"Queen Sugar": A TV landmark for women directors

In its seven seasons, the TV series "Queen Sugar" has explored modern flashpoints, from #MeToo and race relations to police brutality. But at heart, it's a drama about three Black siblings struggling to hold on to their late father's Louisiana sugar farm.   Director Aurora Guerrero (Instagram)

The show's creator, executive producer Ava DuVernay, said, "I've been trying to communicate a core idea, and the core idea is that family in American television should not only mean White families. 'The Sopranos,' 'Little House on the Prairie,' 'The Waltons,' 'Thirtysomething,' 'Friday Night Lights' – this is a family who plays football, this is a family that's in the mob, this is a family who owns a funeral home. Like, it goes on and on, but what are none of them? Black."

DuVernay has long fought to add diversity to Hollywood, directing socially-conscious works like "Selma" and "When They See Us." With "A Wrinkle in Time," she became the first Black woman to direct a live-action film with a budget of more than $100 million.