DeWanda Wise is saddling up for Starz. The network has set Wise, Tian Richards, and Marcus Mitchell as series regulars in its untitled Black rodeo drama, an eight-episode, one-hour series heading into production in Atlanta later in August 2026, according to a Deadline exclusive.

The show is set in Southeast Texas, where rodeo runs deeper than sport — it shapes how the characters see themselves and each other. At its centre are three siblings bound by the legacy their mother built and the unfinished business their father left behind.

Wise plays Anaya Clarke-Reagan, the eldest Clarke sibling and mayor of Trinity City. It is a role that puts her at the intersection of family drama and political stakes, with a town to run while old wounds stay open.

Richards plays Rodney Clarke, the openly gay younger brother in the family, who runs Big Rod's Likka Lounge. Mitchell rounds out the core trio as Julius Calhoun, a decorated bull rider and the closest friend of Sebastian — another Clarke sibling whose casting has not yet been announced.

Kirk A. Moore serves as showrunner — the writer-producer who oversees the writers' room and day-to-day creative decisions — and executive producer. The producing team draws from two companies: Mark Johnson and Myki Bajaj of Gran Via Productions, and Tony Hernandez, Elise Henderson, and Lilly Burns of Counterpart Studios, all carrying executive producer credits.

On the Starz side, Giovanna Desselle, VP of Original Programming, and Christina Jokanovich, SVP of Original Programming, oversee the project for the network.

For viewers, the appeal is clear: a family saga set against a world rarely centred on American television. Black rodeo culture carries its own traditions, stars, and history, and a scripted drama built around three siblings navigating legacy and loss in that world is territory broadcast television has largely left unexplored.

Wise is the most recognisable name in the cast for streaming audiences. She led Netflix's Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous and appeared in Jurassic World Dominion, and her move to a cable drama signals a project Starz is positioning with care — straight to series, meaning no pilot is shot first, with a full eight-episode commitment from the start.

Production is expected to begin in Atlanta later this month. No premiere date has been announced.