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First Look Photos from Netflix's 'Ma Rainey's Black Bottom' [PHOTOS]

Netflix
Viola Davis with George C. Wolf and Chadwick Boseman for Ma Rainey's Black Bottom

Academy Award® winner Viola Davis is bringing the life and times of blues music pioneer Ma Rainey to the small screen in the new Netflix drama Ma Rainey's Black Bottom. It premieres on December 18. 

Tensions and temperatures rise over the course of an afternoon recording session in 1920s Chicago as a band of musicians await trailblazing performer, the legendary “Mother of the Blues,” Ma Rainey (Davis). Late to the session, the fearless, fiery Ma engages in a battle of wills with her white manager and producer over control of her music. As the band waits in the studio’s claustrophobic rehearsal room, ambitious trumpeter Levee (Chadwick Boseman) — who has an eye for Ma’s girlfriend and is determined to stake his own claim on the music industry — spurs his fellow musicians into an eruption of stories revealing truths that will forever change the course of their lives.

Adapted from two-time Pulitzer Prize winner August Wilson’s play Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, the movie celebrates the transformative power of the blues and the artists who refuse to let society’s prejudices dictate their worth. Directed by George C. Wolfe and adapted for the screen by Ruben Santiago-Hudson, the film is produced by Fences Oscar® nominees Denzel Washington and Todd Black.

Ma Rainey's Black Bottom also stars Colman Domingo, Glynn Turman, Michael Potts, Taylour Paige and Dusan Brown along with Grammy® winner Branford Marsalis, who produced the film's score.

Check out more pics below: 

Credit Netflix
"Ma Rainey's Black Bottom"

Credit Netflix
"Ma Rainey's Black Bottom"

Ray Cornelius is one of Atlanta’s newest entertainment writers and media personalities. His arts and entertainment website, www.raycornelius.com spotlights the latest in “positive” African-American celebrity news and was established in 2012. Since that time Cornelius has covered a myriad of red carpet premieres, award shows and Atlanta-based films including Tyler Perry’s Temptation, The BronzeLens Film Festival, The Trumpet Awards, and The Steve Harvey’s Neighborhood Awards just to name a few. He has also interviewed a who’s who list of today’s top singers, actors and reality stars. With nearly 20 years of media experience, Cornelius has also worked as an associate producer for the Emmy-winning public affairs program, ATL Insider and with such award shows as The Soul Train Awards, The Trumpet Awards and BET Hip-Hop Awards.