Hulu's Washington Black set to shoot in Nova Scotia, Canada

Canadian province, Nova Scotia, will host the production of the Hulu Original limited series Washington Black from 28 March, according to Screen Nova Scotia.

The 20th Television series, starring Sterling K. Brown (This Is Us), and Tom Ellis (Lucifer), will also film in Iceland.

Hulu’s adaptation of Esi Edugyan’s novel follows the extraordinary 19th century adventures of George Washington Black (Ernest Kingsley Jr.), a young boy born to a Barbados sugar plantation who finds a way to escape afer a shocking death changes his life. Brown plays larger-than-life Medwin Harris, who travelled the world after a traumatic childhood as a black refuge in Nova Scotiaas as the defacto mayor of Black Halifax, prioritising the community over everything, except Washington Black, his young protege. So begins an adventure that eventually leads Wash to Nova Scotia, where he becomes a man of science in his own right, his optimism and hope fueling his imagination and inspiring all he meets. 

Nova Scotia will also play a part in doubling for locations such as London, England and Virginia throughout the series. 

The main cast is joined by Lola Evans (Carnival Row), Edward Bluemel (Killing Eve), Sharon Duncan-Brewster (Dune) and Rupert Graves (Sherlock).

Brown serves as executive producer with series writer Selwyn Seyfu Hinds.  Jeremy Bell, Lindsay Williams, DJ Goldberg, Anthony Hemingway and Jennifer Johnson will also exec produce the project. 

Nissa Diederich, executive vice president of production, 20th Television, said: “In addition to being the perfect place to tell this story creatively, the province provides a robust crew base, an unparallelled variety of landscapes and settings, and incredible partners in the Film commission Screen Nova Scotia and premier Tim Houston. We are excited to get to work.” 

“We welcome ‘Washington Black’ to Nova Scotia and are excited to showcase all that the province has to offer,” added Nova Scotia premier Tim Houston. “Productions like this boost our economy, create jobs and support our local businesses. We look forward to seeing more projects in Nova Scotia as we continue to grow our film and television industry.”

 The provincial government recently announced they will be investing $23m into the local film industry, including $8m for the construction of a 50,000 sq ft soundstage facility. Screen Nova Scotia and the premier are in LA this week to take meetings with production companies, studios, and executives to promote how the province is fostering an increasingly attractive environment for production.