Candice Carty-Williams’s debut novel, Queenie, has been a firm favourite with critics and fans alike ever since it first hit bookshelves back in 2019. Not only did it win book of the year at the British Book Awards in 2020, but Carty-Williams also became the first Black author to scoop the prize since it began in 1994.

We’ve known that a TV adaptation was in the works (Carty-Williams told us so herself) for some time. That was exciting enough, quite frankly… until now, that is. Because, finally, Queenie the TV series is no longer a twinkle in the author’s eye, but an actual greenlit series coming to Channel 4, and the official trailer was released this week.

**What is the plot of Queenie?**

For the few people left out there who haven’t read the book, it tells the tale of Queenie Jenkins, a 25-year-old Jamaican British woman whose life starts to unravel when she takes a break from her long-term boyfriend. Dealing with her many questionable decisions and misadventures, the book offers up a furiously funny, endlessly moving, and – at times – quietly devastating take on millennial life from an underrepresented perspective.

As Channel 4’s official synopsis puts it: “Queenie is about heartbreak and bad dates and worse sex. It’s about south London and the gentrification that’s chipping away at it and what it represents. It’s about race, identity, culture and the politics that shape you. It’s about the love of friends, the chaos of family and community and all the other varying relationships in between, but especially the one with yourself.

“Razor sharp, utterly honest, blisteringly funny, and achingly yet beautifully relatable, Queenie the TV series will be full of as much heart and soul as the lady herself. At its core, it’s a story about a young Black woman’s values and the unrelenting trials and tribulations of life.”

**Who will star in Queenie?**

So who will take on the formidable character? None other than Dionne Brown, who you may know from her roles in Criminal Record and The Walk-In.

“I am absolutely thrilled to be bringing Queenie to screens with Channel 4, Disney, Lionsgate and Candice. I’ve been in love with the book since the moment I read it so to be able to audition much less play her [Queenie] is a dream come true and I can’t wait for everyone to see exactly what we’ve been working on behind the scenes,” she said of the role.

Queenie: watch the new trailer for the TV adaptation of Candice Carty-Williams’s bestselling book