# Washington Black (TV series)
**Washington Black** is an American limited drama television series that premiered on Hulu on July 23, 2025, adapted from Esi Edugyan's 2018 novel of the same name. Created by Selwyn Seyfu Hinds, the eight-episode series follows [George Washington](https://www.edgepedia.org/george-washington) "Wash" Black, an 11-year-old boy born into slavery on a Barbados sugar plantation whose scientific mind leads him to escape and a globe-spanning adventure.[1](https://press.hulu.com/shows/washington-black/) • [2](https://apnews.com/article/dedf1e798c7a37ed5250fb60f121844f) [Sterling K. Brown](https://www.edgepedia.org/sterling-k-brown) stars as Medwin and executive produces alongside Hinds, Kimberly Ann Harrison, and others; Edugyan is a co-producer.[1](https://press.hulu.com/shows/washington-black/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Premiere | Wednesday, July 23, 2025, with all eight episodes released at once on Hulu; Disney+ internationally[2](https://apnews.com/article/dedf1e798c7a37ed5250fb60f121844f) • [3](https://www.cinemablend.com/streaming-news/how-to-watch-washington-black) |
| Source | Adaptation of Esi Edugyan's 2018 novel, shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2018 and winner of the Scotiabank Giller Prize[4](https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/washington-black) |
| Creator / showrunners | Created by Selwyn Seyfu Hinds; showrunners Hinds and Kimberly Ann Harrison[1](https://press.hulu.com/shows/washington-black/) |
| Lead cast | Ernest Kingsley Jr. as Wash, Eddie Karanja as young Wash, Tom Ellis as Titch, Sterling K. Brown as Medwin, Iola Evans as Tanna Goff[1](https://press.hulu.com/shows/washington-black/) |
| Setting | Dual timeline: 1830 Barbados and 1837 Halifax, Nova Scotia, with the story stretching across almost a decade[5](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2025-07-22/washington-black-review-hulu) • [2](https://apnews.com/article/dedf1e798c7a37ed5250fb60f121844f) |
| Filming | Nova Scotia, Canada, Mexico and Iceland between 2022 and 2024, over nine months[2](https://apnews.com/article/dedf1e798c7a37ed5250fb60f121844f) • [6](https://www.the-independent.com/news/tom-ellis-charles-dance-esi-edugyan-london-barbados-b2793775.html) |
| Reception | 83% average Tomatometer from 36 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes; a 100% critics score was reported on premiere day[7](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/washington_black) • [8](https://www.tomsguide.com/entertainment/hulu/hulus-newest-show-is-an-epic-drama-series-thats-earned-a-perfect-100-percent-on-rotten-tomatoes-and-you-can-stream-it-now) |
## Spoilers
### Premise
The series follows the 19th-century odyssey of George Washington "Wash" Black, born into slavery in the 1830s on a Barbados sugar plantation owned by the Wilde family. His quick mind, inquisitiveness, and knack for science attract the attention of [Christopher](https://www.edgepedia.org/christopher) "Titch" Wilde (Tom Ellis), an eccentric inventor and abolitionist and brother to the plantation's ruthless overseer Erasmus ([Julian Rhind-Tutt](https://www.edgepedia.org/julian-rhind-tutt)), under absentee patriarch James Wilde ([Charles Dance](https://www.edgepedia.org/charles-dance)). Titch enlists Wash as his apprentice, and a tragic turn of events forces the two to flee, taking Wash across the high seas, North America, and ultimately the Arctic.[2](https://apnews.com/article/dedf1e798c7a37ed5250fb60f121844f) • [9](https://www.whattowatch.com/features/exclusive-sterling-k-brown-and-ernest-kingsley-junior-on-globe-trotting-adventure-washington-black)
Unlike the novel, which is written in the first person and proceeds chronologically, the series switches between 1830, when Wash is 11 and enslaved, and 1837, when he lives as a free 19-year-old in [Halifax, Nova Scotia](https://www.edgepedia.org/halifax-nova-scotia), under the assumed name Jack Crawford, drawing and designing a before-its-time airship he hopes to exhibit at the Royal Science League in London.[5](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2025-07-22/washington-black-review-hulu) • [9](https://www.whattowatch.com/features/exclusive-sterling-k-brown-and-ernest-kingsley-junior-on-globe-trotting-adventure-washington-black) In Halifax he falls in love with Tanna Goff ([Iola Evans](https://www.edgepedia.org/iola-evans)), a British woman secretly born to a Melanesian mother, while a bounty hunter who has pursued him for years threatens his freedom.[10](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-07-23/what-washington-black-can-teach-us-about-life-today/105564518)
