TV Talk: Netflix debuts trailer for Pittsburgh-filmed ‘Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom’
David Lee / Netflix
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (2020): (left to right) Chadwick Boseman as Levee, Colman Domingo as Cutler, Viola Davis as Ma Rainey, Michael Potts as Slow Drag, and Glynn Turman as Toldeo.
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Netflix released the trailer for “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” its adaptation of the August Wilson play that was filmed in Pittsburgh in the summer of 2019. The movie arrives on Netflix on Dec. 18.
“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” stars Viola Davis as blues singer Ma Rainey during a recording session in 1920s Chicago. Davis previously filmed “Fences” in Pittsburgh with Denzel Washington, who produced “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.” Washington has said he intends to create filmed versions of the remaining stage plays in Wilson’s 10-play “Pittsburgh cycle.”
“Ma Rainey’s” also marks the final performance by actor Chadwick Boseman (“Black Panther”), who died of colon cancer in August.