Naturi Naughton and “Queen Sugar” actress Tanyell Quian have been tapped as the leads in Lifetime’s upcoming Black Girl Missing franchise movie, Abducted at an HBCU: A Black Girl Missing Movie. Garcelle Beauvais is one of the executive producers on the project. The film will premiere on July 20 on Lifetime.
The new movie follows last year’s critically acclaimed Black Girl Missing movie. The films serve to highlight the growing epidemic of missing Black women and girls particularly those who come from disadvantaged communities.
Abducted at an HBCU: A Black Girl Missing Movie follows the story of Shannon (Tanyell Quian), an ambitious college student who is struggling to pay her college tuition and eventually stops attending classes. The only person who notices Shannon’s sudden disappearance is her college counselor Ellen (Naturi Naughton). Ellen’s concerns are dismissed by Shannon’s professors, campus administration, students and even her own boyfriend. Instead of answers, Ellen is met with careless comments about how “girls like that” from underserved communities often drop out of school. Determined to find Shannon, Ellen inadvertently uncovers a trafficking ring targeting students in need like Shannon. With time running out, Ellen must fight tirelessly to gain the support she needs to rescue Shannon and bring down the trafficking ring.
Naturi Naughton
Naughton most notably starred in the Starz’ hit series Power. She is a two-time recipient of the 2017 and 2018 NAACP “Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series” award for her work on Power. Naughton has reprised her role in various Power spin-offs. She was also one of the leads opposite Eve and Brandy in the ABC series Queens. Other film credits include 88, Notorious, Fame and Lottery Ticket Mad Men, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, The Playboy Club and The Client List. Naughton also appeared on Broadway in the Tony Award-winning musical Hairspray.
Tanyell Quian
Tanyell Quian got her first big break n 2016 when she landed the recurring role of “Keke” in the Ava Duvernay series Queen Sugar. She has also graced the big screen with roles opposite award- winning actors like Octavia Spencer in the Blum House feature MA, Cuba Gooding Jr in Bayou Caviar, Lin Shaye in Gothic Harvest and Ethan Hawke, Wyatt Russel, Sam Rockwell, Kris Kristofferson and many more in Blaze. Quian can currently be seen in a recurring role in the AMC series The Driver/Parish opposite Giancarlo Esposito.
Garcelle Beauvais
Haitian-born award-winning actress and executive producer Garcelle Beauvais has charmed audiences of varied backgrounds for years. Using her dramatic and comedic abilities, she has been seen in TV series and films such as The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, The Jamie Foxx Show, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Coming to America (1&2), White House Down and co-hosted on the multi-award-winning talk show Fox’s The Real.
Having spent many years in front of the camera, Beauvais launched her production company Garcelle Productions with NBCUniversal, to “originate new ideas and collaborate on meaningful content.” She also released a memoir titled Love Me as I Am and proudly became the first Black cast member on Bravo’s hit series The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.
Lifetime has announced plans to release three Black Girl Missing films. The third film is anticipated to drop some time this Fall.