A blues legend from Alabama will get long-overdue film treatment this winter, with one of the Viola Davis bringing her back to life in Netflix’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.
Netflix’s plot description: “Chicago, 1927. A recording session. Tensions rise between Ma Rainey (Davis), her ambitious horn player (Chadwick Boseman), and the white management determined to control the legendary “Mother of the Blues.” Based on Pulitzer Prize-winner August Wilson’s play.”
Boseman, star of record-breaking and Oscar-nominated global phenomenon Black Panther passed away in August after a 4-year-long battle with colon cancer. He was 43. Boseman had not spoken publicly about his diagnosis, according to Associated Press. This will mark his final on-screen performance.
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom will begin streaming on Netflix on Dec. 18.
