Xosha Roquemore and Alano Miller Announced As Lead On Ava DuVernay's CHERISH THE DAY

OWN: OPRAH WINFREY NETWORK announced today that award-winning filmmaker Ava DuVernay has cast the first season stars of her new anthology series "Cherish the Day," which marks her second series on the network since creating the acclaimed show "Queen Sugar." Each season of "Cherish the Day" will chronicle the stirring romance of one couple, with each episode spanning a single day. The season-long narrative will unfold to reveal significant moments in a relationship that compel us to hold true to the ones we love, from the extraordinary to the everyday. The series is created and executive produced by Ava DuVernay through Array Filmworks from Warner Horizon Scripted Television.

Xosha Roquemore ("The Mindy Project") will star as Gently James and Alano Miller ("Underground") will star as Evan Fisher. The couple meets and falls in love in Los Angeles, with the full season spanning five years in eight episodes.

Roquemore is best known for her role as Tamra Webb on Mindy Kaling's long-running hit series "The Mindy Project," and most recently recurred as Dawn Lima on "I'm Dying Up Here." On the big screen, Roquemore appeared in Lee Daniels' "Precious" and will be seen in the upcoming film "Bryan Banks." Miller starred as Cato in "Underground" and as Raymond Green in the acclaimed film "Loving." He has appeared in episodes of "The Red Line" and recently wrapped production on feature film "Sylvie" starring opposite Tessa Thompson.

With a straight-to-series order, DuVernay (16-time Emmy nominated "When They See Us") is executive producing the original anthology series from Warner Horizon Scripted Television as part of her recently announced overall deal with the studio. "Cherish the Day" is produced for OWN by Array Filmworks and Harpo Films in association with Warner Horizon Scripted Television. Ava DuVernay, Paul Garnes ("Queen Sugar"), Tanya Hamilton ("Queen Sugar," "Night Catches Us"), and Oprah Winfrey are executive producers.

Acclaimed filmmaker Tanya Hamilton ("Queen Sugar," "Night Catches Us") will direct the "Cherish the Day" series premiere written by DuVernay.

Winner of the Emmy, BAFTA and Peabody Awards, Academy award nominee Ava DuVernay is a writer, director, producer and film distributor. Her directorial work includes the historical drama "Selma" the criminal justice documentary "13th" and Disney's "A Wrinkle In Time," which made her the highest grossing black woman director in American box office history. Based on the infamous case of The Central Park Five, her current project is entitled "When They See Us," which is streaming globally on Netflix and recently received 16 Primetime Emmy Award nominations, including Outstanding Limited Series and Outstanding Director and Writer for a Limited Series nominations for DuVernay. Currently, she is overseeing production on her critically-acclaimed TV series "Queen Sugar" and her upcoming OWN series "Cherish the Day." Winner of the 2012 Sundance Film Festival's Best Director Prize for her micro-budget film "Middle of Nowhere," DuVernay amplifies the work of people of color and women of all kinds through her non-profit film collective ARRAY, named one of Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies. DuVernay sits on the advisory board of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, and chairs the Prada Diversity Council. She is based in Los Angeles, California.

OWN: OPRAH WINFREY NETWORK is the first and only network named for, and inspired by, a single iconic leader. Oprah Winfrey's heart and creative instincts inform the brand and the magnetism of the channel. OWN is a leading destination for a premium scripted and unscripted programming from today's most innovative storytellers. OWN's original scripted series include popular drama "Queen Sugar," "Greenleaf," "The Haves and the Have Nots," "If Loving You is Wrong," family saga "Ambitions" from box office hit-maker Will Packer, and the upcoming drama series "David Makes Man," from Academy Award winner Tarell Alvin McCraney.

OWN's Saturday night unscripted programming lineup includes "Iyanla: Fix My Life," "Ready to Love," "Love & Marriage: Huntsville," and "Black Love." OWN connects with its audience wherever they are, inspiring conversation among a global community of like-minded viewers on social media and beyond. Launched on January 1, 2011, OWN is a joint venture between Harpo, Inc. and Discovery, Inc. The venture also includes award-winning digital platformOprah.com. Access OWN anytime onWatchOWN.tv or across mobile devices and connected TVs.

A division of the Warner Bros. Television Group, Warner Horizon Scripted Television was founded in 2006 and is one of the entertainment industry's leading producers of dramatic and comedic programming for the cable and subscription/on-demand marketplace. Series produced by Warner Horizon Scripted Television include "Animal Kingdom" and "Claws" for TNT; "Cherish the Day," "David Makes Man" and "Queen Sugar" for OWN; "The Flight Attendant" for HBO Max, WarnerMedia's forthcoming streaming service; "Fuller House," "Medical Police" and "You" for Netflix; "Krypton" for SYFY; "Pennyworth" for EPIX; "Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists" for Freeform; and "The Right Stuff" for National Geographic.

Founded by Ava DuVernay, Array Filmworks develops multi-platform content dedicated to deepening roots of the African-American experience on screen. Under DuVernay's visionary direction the company creates feature films, television shows and branded media. Nominated for the Academy Award and winner of the Peabody and BAFTA for Best Documentary, Array Filmworks' feature "13TH" was one of the most critically-acclaimed films of 2016. Current projects include the acclaimed series "Queen Sugar" for OWN, and the four-part series for Netflix "When They See Us," based on the infamous case of the Central Park Five. "When They See Us" recently received 16 Primetime Emmy Award nominations. Previous productions to date include: 2012 Sundance Best Director Award Winner "Middle of Nowhere;" 2011 Image Award winner "I Will Follow;" 2008 hip hop documentary, "This Is The Life" and several network documentaries, including "Venus VS for ESPN. Array Filmworks' commissioned short form work includes "August 28: A Day in the Life of a People" for The Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture as well as acclaimed fashion and beauty films for Prada and Apple.

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