| The Book of Negroes | |
|---|---|
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| Genre | Drama |
| Based on | The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill |
| Screenplay by | Clement Virgo Lawrence Hill |
| Directed by | Clement Virgo |
| Starring | Aunjanue Ellis Kyle M. Hamilton Lyriq Bent Cuba Gooding Jr. Louis Gossett Jr. Ben Chaplin Allan Hawco Greg Bryk Jane Alexander |
| Music by | Phillip Miller |
| Country of origin | Canada |
| Original language | English |
| No. of episodes | 6 |
| Production | |
| Producers | Damon D'Oliveira Clement Virgo |
| Cinematography | Giulio Biccari |
| Editors | Susan Shipton Kye Meechan |
| Original release | |
| Network | CBC BET |
| Release | January 7 – February 11, 2015 |
| Infobox instructions (only shown in preview) | |
The Book of Negroes is a 2015 Canadian historical drama television miniseries directed by Clement Virgo, adapted by Virgo and Lawrence Hill from the latter’s 2007 novel of the same name. It stars Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, Lyriq Bent, Cuba Gooding Jr., Louis Gossett Jr., Ben Chaplin, Allan Hawco, Greg Bryk, and Jane Alexander. It originally aired in six installments on CBC in Canada on January 7, 2015, and on BET in the United States on February 16.
The story was inspired by the British freeing and evacuation of former slaves, known as Black Loyalists, who had left rebel masters during the American Revolutionary War. The British transported some 3,000 Black Loyalists to Nova Scotia for resettlement, documenting their names in what was called the Book of Negroes. The series explores the life of a fictional woman included in this resettlement. She had been taken captive as a girl in West Africa and sold into slavery, held first in South Carolina. She escaped to British lines in New York City, where she was freed and ultimately evacuated to Nova Scotia.
On initial airing, The Book of Negroes was the CBC’s highest-rated original drama program since Road to Avonlea in 1990. It received positive reviews from critics, and won eleven Canadian Screen Awards, including for Best Dramatic Miniseries or TV Movie.