Though it’s been nearly 25 years since The Best Man originally hit our screens back in 1999, the franchise has remained pivotal in the cultural canon of authentic and engaging Black entertainment. That’s due largely in part to the relatable storylines and all-star cast, which consists of Morris Chestnut, Melissa De Sousa, Taye Diggs, Regina Hall, Terrence Howard, Sanaa Lathan, Nia Long, Harold Perrineau and Monica Calhoun.
However, if you thought you’d seen the last of our favorite friend group after the 2013 film sequel The Best Man Holiday, think again! That’s right folks, our lovable lot is coming back for a third time in the upcoming limited series The Best Man: The Final Chapters, premiering Thursday on Peacock. Based upon the eponymous film franchise, the series centers around our old pals as relationships evolve and past grievances resurface in the unpredictable stages of midlife crisis meets midlife renaissance.
“This is taking characters that we’ve all known and loved and grown up with...and catching up to them,” co-showrunner and EP Dayna Lynne North explained to The Root. “It’s a ‘Where are they now?’ I guess I would call it. And I think part of what makes it stand out—and part of what made me excited to join forces with Malcolm for adapting it to series—is I wanna know what’s gonna happen when we meet up with Harper, Robin, and Jordan at this point in their lives? What’s happened since The Best Man Holiday?”
She later added, “I like the idea of bringing characters forward and challenging them in an authentic way with where they are in their lives now. We call it the final chapters because we wanted to give everybody a full and complete three-dimensional arc. But [these are] the last stories that we’re gonna tell for these characters.”
Wow, Dayna, just wow. I guess we all better grab our tissues in advance, it sounds like it’s gonna be one helluva reunion.
The Best Man: The Final Chapters premieres Thursday, Dec. 22 only on Peacock.