Black Cake is a New York Times Best Seller and the debut novel by Charmaine Wilkerson. It's being produced into a TV Series by Hulu and Harpo Productions - Oprah Winfrey's production company based in West Hollywood - and is currently filming scenes in Bridgwater. This is such a great thing to happen for the area and hopefully, after seeing some people with lanyards, who I hope to part of the production team, walking around The Cornhill and snapping some photos, will spark more of the same for an area of such rich history!
Castle Street, Bridgwater, Somerset BEFORE - Google Maps
Castle Street, Bridgwater, Somerset AFTER 1960s Set Design - 2022 Black Cake/HULU/HARPO Productions. Notice the green screen at the end of the road for the CGI artists to put in the extended London street.
Hulu’s adaptation of Charmaine Wilkerson’s heart-breaking family drama Black Cake is currently filming scenes in Bridgwater, Somerset with Kings Square and Castle Street dressed to look like scenes in London. The stunning Georgian architecture of the area lending itself perfectly to the scenes at a fraction (probably £100s of thousands if not more) of the cost than shutting down a similar street in the capital.
Black Cake is a murder mystery with surrounding family drama with a diverse cast of characters and a global setting that spans decades with the story taking place in Jamaica, Southern California, Scotland, Rome and England.
In the late 1960s, a runaway bride named Covey disappears into the surf off the coast of Jamaica and is feared drowned or a fugitive on the run for her husband’s murder. Fifty years later in California, Eleanor Bennett loses her battle with cancer. She leaves her two estranged children, Byron and Benny, a flash drive that holds previously untold stories of her journey from the Caribbean to America. These stories, narrated by Eleanor, shock her children and challenge everything they thought they knew about their family’s origin.
In the late 1960s, a runaway bride named Covey disappears into the surf off the coast of Jamaica and is feared drowned or a fugitive on the run for her husband’s murder. Fifty years later in California, Eleanor Bennett loses her battle with cancer. She leaves her two estranged children, Byron and Benny, a flash drive that holds previously untold stories of her journey from the Caribbean to America. These stories, narrated by Eleanor, shock her children and challenge everything they thought they knew about their family’s origin.
But what IS Black Cake?...
...and how does it tie into this story? You'll have to read the book or wait for the series adaptation because we don't know apart from a widow passes away leaving the family recipe for Black Cake - a rum-soaked festive fruit cake (you had me at rum) which is popular in the Caribbean at Christmas. Every family has its own recipe which is usually handed down for generations with each family claiming their recipe is the best. Here’s Shivi Ramoutar's boozy Caribbean-style Christmas cake.
Front Cover for the New York Times Best Seller, Black Cake.
Love the effort the Set Designers went to changing this normally plain wall into something more for the scene.
Hulu? What's that and can we watch it in the UK?
Hulu is a US TV Channel. Luckily for us in the UK, Disney bought them which means that many movies and shows hosted on Hulu are broadcast to international audiences via Star, Disney Plus' branch of more adult TV and film content which you can find in your Disney Plus app or Smart TV.
We hope you enjoy viewing some of the shots that myself and Steve Winkley grabbed whilst just around for half an hour or so. Absolutely buzzing with activity! Being a Set Photographer has ben something I've wanted to do for years and this has definitely fuelled the bug even further! I'm off to buy the book now! Get it here if you missed the link above.
Scroll down to the bottom for the contact form if you want to license any of the shots.
Scroll down to the bottom for the contact form if you want to license any of the shots.
Justin
ARRI or Panavision Full Movie Spec Camera
Other Links
Black Cake Teleplay by: Marissa Jo Cerar
Thank you!
