Oprah Winfrey Tackles Faith And Greed In OWN’s ‘Greenleaf’
Oprah Winfrey is set to star in a new show called Greenleaf that will air on OWN (Oprah Winfrey Network), as reported by the Atlanta Journal Constitution. Production of the show will begin next month in Atlanta, Georgia.
Greenleaf is a drama set in Memphis that follows a megachurch and the people who run it. Oprah Winfrey joins Keith David on set, who will play the part of Bishop James Greenleaf. The character is described as “charming and charismatic but brilliantly manipulative.” He leads the Greenleaf World Ministries. His wife, Lady Mae Greenleaf, will be played by Lynn Whitfield and she “loves money and power and will do absolutely anything to protect her position as the First Lady.”
Winfrey will portray the sister of Lady Mae. Oprah, who is set to have a recurring role, has a close connection with the bishop’s estranged daughter, Grace Greenleaf, on the show.
Produced by Winfrey, Greenleaf deals with the kind of drama that naturally surrounds a megachurch and the people who are involved with it. Faith, virtue, and righteousness are at the very heart of church along with immorality, selfish greed, and deceit. In the official description of the show, Greenleaf World Ministries is depicted as a home to those who attend it, yet it’s also home to more than just that.
“Beneath its steeple lies a den of iniquity — greed, adultery, sibling rivalry and conflicting values — a multigenerational matrix of deception that involves the church’s founding family, but also extends to the congregation and prominent members of the Memphis community and beyond.”
Indie Wire reports that Oprah expressed that she loved the story line and the characters the first time she went over the script. Winfrey indicated that she had high hopes for how viewers will react to the new series.
“When I first read the script, I instantly felt an affinity for the characters and loved Craig’s creative vision for a fictional drama on an epic scale… This show is going to be a fun ride and will hopefully have viewers on the edge of their pews week after week.”
Hopefully Oprah is right and the show will turn out to be as thrilling as she believes it will be.
Winfrey hasn’t been so busy with producing that she’s forgotten her charitable side, though. Hello! reports that Viola Davis went on The Ellen Degeneres Show to talk about something Oprah did for her recently. After Davis’ Emmy win, she was given a few presents from Oprah. Davis received Jay Z’s $450 champagne from Winfrey to celebrate her award and Oprah also sent the actress flowers which “took two double doors” just to get into her house. Davis knows that when Winfrey sends a gift, it will be big.
“Oprah does everything big.”
We’ll definitely see just how big Oprah does things when the new megachurch drama airs its first episode.
Make sure to keep an eye out for Oprah Winfrey in Greeleaf on OWN in 2016.
[Photos Courtesy of Jerod Harris, Jemal Countess, Frederick M. Brown, Larry French/Getty Images]
