Apple TV+ lands Black Panther limited series, ‘The Big Cigar’

Apple TV+ has announced “The Big Cigar,” a new six-episode limited series executive produced and written by Jim Hecht (“Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty”), and executive produced and showrun by NAACP Image Award winner Janine Sherman Barrois (“Claws,” “The Kings of Napa”).

Don Cheadle (the Avengers movies, “No Sudden Move,” “Black Monday,” “House of Lies”) on board to direct and executive produce the first two episodes. The limited series is based on the eponymous magazine article from Joshuah Bearman (“Argo”), who will also serve as executive producer. 

About ‘The Big Cigar’

André Holland (“The Eddy,” “Moonlight”) in discussions to star as Black Panther leader Huey P. Newton, Here’s how the limited series is described:

“The Big Cigar” tells the extraordinary, hilarious, almost-too-good-to-be-true story of how Newton relied on his best friend, Bert Schneider, the Hollywood producer behind “Easy Rider,” to elude a nationwide manhunt and escape to Cuba while being pursued into exile by the FBI.

Written by Hecht, from a story by Bearman and Hecht, “The Big Cigar” hails from Warner Bros. Television, where Sherman Barrois and her Folding Chair Productions are under an overall deal. The drama is executive produced by Hecht and Sherman Barrois, as well as Bearman, Joshua Davis, and Arthur Spector (“Little America”), through their production company Epic, a division of Vox Media Studios.

About Apple TV+

Apple TV+ is available on the Apple TV app in over 100 countries and regions, on over 1 billion screens, including iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Mac, popular smart TVs from Samsung, LG, Sony, VIZIO, TCL and others, Roku and Amazon Fire TV devices, Chromecast with Google TV, PlayStation and Xbox gaming consoles, and at tv.apple.com, for $4.99 per month with a seven-day free trial. 

For a limited time, customers who purchase and activate a new iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Mac or iPod touch can enjoy three months of Apple TV+ for free. For more information, visit apple.com/tvpr and see the full list of supported devices.