'Ma Rainey's Black Bottom' Trailer: Viola Davis And Chadwick Boseman Sing The Blues

There was already an air of reverence attached to Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, the upcoming Netflix adaptation of the August Wilson play, due to it being Chadwick Boseman's final feature film role. But the trailer for Ma Rainey's Black Bottom may only strengthen that reverence, as Boseman and star Viola Davis give knockout performances in the roles of an ambitious trumpet player and the legendary "Mother of the Blues." Watch the Ma Rainey's Black Bottom trailer below.

 Ma Rainey's Black Bottom stars Davis as Gertrude "Ma" Rainey, a professional blues singer who would gain a reputation as the "Mother of the Blues." Over the course of an intense recording session in 1920s Chicago, Ma Rainey would clash with her manager, her producer, and an ambitious and rebellious trumpet player (Boseman) who wants to make his own mark on the music industry.

The trailer proves why Ma Rainey's Black Bottom is one of Netflix's major Oscar contenders — Davis all but disappears into the role of Ma Rainey while Boseman shows off his mega-watt smile and powerful acting chops in the bittersweet series of scenes we see him in. I wouldn't be surprised if Netflix campaigns hard for both of tthem at the 2021 Oscars. Colman Domingo, Glynn Turman, Michael Potts, Taylour Paige and Dusan Brown also star in Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, which is produced by Davis' Fences co-star Denzel Washington, and Todd Black.

Here is the synopsis for Ma Rainey's Black Bottom:

Tensions and temperatures rise over the course of an afternoon recording session in 1920s Chicago as a band of musicians await trailblazing performer, the legendary "Mother of the Blues," Ma Rainey (Academy Award® winner Viola Davis). Late to the session, the fearless, fiery Ma engages in a battle of wills with her white manager and producer over control of her music. As the band waits in the studio's claustrophobic rehearsal room, ambitious trumpeter Levee (Chadwick Boseman) — who has an eye for Ma's girlfriend and is determined to stake his own claim on the music industry — spurs his fellow musicians into an eruption of stories revealing truths that will forever change the course of their lives.

Adapted from two-time Pulitzer Prize winner August Wilson's play, MA RAINEY'S BLACK BOTTOM celebrates the transformative power of the blues and the artists who refuse to let society's prejudices dictate their worth.

Ma Rainey's Black Bottom hits select theaters in November before debuting on Netflix on December 18, 2020.