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Oprah Winfrey is opening the doors of her OWN network to Selma director Ava DuVernay for a new television drama series. The series will be based on a novel that captured the media mogul’s attention recently.

The unnamed series is based on Natalie Baszile’s first novel, Queen Sugar. In the novel, the main protagonist is a woman who leaves behind a posh life in Los Angeles and moves to Louisiana to take over her father’s 800-acre sugar cane farm. Given DuVernay’s deft hand with Selma, that same attention to detail can be expected for the series and the director is looking forward to developing the story as she noted in a tweet.

Given DuVernay’s deft hand with Selma, that same attention to detail can be expected for the series and the director is looking forward to developing the story as she noted in a tweet.

“Been wanting to move like Soloway, Fincher, Soderbergh, Fukanaga, McQueen. Take your time to tell a story. Hours. Freedom. Thanks, @Oprah,” said DuVernay.

More from OWN’s press release:

“I loved this book and immediately saw it as a series for OWN,” said Oprah Winfrey. “The story’s themes of reinventing your life, parenting alone, family connections and conflicts, and building new relationships are what I believe will connect our viewers to this show.”

“From the moment I was introduced to the book, I was captivated by the idea of a modern woman wrestling with identity, family, culture and the echoes of history,” said DuVernay. “To bring this kind of storytelling to life alongside Oprah for her network is wildly wonderful. I’m excited about what’s in store.”

Winfrey and DuVernay recently worked together on the Academy Award nominated feature film “Selma,” which chronicles the historic 1965 voting rights campaign led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. DuVernay directed the acclaimed film, which is produced by Oprah Winfrey, Plan B, Christian Colson and Pathé. Winfrey has a supporting role in the film portraying civil rights protestor Annie Lee Cooper.

Production for the show begins later this year with no timetable for release yet.

Photo: Adriana M. Barraza/WENN