### Cast and characters
- [Ernest Kingsley Jr](https://www.edgepedia.org/ernest-kingsley-jr). as Washington Black, the adult Wash[1](https://press.hulu.com/shows/washington-black/)
- Eddie Karanja as Young Washington Black[1](https://press.hulu.com/shows/washington-black/)
- Tom Ellis as Christopher "Titch" Wilde[1](https://press.hulu.com/shows/washington-black/)
- Sterling K. Brown as Medwin Harris, the de facto mayor of the Black township in Halifax and a mentor to Wash[1](https://press.hulu.com/shows/washington-black/) • [10](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-07-23/what-washington-black-can-teach-us-about-life-today/105564518)
- Iola Evans as Tanna Goff[1](https://press.hulu.com/shows/washington-black/)
- [Rupert Graves](https://www.edgepedia.org/rupert-graves) as Mr. Goff, Tanna's father[1](https://press.hulu.com/shows/washington-black/)
- [Edward Bluemel](https://www.edgepedia.org/edward-bluemel) as William McGee[1](https://press.hulu.com/shows/washington-black/)
- Sharon Duncan-Brewster as Miss Angie[1](https://press.hulu.com/shows/washington-black/)
- Charles Dance as James Wilde and Julian Rhind-Tutt as Erasmus Wilde[9](https://www.whattowatch.com/features/exclusive-sterling-k-brown-and-ernest-kingsley-junior-on-globe-trotting-adventure-washington-black)
Kingsley landed the adult role three months out of acting school in London.[6](https://www.the-independent.com/news/tom-ellis-charles-dance-esi-edugyan-london-barbados-b2793775.html)
## Production
The 2018 novel caught Sterling K. Brown's attention, and he helped set the adaptation in motion as executive producer.[2](https://apnews.com/article/dedf1e798c7a37ed5250fb60f121844f) The series is produced by 20th [Television](https://www.edgepedia.org/television) in association with Indian Meadows Productions and The Gotham Group, with Hinds and Harrison as showrunners and a large executive producer roster including Brown, Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, Wanuri Kahiu, Mo Marable, Rob Seidenglanz, Jeremy Bell, Lindsay Williams, D.J. Goldberg, Jennifer Johnson, and Anthony Hemingway.[1](https://press.hulu.com/shows/washington-black/)
**Filming.** Production ran between 2022 and 2024 across [Nova Scotia](https://www.edgepedia.org/nova-scotia), Canada, Mexico, and Iceland, taking about nine months. In Nova Scotia the shoot was based in and around Halifax, with locations including Peggy's Cove, Lunenburg, the Uniacke Estate Museum Park, and the [Fortress of Louisbourg](https://www.edgepedia.org/fortress-of-louisbourg) in Cape Breton; Mexico and Iceland stood in for scenes set in Virginia, the Arctic, London, and Morocco.[2](https://apnews.com/article/dedf1e798c7a37ed5250fb60f121844f) • [11](https://halifax.citynews.ca/2025/07/22/disney-version-of-washington-black-roots-tale-in-nova-scotia-expands-world-of-side-characters/) Ingenuity Studios produced 378 visual-effects shots, 126 of them containing computer-generated elements, including a London harbor flyover and book-page transitions framing the episodes.[12](https://vfxvoice.com/ingenuity-studios-launches-the-ships-and-turns-the-pages-that-bookend-washington-black/)
## Adaptation from the novel
Adapting the novel into eight episodes required changes, which the showrunners said preserved the emotional core of the journey. The most prominent change is Medwin, a minor character in the book who runs Wash's boarding house in Halifax; in the series he is the narrator, a mentor to Wash, and a character with his own backstory and love interest.[2](https://apnews.com/article/dedf1e798c7a37ed5250fb60f121844f) • [11](https://halifax.citynews.ca/2025/07/22/disney-version-of-washington-black-roots-tale-in-nova-scotia-expands-world-of-side-characters/) The series also amplifies the action, drama, and romance of the source and adds interpolated storylines for other characters.[5](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2025-07-22/washington-black-review-hulu) Hinds described the show's scale as thematically reflecting the character's heart and ambitions.[2](https://apnews.com/article/dedf1e798c7a37ed5250fb60f121844f)
