From her chilling historical series When They See Us – which tells the story of the wrongly convicted Central Park Five – to her upcoming documentary tribute to the late rapper Nipsey Hussle, Ava DuVernay is known for her paradigm-shifting work.

This time though, she is telling a different kind of story. With Cherish The Day, DuVernay is channeling her creative energy into the kind of love story she never saw growing up.

“I just needed a break from history and wanted to do something lovely and light,” DuVernay explained during the show’s Television Critics Association panel last month.

“I’m a big sucker for love stories, and growing up I loved West Side Story to Sleepless In Seattle and really craved the black romantic endeavour, which I saw less of… I really longed to see that kind of black love story on television.”

Given DuVernay’s talent for beautiful and gripping storytelling that shakes you to the core, we’re sure this will be a love story for the ages.

Here is everything we know about Cherish The Day.

What is Cherish The Day about?

Cherish The Day will chronicle the stirring romance of one couple, Gently James and Evan Fisher. Each of the eight episodes will span a single day in the couple’s lives, with its rewards, highlights, heartbreaks and challenges. 

The season-long narrative “will unfold to reveal the significant moments in a relationship that compel us to hold true to the ones we love, from the extraordinary to the everyday”, according to Deadline.

DuVernay said during the TCA panel that the anthology series was about championing a love story where its two subjects happened to be black, rather than about subverting negative stereotypes.

Who is in the cast for Cherish The Day?

The upcoming series will star Xosha Roquemore, who will play Gently James, and Alano Miller, who will play Evan Fisher.

Screen legend and three-time Emmy Winner Cicely Tyson will also take on a leading role as Miss Luma Lee Langston, “a legendary star of stage and screen in decades past”.

Behind the scenes, DuVernay is joined as an executive producer by Paul Garnes, Tanya Hamilton and Winfrey. Hamilton will also direct the season premiere, which is written by DuVernay.

Is there a trailer for Cherish The Day?

Yes! 

The final trailer gives a snapshot of the whirlwind romance at the series’ center, while making clear that the lovers’ differing backgrounds will put their relationship to the test.

What else do I need to know about Cherish The Day?

This is DuVernay and Winfrey’s second project executive producing together, after OWN’s Queen Sugar, which has been renewed for a fifth season. The drama follows a young African-American widow from Los Angeles, who moves to a rural town in Louisiana to manage a sugarcane farm she unexpectedly inherits from her father. Following Queen Sugar’s lead, Cherish The Day has achieved full gender parity with a production crew of more than 50% women.

When is Cherish The Day being released?

The show will premiere on OWN over two nights: 11 February at 10pm ET and 12 February at 8pm ET with subsequent episodes airing every Wednesday at 8pm ET. 

There is no word yet on when the series will be available to stream in the UK, but watch this space.

Image: Getty