The Black Panther Party doesn’t have the same influence as at the height of the civil rights movement, but Hollywood continues to be fascinated by them. You can find the Party playing a key part in such recent films as Judas and the Black Messiah, Seberg, and Shirley. The new Apple series The Big Cigar shows just how close the relationship between Hollywood and Party founder Huey P. Newton was when the controversial leader needed an escape to Cuba.
André Holland stars as Huey P. Newton with Alessandro Nivola as Oscar-winning producer Bert Schneider, known for counterculture films such as Easy Rider, Five Easy Pieces, and Hearts & Minds. The series tells the insane-but-true story of how Newton turned to Schneider with help fleeing to Cuba when prison looked inevitable. So Schneider cooked up this crazy plot involving a fake movie production about the revolutionary leader.
Don Cheadle is aboard as an exec-producer, with Janine Sherman Barrois (Claws) as showrunner. Joining Holland and Nivola in the cast are Tiffany Boone, Marc Menchacha, and PJ Byrne, with Glynn Turman, Moses Ingram, Noah Emmerich, Olli Haaskivi, and Jaime Ray Newman in recurring roles. You can also expect to see portrayals of real-life figures Dennis Hopper, Richard Pryor, Betty Shabazz, Candice Bergen, and more.
Here’s the synopsis: Based on the magazine article by Joshuah Bearman (“Argo”), who will also serve as executive producer, “The Big Cigar” is the incredible true story of the Hollywood revolution meeting social revolution: it’s a wild caper of Black Panther founder Huey Newton escaping from the FBI to Cuba with the assistance of famed producer Bert Schneider in an impossibly elaborate plan – involving a fake movie production — that goes wrong every way it possibly can. And somehow, it’s all true. Mostly.
Apple TV+ premieres The Big Cigar on May 17th, with new episodes each week until June 14th.
