The supernaturally evil crime drama Lucifer wrapped up its six-season run in 2021, with Netflix having saved the Fox-originated series from cancellation after its third season. Ever since then, news has been pretty quiet about what TV moves star Tom Ellis might make next, but that has now changed, with the actor set to stay within the world of streaming for a lead role in Hulu’s upcoming adaptation of the novel Washington Black.
In the new series, Tom Ellis will co-star opposite the always excellent Sterling K. Brown, who will himself soon be vacating a longtime role as NBC’s This Is Us closes out its mystery-solving final season. And according to Deadline, the new role sounds as if it will lean more into the world of science as opposed to the religion-tinged storytelling of Lucifer.
For those unfamiliar with the project or with Esi Edugyan’s 2018 novel of the same name, Washington Black tells the 19th century-set story of 11-year-old George Washington Black (Ernest Kingsley Jr.), whose already complicated life slaving away on a Barbados sugar plantation becomes even more dangerous after a shocking death changes the status quo. The narrative will see young Wash, as he is called, looking to Sterling K. Brown’s former refugee Medwin Harris as a mentor, but the relationship he forms with Ellis’ character is also quite profound for both.
Tom Ellis will portray Christopher “Titch” Wilde, an inventor of the steampunk variety described as being eccentric, full of passion and exceedingly enthusiastic, although it’s all in service of cloaking how vulnerable he truly is on the inside. It’s his family’s plantation where the aforementioned death takes place, and it also spurs Titch into taking an awe-inspiring trek through the air with Wash at his side.
Though they’re not related, Titch will take on something of a father-figure role in Wash’s life, though it’s not the easiest relationship for him to foster. Given the traumas he’s faced concerning his own father, Titch definitely isn’t the perfect role model for the young boy, as he is heading for an outcome that could destroy both of their lives.
Obviously, it’s currently unclear how long a project like Washington Black could last, given its literary origin, but taking this role is certainly a big move for Tom Ellis in his post-Lucifer career. The show rounded out 2021 as Netflix’s most-streamed series all around, which comic creator Neil Gaiman was happy to celebrate, so he’s been about as visible as anyone in Hollywood in the past year. While we’d love to see him join the MCU in some capacity, to balance his DC creds if nothing else, it’ll probably help hone his dramatic chops to follow up with a project like the new Hulu series.
While this is his first TV role after Lucifer, Tom Ellis does have something cooking on the big screen. He's set to star in the upcoming rom-com feature Players along with Jane the Virgin vet Gina Rodriguez.
While waiting to hear more about the new project Washington Black, which will also co-star Iola Evans, Edward Bluemel and Sharon Duncan-Brewster, you can peep out everything you need to know about securing a Hulu subscription before diving into some of the best shows currently available to stream there. Then check out our 2022 TV premiere schedule to see all the new and returning shows hitting the small screen soon.
