By Nsenga K. Burton, Ph.D.
NNPA Newswire Entertainment and Culture Editor
The fifth and final season premiere of OWN’s hit megachurch drama “Greenleaf” (6/23/20) delivered 1.9 million viewers and ranked as Tuesday night’s #1 cable telecast in OWN’s key demographic of women 25-54, which is up +2% from last season’s premiere. The acclaimed drama from Lionsgate, award-winning writer/executive producer Craig Wright (“Lost,” “Six Feet Under”), and executive producers Clement Virgo (“Empire”), Kriss Turner Towner (“Black Monday”), and Oprah Winfrey was also the night’s #1 telecast across all broadcast and cable for African-American women.
Greenleaf stars 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.
In addition, the season premiere of “Greenleaf” ranked as the #1 most social scripted series across all of broadcast and cable, including Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, on Tuesday night (non-sports).
OWN was Tuesday night’s #2 cable network among women 25-54 with “Greenleaf” the #1 cable telecast in the key demo. OWN was Tuesday night’s #1 network on all of television, including broadcast and cable, for African American women and total viewers.
Currently, OWN has four of the Top 20 original scripted series (“The Haves and the Have Nots,” “Greenleaf,” “If Loving You Is Wrong,” “Cherish the Day”) on ad-supported cable among women 25-54, which is more than any other network.
In the second episode of the fifth and final season of “Greenleaf” tomorrow night (Tuesday June 30 at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT), Noah (Benjamin Patterson) returns to Memphis to help Grace (Merle Dandridge) with A.J (Jacob Gibson), offering her stability in a world that’s upside-down and spinning out of her control. Bishop (Keith David) and Lady Mae (Lynn Whitfield) take a walk through their history when they visit Mavis’s club as a potential venue for their future. Jacob (Lamman Rucker) continues to dig into the past and uncovers a shocking revelation about the history of the Greenleaf family home.
Source: The Nielsen Company; Nielsen Social Content Ratings. Ranked by total interactions.
“Greenleaf” has garnered ten NAACP Image Award nominations, including wins for Outstanding Drama Series in 2020, and Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in 2019 and 2020 (Lynn Whitfield). The “Greenleaf” Soundtrack Volume Two was named Outstanding Gospel/Christian Album (Traditional or Contemporary) by the NAACP Image Awards in 2018. The series has also been recognized by the Alliance for Women in Media’s Gracie Allen Awards and by the Black Reel Awards for Television.
“Greenleaf” is produced for OWN by Lionsgate in association with Harpo Films and Pine City. Executive producers are Oprah Winfrey, Craig Wright, Kriss Turner Towner, and Clement Virgo.
A “Greenleaf” spinoff, currently in development with Lionsgate, was announced in May 2020.
Viewers can now catch up on the show’s complete four seasons on Netflix.
