Watch Andre Holland channel Huey P. Newton in trailer for ‘The Big Cigar’

The Don Cheadle-directed series debuts May 17 on AppleTV+.

It’s almost time for AppleTV+ to unveil its highly anticipated new series, “The Big Cigar,” and the streamer dropped the first trailer this week. 

“The Big Cigar,” the six-episode drama directed and executive produced in part by Don Cheadle, tells the mostly true story of Huey P. Newton’s escape from the United States to Cuba. Andre Holland (above) stars as Newton. (Photo: AppleTV+)

Andre Holland stars as the infamous Black Panther leader in “The Big Cigar,” and he’s joined by an all-star cast. Alessandro Nivola, Tiffany Boone, PJ Byrne, Marc Menchaca, Moses Ingram, Rebecca Dalton, Olli Haaskivi, Jordane Christie and Glynn Turman show out in this six-episode series that’s based on the 2012 Playboy magazine article, “The Big Cigar,” penned by Joshua Bearman. 

Bearman is an executive producer on this project, along with Jim Hecht and Janine Sherman, who was the showrunner.

Don Cheadle directed and executive produced the first two episodes of the series, both of which will debut on Friday, May 17. The remaining “Big Cigar” episodes will drop on subsequent Fridays.

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“The Big Cigar” tells the incredible true story of Hollywood revolution meeting social revolution. It’s a wild caper about Black Panther founder Huey P. Newton escaping from the FBI to Cuba with the assistance of famed producer Bert Schneider in an impossibly elaborate plan – involving a fake movie production – that goes wrong every way it possibly can.

With so much talent on the screen and behind the scenes of this limited series, it’s sure to deliver in more ways than one. Tiffany Boone never disappoints, and Holland is nothing if not consistent in his ability to deliver fantastic performances. With folks like Cheadle and Sherman at the helm, we’re expecting some top-notch entertainment when this series drops next month. 

“The Big Cigar’ debuts Friday, May 17 on AppleTV+. Check out the trailer: 

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