Season 1 of Hulu’s Black Cake is predicated on one very simple concept. What if everything you knew about your mother was a lie?
Okay, maybe not so simple. But it does invite an interesting question. How much do we know about our own family? This query is what estranged siblings Benny (Adrienne Warren) and Byron (Ashley Thomas) find themselves asking when they reunite for their mother’s funeral. In a series of voice messages, their mother reveals that her identity as Eleanor is an invention.
Throughout 8 episodes, flashbacks reveal her real name is Covey, and she has kept secrets all her life. After coming of age in the Caribbean, her father’s gambling debts force him to give Covey (Mia Isaac) away to Little Man Henry (Anthony Mark Barrow) in marriage to repay the debt. On the night of their wedding, Henry dies from poison, and Covey finds a way to escape her circumstances. But was Covey the one to murder her captor?
The mystery is explored throughout the season as Benny and Byron learn more about their mother than they ever knew. By the end of the story, viewers find out the truth, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the series is over.
Will Hulu make Black Cake season 2?
Many adaptations are a one-and-done sort of deal. Adapted from Charmaine Wilkerson’s best-selling novel, the first season covered the events of the book. The final episode reveals that it wasn’t Covey who murdered Little Man Henry, but her best friend, Bunny (Lashay Anderson). The plan was at first to get Little Man Henry so drunk he couldn’t consummate the marriage, but when he didn’t feel the effects of the alcohol, Bunny resorted to poison to protect her friend. This conclusion effectively wraps up the main questions, though showrunner Marissa Jo Cerar told The Wrap, there could be more in store.
“That doesn’t mean that the story’s over. It’s just that particular storyline is made very clear by the end of the first season. When I pitched it, I pitched three seasons. There of course could be more or less. It depends if people watch the show.”
Cerar went on to explain that with the benefit of adaptation, there are many ways to differ from the book. In particular, Black Cake utilizes different perspectives not made clear in the source material. The showrunner was particularly interested in Mabel (Sonita Henry), the daughter Covey gave up for adoption. Through Benny and Byron’s investigation into their mother’s life, they find a sister they never knew they had. Mabel’s story isn’t nearly as focused in the first crop of episodes and could be a point of interest if season 2 materializes.
But on that note, the future of Black Cake is still up in the air. Hulu has not yet clarified if the series will be continued on the streaming platform. Those with a Hulu subscription will have to wait for news and, until then, sustain themselves on the first 8 episodes of the season.
