David Farnor | On 28, Jan 2017

Netflix has nabbed the global streaming rights to Greenleaf from the Oprah Winfrey Network.

The show, which is created by playwright Craig Wright, is a warts-and-all portrayal of a church in Tennessee, where the eponymous Greenleaf family practise their own brand of deceitful, scandalous politics among the sprawling community.

Keith David leads the ensemble as Bishop James Greenleaf, alongside Lynn Whitfield (Lady Mae Greenleaf), and Merle Dandridge as their estranged daughter, Grace, who returns home after 20 years following the death of her sister. Winfrey is a guest star in the show.

The series has been a success for OWN, reports Variety, with its premiere in June last year proving the biggest in the network’s history, with an average of 2.1 million viewers per episode, rising to 3 million include time-shifted viewing after several days. Indeed, Season 2 was commissioned before Season 1 had even premiered. Now, before the show can return on 15th March, Netflix has signed a deal with OWN and Lionsgate, which produces the programme with Harpo Films and Pine City, to acquire the online rights to the programme.

Netflix will be the international home of the drama, with Season 1 arriving all-at-once on 3rd March. Season 2 will continue to air on OWN in the USA. The day of their broadcast, they will then be released on Netflix everywhere outside the US and Canada, with Season 2 arriving on US and Canada Netflix at a later date. Production on the season is currently underway in Atlanta.

The deal follows the announcement that an Oprah Winfrey interview with Ava DuVernay about the director’s Netflix original documentary, 13th, will arrive on the streaming service next week.

For more on what’s coming soon to Netflix UK, click here.

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