'The Blackburns' to begin airing by month end
Published: Thursday | September 3, 2009
Lennie Little-White. - Photo by Noel Thompson
The Blackburns, a spin-off from the long-running soap opera Royal Palm Estate, is scheduled to debut on CVM Television later this month. Lennie Little-White, producer and chief writer of the show, said filming for most of the season's first 15 episodes is almost complete.
"About 85 per cent of the shooting has been done. We just have a few city scenes to do but we are ready to go," Little-White told The Gleaner.
To date, scenes have been shot in St Ann, St Catherine, Kingston and Bull Bay, St Andrew. Little-White said each episode will be one hour long.
In May, Little-White called time on Royal Palm Estate after 27 seasons. The Blackburns is also based on the family which was the mainstay of Royal Palm Estate, but Little-White insists the two programmes are different.
"We have a lot of romantic situations; it's not Sonny T going after the estate or anything like that. We have more romantic stories," he explained.
Sonny T was the shady gangster made popular by veteran actor Munair Zacca in Royal Palm Estate. Adam Hyde, who plays Richard Blackburn, and Billy Wilmot who plays Cee Cee are just two of the regulars from Royal Palm Estate who form the main cast of The Blackburns.
Like its predecessor, several well-known persons will be featured on The Blackburns. They include singers Cezar and Tanya Stephens, who play Justin and Tracy, respectively.
Wilmot's teenage sons, Icah and Inilek, have also been cast as regulars.
Royal Palm Estate debuted on CVM in 1994 and quickly won a strong local following. It was based on the Blackburns, one of the last bastions of the Jamaican plantocracy. The family patriarch was Ted, played by Reggie Carter, who died one year after the show started.
Although it featured established actors like Carter and Zacca, many roles on Royal Palm Estate were filled by popular persons with little acting experience. Singer Richie Stephens, deejay Macka Diamond and the controversial senior superintendent of police, Reneto Adams, all appeared on the show.
