‘Greenleaf’ Spinoff In The Works From OWN & Lionsgate

After announcing that the fifth season of the show would be the last, OWN also announced that they are in development with Lionsgate on a spinoff of megachurch drama, Greenleaf.  Craig Wright, Greenleaf creator, has given fans new details about the upcoming spinoff and where it will take Lady Mae (Lynn Whitfield) in her new role as pastor.

Greenleaf, over its five seasons, took viewers into the unscrupulous world of the Greenleaf family and their sprawling Memphis megachurch, where scandalous secrets and lies are as numerous as the faithful. The series starred Merle Dandridge as Grace Greenleaf; Keith David as Bishop James Greenleaf; Lynn Whitfield as Lady Mae Greenleaf; Kim Hawthorne as Kerissa Greenleaf; Lamman Rucker as Jacob Greenleaf; and Deborah Joy Winans as Charity Greenleaf-Satterjee. The series finale aired on August 11, 2020.

“I think Lady Mae’s new role as pastor of this church or another church is definitely going to be tentpole of whatever we do next,” Wright told TVLine in a new interview. “When I saw her [preaching], it made me even more excited about the spinoff, because when you hear Lady Mae talking about how to love the past enough to let it go and how to look for the future, it’s just so exciting to me to do another chapter in the story.”

Wright also called Whitfield a “muse” for his work.

“A muse, a resource…She has much if not more of a vision of what this show can accomplish for its audience than I do,” he said. “And I have always thought of her as one of my most important partners, along with Oprah [Winfrey], in figuring out what the show is.”

As the network stays, from the inception of Greenleaf, creator Wright and executive producer Oprah Winfrey envisioned that the story would span five seasons, with Wright contemplating a spinoff. “These plans accelerated when fans expressed their support for the show after its final season was announced, reaffirming its passionate fan base,” said the network.