OWN’s Hit Church Drama ‘Greenleaf’ Is Getting a Spinoff
Fans were stunned when Oprah Winfrey’s OWN Network announced the fifth and final season of the hit church drama series, Greenleaf. Since 2016, the series which follows the Greenleaf family and their sprawling mega-church in Memphis, Tennessee has been a staple on the network.
For the last several seasons, we’ve watched the story of Grace Greenleaf (Merle Dandridge), the black sheep of the family who returned home following the death of her younger sister, Faith. Determined to bring hidden secrets to light, Grace has forced everyone in her family to face their past, including the secrets that she’s kept hidden.
Now, as Greenleaf is set to debut its fifth and final season, the beloved series will also be getting a spinoff.
The fifth and final season of ‘Greenleaf’ will debut on June 23, 2020
In the fifth and final season of the NAACP Image Award-winning series, the Greenleafs are still reeling from Bob Whitmore (Beau Bridges) and Harmony & Hope Ministries who have attempted to fold Calvery into their umbrella of megachurches.
In Season 4, we also watched Grace deal with the return of her son, whom she gave up for adoption as a teenager. That storyline still has not come full circle just yet. According to the official synopsis, “In Season Five, The Greenleafs attempt to maintain a united front in the face of losing their church to Bob Whitmore and Harmony and Hope Ministries, but secrets past and present create what could be fatal fractures in the family’s fragile foundation. The Bishop continues working to mend his rift with Lady Mae while, day by day, Harmony and Hope’s grip on Calvary tightens.” The Greenleaf cast also includes Keith David, Lynn Whitfield, Kim Hawthorne, Lamman Rucker, and Deborah Joy Winans.
OWN canceled ‘Greenleaf’ due to low ratings
Though Greenleaf is beloved by fans, it was not garnering the ratings that OWN Network needed in order to continue renewing the series. The series has maintained an average of 1.1 million total viewers and a 0.22 demo rating. However, it was down by 15 percent in ratings from Season 3, TV Line reported.
Despite the lower ratings in Season 4, Greenleaf is still the number one scripted series on basic cable among African-American women and total African-American viewers.
OWN just announced a ‘Greenleaf’ spinoff
Greenleaf fans were obviously upset when news of the series cancelation hit the internet. But now, fans have something to look forward to. “OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network is in development with Lionsgate on a spinoff of the network’s critically-acclaimed hit megachurch drama Greenleaf from award-winning creator and executive producer Craig Wright,” a press release sent to Showbiz Cheatsheet stated.
It appears that Wright had always been contemplating a spinoff, but the plans were officially greenlit amid fans’ disappointment with the show’s cancelation.
There is no word yet on the spinoff details, casting, or release date. However, as the final season of Greenleaf unfurls over the summer, we’re sure we’re going to get some major clues about what we’ll see next and which Greenleaf characters will be making their return to the small-screen.
