Andre Holland is Black Panther leader Huey P. Newton in new Apple TV+ drama

Andre Holland stars in "The Big Cigar" (Source: Apple TV+)

Premiering with its first two episodes on May 17, 2024, "The Big Cigar" recounts what Apple describes as "the incredible true story of Hollywood revolution meeting social revolution."

"[It's a wild caper of Black Panther founder Newton escaping from the FBI to Cuba with the assistance of famed producer Bert Schneider in an impossibly elaborate plan — involving a fake movie production — that goes wrong every way it possibly can," says Apple. "And somehow, it's all true. Mostly."

The first episode is written by Jim Hecht, writer/creator of "Winning Time: the Rise of the Lakers Dynasty." The series is showrun by Hecht and Janine Sherman Barrois, whose credits go all the way back to "ER."

Andre Holland stars as Newton, alongside Alessandro Nivola, Tiffany Boone, P. J. Byrne, Marc Menchaca, Moses Ingram, Rebecca Dalton, Olli Haaskivi, Jordane Christie and Glynn Turman.

The series also has Don Cheadle as director and executive producer on the first two episodes. No details have been released yet about the writers or directors of the remainder of the series.

"The Big Cigar" is based on journalist Joshuah Bearman's 2012 article of the same name for Playboy magazine.