Durrant Pate/ Contributor 

Following the successful Bob Marley biopic, which was partially shot in Jamaica and released earlier this year, the island will again be on the movie circuit with the much anticipated HBO and Channel 4 drama, Get Millie Black, which debuts on November 25.

The drama created by Man Booker Prize-winning Jamaican novelist, Marlon James will debut on HBO with streaming available on Max. This six-part series centers on ex-Scotland Yard detective, Millie-Jean Black, portrayed by British actress, Tamara Lawrance, as she returns to Jamaica’s capital city of Kingston to work in the local police force’s missing persons division. 

The film is inspired by James’ mother, who was one of the first policewomen in Jamaica to be promoted to detective. In the film, her journey to Kingston soon morphs into a complex and dangerous investigation that pulls her from the streets to elite hillside plantations and eventually back to the UK as events spiral internationally.

Synopsis of the drama series

Get Millie Black explores the troubled legacy of racism, slavery, sexuality, classism and cycles of trauma in the postcolonial landscape of Britain and Jamaica. Among the characters are the transgender ‘gully queen’ Hibiscus; the sibling Millie left behind; her brilliant partner on the Jamaican police force, Curtis, who is forced to keep his love life secret from his colleagues; game-playing Scotland Yard Inspector Luke Osbourne; and Hit Girl, go-go club owner and underworld entrepreneur.

The show’s synopsis teases a gripping and unpredictable journey as Millie-Jean hunts for a missing boy and faces her own past. “This is just another story about Jamaica,” says the narrator in the recently released trailer adding, “It won’t add up. It won’t make sense. But like every story about this country…this is a ghost story.”

Get Millie Black marks Marlon James’s first screenwriting project. Produced by Motive Pictures, the series brought together a diverse creative team, including lead director Tanya Hamilton and writers Theresa Ikoko, Lydia Adetunji, and Joshua St Johnston. 

Motive Pictures CEO, Simon Maxwell praised the talent assembled for the show, arguing that it showcases some of the most exciting actors from both Jamaica and the UK.

Filming started in Jamaica in 2022 for Get Millie Black. The United Kingdom’s Channel 4 had commissioned the crime drama and HBO, the WarnerMedia-owned premium network was also part of the deal.

James won the Man Booker Prize for his novel A Brief History of Seven Killings.