OWN tonight (September 6) will debut the seventh and final season of its Ava DuVernay-created original drama series Queen Sugar.

The series, which initially debuted on OWN in 2016, follows the lives of three Bordelon family siblings initially brought together by the death of their father and the future of the family's Louisiana-based farm.

DuVernay and Oprah Winfrey served as executive producers for the series, which was based on the 2014 novel of the same name by Natalie Baszile. Throughout its seven-seasons, Queen Sugar featured an all female directing staff, with more than three dozen women directors working on the series during its entire 88-episode run, according to the network.

During the Television Critics Association press tour last month, DuVernay -- who directed the show's final episode -- said that she accomplished her goals in bringing Queen Sugar to television.

Also: Execs, Talent Talk Diversity at CTAM TCA 

“As I walked off the set that final day directing the final episode of the final season, I felt deeply satisfied,” DuVernay said. “I did not feel sad … I didn’t feel like something was being lost. I felt the whole story was gained and it was a beautiful end.”

Queen Sugar stars Rutina Wesley, Dawn-Lyen Gardner, Bianca Lawson and Kofi Siriboe, with Glynn Turman and Sharon Lawrence appearing as guest stars in season seven. Along with DuVernay and Winfrey, the series is executive produced by Paul Garnes and Anthony Sparks. ■ 

 Showtime's new sci-fi series The Man Who fell to Earth isn’t a remake of the 1970s film starring David Bowie, but rather a next step in telling the story of an alien's experience on earth, executives from the series said Tuesday.

The series, which debuts April 14 on Showtime, stars Chiwetel Ejiofor as Faraday, an alien who arrives on Earth at a turning point in human evolution, according to the network. During Showtime’s Television Critics Association Winter press tour session, series executive producer Alex Kurtzman said The Man Who Fell to Earth series draws its inspiration from the 1976 Nicolas Roeg-directed film starring Bowie as well as the original Walter Tevis novel of the same name, but looks to reinterpret the themes and ideas unveiled in both projects.

"The thing that's wonderful about the questions that Mr. Tevis poses in his novel is that they are timeless," he said. "They are essential questions that humanity at every phase has to ask itself, which is how do we get to this point here, and what choices are we going to make now if we want to choose to survive? And we are obviously at a tremendous crossroads."

Ejiofor added that the perspective of the planet and humans garnered through the experiences of his alien character yields more questions than answers about the future.

“There's no real way of knowing fully what the future holds, and the perspective of this character was so interesting for that reason because he wasn't necessarily being prescriptive,” he said. “Where we are on Planet Earth, we are still on a planet that gives us so much, that is so positive for us. Where Faraday is from, that was taken for granted, and he sees some of the similarities in the human experience.”

The Man Who Fell To Earth also stars Naomie Harris,  Jimmi Simpson, Rob Delaney, Sonya Cassidy, Joana Ribeiro, Annelle Olaleye, Kate Mulgrew, Clarke Peters and Bill Nighy. ■ 

Also: Showtime Renews 'Billions,' 'Super Pumped'

The country’s ongoing struggle with the pandemic along with continued protests over racial inequality served as recurring themes across several scripted programs presented during CTAM’s first-ever virtual Television Critics Association summer tour.

The Aug. 3-11 event, featuring virtual presentations from more than a dozen cable networks and streaming services, offered inside looks at several drama and sci-fi series that draw parallels between fantasy and the real events Americans are experiencing on a day-to-day basis, producers and cast members said.

Related: Programming Review: ‘Lovecraft Country’

HBO’s Lovecraft Country, from executive producers Jordan Peele, Misha Green and J.J. Abrams, follows the exploits of three African-Americans in the Jim Crow U.S. of the 1950s in search of a missing relative. Along the way, they encounter supernatural monsters and other fantastical creatures (see Review, this page). The challenges with mythical terrors faced by the main characters often mirror the fight African-Americans continue to wage today with regards to equality and justice, Green said.

“I think that monsters are a metaphor for the racism that's kind of always been through America and even globally,” she said. “For me, genre works best when it is the metaphor on top of the real-life emotions that you explore in real-life problems.”

AMC’s Soulmates, which offers a futuristic look at love in a world in which a test unequivocally tells you who your soulmate is, and Amazon Prime Video’s Utopia, a conspiratorial thriller about a group of comic-book fans trying to stop the end of the world, deal with anxieties that arise from an uncertain and uncharted future, much like viewers are dealing with during the COVID-19 era.

“I think that this will be an amazing respite from what the world is dealing with right now in that it delves into relationships,” said Betsy Brandt, co-star of Soulmates, which bows Oct. 5. “It’s a crazy time, and I think this show is perfect for what we’re all dealing with right now.”

Utopia star John Cusack said the show’s “theme itself included viruses, it included famine, it included perhaps a nuclear accident. It was kind of disturbing and surreal to see it come so close to life ... with the pandemic.” The show will be available starting Sept. 7.

HBO tackles the pandemic head-on Sept. 12 with series Coastal Elites, which tells contemporary stories of politics, culture and COVID-19 through the eyes of several socially distant characters. Stars Bette Midler, Issa Rae, Kaitlyn Dever, Dan Levy and Sarah Paulson filmed the series under quarantine in separate locations to better reflect the conditions of today, Coastal Elites executive producer and writer Paul Rudnick said.

“One of the great advantages [filming] so in the moment and so quickly with people who were so adaptable was that we could weave both the pandemic and the Black Lives Matters protests into the material,” Rudnick said. “It was a very natural fit for all these characters, because they’re all people going through everything right now.”

The Television Critics Association announced the most anticipated new fall shows this season, with Fox’s Gotham in the top spot.

“If the 2014 fall survey results are any indication, we’re in for an exciting new season of television,” Scott Pierce, TCA president and TV critic for The Salt Lake Tribune, declared.

Fox’s crime drama, Gotham, is expected to win over audiences with its new take on the Dark Knight’s beginning and a closer look through commissioner James Gordon eyes. Gotham is also expected for best new drama as well. The second and third expected shows are the CW’s Jane the Virgin and Showtime’s The Affair. The Affair took one vote over the thriller, How to Get Away with Murder.

Starring Anthony Anderson and Lawrence Fishburne, the most hopeful new comedy goes to ABC’s Black-ish, which pushed out the second pick, Jane the Virgin, and NBC’s A to Z in third. 

As for potential new breakout star, the results highly favored Gina Rodriguez in Jane the Virgin, with more than four times the votes as competing shows. Runners-up included The Flash, starring Grant Gustin and Gotham's Robin Lord Taylor.

Most Promising New Fall Show:

1. Gotham (Fox)

2. Jane the Virgin (The CW)

3. The Affair (Showtime)

Most Promising New Fall Comedy Series:

1. Black-ish (ABC)

2. Jane the Virgin (The CW)

3. A to Z (NBC)

Most Anticipated New Fall Drama:

1. Gotham (Fox)

2. The Affair (Showtime)

3. How to Get Away with Murder (ABC)

Potential New Breakout Star:

1. Gina Rodriguez (Jane the Virgin, The CW)

2. Grant Gustin (The Flash, The CW)

3. Robin Lord Taylor (Gotham, Fox)