Reviewers noted the series' tonal blend. [The Daily Beast](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-daily-beast)'s Caroline Siede described bright, sweeping orchestral music marking it as a classic adventure story in the vein of *Around the World in Eighty Days* or *Oliver Twist*, while remaining clear-eyed about slavery and oppression.[13](https://www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed/washington-black-theres-never-been-an-adventure-series-like-this-hulu-epic) The Los Angeles Times' Robert Lloyd wrote that, unlike the book, subtlety is not the series' strong suit.[5](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2025-07-22/washington-black-review-hulu)
## Release and reception
All eight episodes premiered on Hulu in the United States on July 23, 2025, and on Disney+ in the UK, Canada, and Australia the same day, without a weekly release schedule.[3](https://www.cinemablend.com/streaming-news/how-to-watch-washington-black) On premiere day, Tom's Guide reported the series had earned a 100% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes; the site's later aggregate stood at 83% from 36 reviews, with a 65% audience score.[8](https://www.tomsguide.com/entertainment/hulu/hulus-newest-show-is-an-epic-drama-series-thats-earned-a-perfect-100-percent-on-rotten-tomatoes-and-you-can-stream-it-now) • [7](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/washington_black) [The Hollywood Reporter](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-hollywood-reporter)'s Angie Han wrote that the show "occasionally takes on the dutiful feel of an education video" but called it "a fun one, full of surprising twists and charming turns."[8](https://www.tomsguide.com/entertainment/hulu/hulus-newest-show-is-an-epic-drama-series-thats-earned-a-perfect-100-percent-on-rotten-tomatoes-and-you-can-stream-it-now) The series received a nomination for Best Breakthrough Performance in a New Scripted Series at the 2026 Screen Actors Guild Awards.[14](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/PressReleasesSA/2026_SA_NomineeRelease_120325.pdf)
## References
1. [Washington Black, Hulu Press](https://press.hulu.com/shows/washington-black/)
2. ['Washington Black' is the show that could, just like its main character, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/dedf1e798c7a37ed5250fb60f121844f)
3. [How To Watch Washington Black Online, CinemaBlend](https://www.cinemablend.com/streaming-news/how-to-watch-washington-black)
4. [Washington Black, The Booker Prizes](https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/washington-black)
5. ['Washington Black' review, Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2025-07-22/washington-black-review-hulu)
6. ['Washington Black' is the show that could, The Independent](https://www.the-independent.com/news/tom-ellis-charles-dance-esi-edugyan-london-barbados-b2793775.html)
7. [Washington Black, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/washington_black)
8. [Sterling K Brown is back on Hulu with a new show that has a perfect 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, Tom's Guide](https://www.tomsguide.com/entertainment/hulu/hulus-newest-show-is-an-epic-drama-series-thats-earned-a-perfect-100-percent-on-rotten-tomatoes-and-you-can-stream-it-now)
9. [Exclusive: Sterling K. Brown and Ernest Kingsley Junior on Washington Black, What to Watch](https://www.whattowatch.com/features/exclusive-sterling-k-brown-and-ernest-kingsley-junior-on-globe-trotting-adventure-washington-black)
10. [What Washington Black can teach us about life today, ABC News (Australia)](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-07-23/what-washington-black-can-teach-us-about-life-today/105564518)
11. [Disney version of 'Washington Black' roots tale in Nova Scotia, CityNews Halifax](https://halifax.citynews.ca/2025/07/22/disney-version-of-washington-black-roots-tale-in-nova-scotia-expands-world-of-side-characters/)
12. [Ingenuity Studios launches the ships and turns the pages that bookend Washington Black, VFX Voice](https://vfxvoice.com/ingenuity-studios-launches-the-ships-and-turns-the-pages-that-bookend-washington-black/)
13. [There's Never Been an Adventure Series Quite Like 'Washington Black', The Daily Beast](https://www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed/washington-black-theres-never-been-an-adventure-series-like-this-hulu-epic)
14. [2026 SAG Awards nominee release](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/PressReleasesSA/2026_SA_NomineeRelease_120325.pdf)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Scripted television and comedy series › Adapted and franchise screen series › Literary and classic serial adaptations › Historical and epic drama adaptations*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license