UB Review: OWN’s “Greenleaf” Covers the Good, Bad & Ugly About Christian Church

Tonight’s the night (someone cue Rod Stewart’s song). Kick off your shoes and sit right down because Oprah and the team at OWN have something in store for you that you have never witnessed before. “Greenleaf,” the word that will be on the tip of everyone’s tongues, Twitter fingers and Gram snapping thumbs by tomorrow morning.

“Greenleaf” is a new original OWN drama series from award-winning writer/producer Craig Wright (“Lost,” “Six Feet Under”) executive produced by Oprah Winfrey, Craig Wright and Clement Virgo. This show takes viewers into the drama filled world of the Greenleaf family who happen to run a Memphis, Tennessee mega church where scandals, secrets and lies are as numerous as the faithful. Drama, deception, infidelity and fornication; it’s all here. When the term “must see TV” was created this show is definitely what the term defines.

For all of my fellow Christians, this show will definitely go where no show has gone before while covering the good, bad and the ugly about the Christian church. While there are certain OMG moments that may offend a few, most of the scenes and story-lines are done in a tasteful yet factual way that really put into perspective what we experience from attending our own churches on a weekly basis. Whether you attend church or not, this show will definitely have you on the edge of your seat with its tangling storylines, well-developed characters, great cinematography, and superb acting from a cast that includes Merle Dandridge (as “Grace Gigi Greenleaf”), Lynn Whitfield (as “Lady Mae Greenleaf”), Keith David (as “Bishop James Greenleaf”), Oprah Winfrey (as “Mavis McCready”), Kim Hawthorne (as “Kerissa Greenleaf”), Lamman Rucker (as “Jacob Greenleaf”), Tye White (as “Kevin Satterlee”), Deborah Joy Winans (as “Charity Greenleaf-Saterlee”) and many others.

• J.Dot (UrbanBridgez.com)

“Greenleaf” will debut with a two-night premiere starting tonight at 10 p.m. ET/PT on OWN. Tomorrow, back-to-back new episodes at 9 and 10 p.m. ET/PT. The show will return to its regular time-slot on Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on June 29th.