Netflix has set the official title and the release date for its much-expected CJ Walker project with Octavia Spencer on the lead role. The four-episode limited series called ‘Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walker’ will premiere on the streaming service on March 20.
In the series, Academy Award winner Octavia Spencer stars as Sarah Breedlove, also known as Madam C.J. Walker, the black hair care innovator and millionaire who overcame racism, rivalries, marriages, and her own family to become the first black, female, self-made billionaire in America.
The series is based on the book ‘On Her Own Ground: The Life and Times of Madam C. J. Walker,’ written by Walker’s great-great-granddaughter A’Leia Bundles. Breedlove/Walker had to fight against racial and gender bias, betrayals, and rivalries so she could build a mammoth brand that also allowed her to fight for social change.
Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walker @netflix we are ready!!! #MadamCJWalker #Selfmade @octaviaspencer @BlairUnderwood pic.twitter.com/wRIgGxIVI6
— your favorite Tiffany (@AllHailTiffany) January 2, 2020
The show also stars Blair Underwood as her husband, CJ Walker, Tiffany Haddish as Lelia, her daughter, Carmen Ejogo as Addie Munroe, Walker’s main business rival, Garret Morris as Walker’s her father-in-law, Kevin Carroll as Freeman Ransom, her lawyer, and Bill Bellamy as Sweetness, Ransom’s cousin.
The series is a production of SpringHill Entertainment and Wonder Street with Warner Bros. TV. Elle Johnson & Janine Sherman Barrois are co-showrunners. Nicole Jefferson Asher wrote the limited series and executive produces alongside Johnson, Sherman Barrois, Spencer, along with writer and co-executive producer Nicole Jefferson Asher, Maverick Carter, LeBron James, Octavia Spencer, Mark Holder, Christine Holder, Jamal Henderson, and Kasi Lemmons. Lemmons directs the series with DeMane Davis.