 6 and Sept. 7 on OWN. The series has already been picked up for a second season before it even premieres. Baszile said she expects the series to diverge from the book as the characters expand on their stories.

"Queen Sugar" was Baszile's first book. The author, who now lives in San Francisco after receiving her master’s degree in Afro-American studies at UCLA, said she will watch the premiere with friends and family.