Tony winners Phylicia Rashad, Courtney B. Vance, and Oprah Winfrey, and Oscar and Emmy nominee Angela Bassett will star in HBO’s adaptation of Ta-Nehisi Coates’ Between the World and Me. The work, published in 2015 and written as a long-form letter to Coates’ son, examines what it means to be Black in America today.

Inspired by The Apollo’s 2018 staging of the work, HBO's Between the World and Me will combines elements of that production, including readings from the book, and will again be directed by Kamilah Forbes. In addition, the special will incorporate documentary footage from the performers’ home lives, archival footage, and animation.

Cast members also include Alicia Garza, Joe Morton, Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter, Pauletta Washington, and Susan Kelechi Watson, with more names to be announced. The special is currently in production under COVID-19 guidelines with plans to debut this fall.

Between the World and Me is executive produced by Ta-Nehisi Coates, Susan Kelechi Watson, and Roger Ross Williams. Williams’ production company One Story Up produces.