André Holland is set to play Black Panther leader Huey P. Newton on Apple TV+'s The Big Cigar

Variety

Limited series The Big Cigar will tell the story of how Newton was able to elude a nationwide manhunt and escape to Cuba while being pursued into exile by the FBI. Holland is in talks to play Newton. The Big Cigar is based on a 2012 Playboy magazine article of the same name by Joshuah Bearman, who will also serve as executive producer. The Big Cigar was previously in the works as a movie. The limited series "tells how Newton escaped to Cuba to avoid prosecution for murder with the help of Bert Schneider, the Hollywood producer behind Easy Rider, as well as a few other celebrity radicals," per Deadline. Former Claws showrunner and The King of Napa creator Janine Sherman Barrois will serve as showrunner. Winning Time co-creator Jim Hecht is on board as writer and executive producer. And Don Cheadle will serve as executive producer and director of the first two episodes.