The Ups and Downs of Shooting Queen Sugar at Real Locations

When Queen Sugar begins, Charley Bordelon West is deeply immersed in her glamorous Los Angeles lifestyle with her NBA star husband, Davis, and their son, Micah. Their $20 million home overlooking the L.A. basin is gorgeous, modern and stylishly appointed. Everything changes after Ernest's death, however, when Charley goes back to rural Louisiana and, ultimately, stays longer than anticipated.

This journey—from the flash of L.A. to the languidly paced atmosphere of rural Louisiana—illustrates one of many ways that the real-life locations used in Queen Sugar are integral to the show. Here, members of the production team and show creator Ava DuVernay discuss the advantages and disadvantages of forsaking the sound stage.