HBO has announced the premieres for two highly-anticipated upcoming projects, Confirmation and Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill. Anchored by two amazing actresses, Kerry Washington and Audra McDonald, the reigning cable network provider continues to build on their solid reputation for high-quality programming.
Based on a screenplay by Susannah Grant and directed by Rick Famuyiwa (Dope, Brown Sugar), Confirmation tells the explosive story of the 1991 Supreme Court nomination hearings that pitted Clarence Thomas against Anita Hill which brought the country to a standstill and forever changed the way we think about sexual harassment, victims’ rights and modern-day race relations.
Kerry Washington leads an all-star cast portraying law professor Hill, who accused Supreme Court nominee, Clarence Thomas of sexual harassment, with Wendell Pierce as Judge Thomas and Greg Kinnear as Democratic Senator Joe Biden, who presided over the hearings as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Joining them, Jeffrey Wright plays Harvard law professor Charles Ogletree, Professor Hill’s lead attorney during the hearings, and Eric Stonestreet portrays Ken Duberstein, a Washington lobbyist hired by President George H. W. Bush to promote Judge Thomas’ confirmation.
Also, Kimberly Elise plays Sonia Jarvis, a civil rights attorney on Anita Hill’s legal team. Jennifer Hudson portrays Angela Wright, another Thomas accuser, who was subpoenaed but was never called to testify before the Judiciary Committee.
Confirmation will debut on HBO, Saturday, April 16, 2016, at 8pm EST.
In addition, HBO announced that Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill will debut in early March. Starring the incomparable Audra McDonald, the film will bring her acclaimed portrayal of Billie Holiday in the Broadway smash to the small screen.
Filmed before a live audience at Cafe Brasil in New Orleans, the special features McDonald in her history-making, tour de force performance as the jazz icon.
Originally written for off-Broadway by Lanie Roberston in 1987, the production tells Holiday’s life story through the songs that made her famous, including “God Bless the Child,” “What a Little Moonlight Can Do,” “Strange Fruit” and “Taint Nobody’s Biz-ness.”
McDonald made history and became Broadway’s most decorated performer when she won her sixth Tony Award, for Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill, in 2014. In addition to setting the record for most competitive wins by an actor, she also became the first person to receive awards in all four acting categories. The show’s run at the Circle in the Square Theatre on Broadway was extended four times due to high demand.
Directed by Lonny Price, Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill will debut on HBO on Saturday, March 12, 2016.
