Ernie Hudson Dishes on Upcoming ‘Bad Boys’ Spinoff ‘LA’s Finest’

With a career in film and television spanning more than 40 years, actor Ernie Hudson is an absolute legend in the industry. Building one of the most illustrious careers in the business that has catapulted him into performances audiences adore, Hudson has never been busier.

In addition to winning over audiences as the patriarch in BET’s eight-part drama series, The Family Business about an upstanding family leading a dangerous secret life, Hudson is shifting gears after the season finale Tuesday night and stepping into another fatherly role this year with L.A.’s Finest — set to premiere later this year.

While dishing on his BET series with PopCulture.com this past fall, Hudson shared what fans can expect from the highly anticipated Bad Boys spinoff and how L.A.’s Finest gave him the chance to do “something different.”

“It’s an amazing show,” Hudson said of his role as Joseph Vaughn. “I play Gabrielle [Union]’s dad — and Martin Lawrence’s dad… their mother took the kids away from me and moved to Miami, and so, she comes back to Los Angeles for reasons you find out in the show.”

Hudson goes on to add how his relationship with Union’s character, Sydney Burnett, is one encompassing the elements of “a dad who hasn’t been there,” but is actively trying.

“We all need to reconcile these things, especially with family because it completes us,” he said of his role. “[You have] the police and law enforcement protecting, and yet you still have a life and you still have these relationships that are unresolved. So, it’s a very different show, and really good.”

With a warm humbleness, Hudson adds he has been “blessed to work with some really great people from the beginning” of his career and is looking forward to the series premiere.

Charter Communications and Sony Pictures Television officially picked up L.A.’s Finest as the network’s first scripted series last summer.

Starring Hudson, Union and Jessica Alba, the Bad Boys II spinoff was given a 13-episode order and picks up after Sydney took down a drug cartel in Miami. Heading to Los Angeles to start anew and leaving behind her complicated past to become an LAPD detective, she is soon partnered up with Nancy McKenna (Alba), a working mom with an equally complex past. While the two do not agree on much, they find common ground when it comes to taking down criminals in L.A.

Produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, Hudson says while it is a character-driven drama, fans can expect a thrill ride with L.A.’s Finest.

“It’s just really fast paced, a lot of action — it’s great!” Hudson said.

In the meantime, fans of Hudson’s can catch up on BET’s The Family Business on-demand ahead of its season finale Tuesday night. The series, based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Carl Weber, has been a hit with viewers. Following the Duncan family from Jamaica, Queens in New York City navigating growing tensions around them that involve the mafia, drug cartels and corrupt politicians, Hudson is incredibly proud of the project he executive produced.

“I was blown away by the whole family dynamic,” Hudson said upon first reading the script. “I really wanted to be a part of bringing this to the screen, which is why I sort of took on the title of executive producer even though I’m not actually doing the real producing work — I wanted to do anything that I could to make sure the story gets told.”

With Hudson commanding a stellar cast, including the likes of Valarie Pettiford (Tyler Perry’s House of Payne), Armand Assante (HBO’s Gotti) and Emilio Rivera (Mayans M.C.), the chance to play with them while bringing to life Weber’s characters was a real pleasure.

“It is a certain integrity, I think, the truth of Carl Weber’s writing, the dialogue — to be with actors who also know how to interpret and bring that to the screen has been really amazing.”

Hudson can be seen in season finale of The Family Business Tuesday, and if things go as planned for the fandom, the upcoming Ghostbusters sequel — helmed by Ivan Reitman’s son, director, Jason Reitman set to release July 10, 2020.

No word yet on an official release date for the series premiere of L.A.’s Finest. But, The Family Business airs its Season 1 finale Tuesday at 9 p.m. ET on BET.

Photo credit: Charter Communications / Paul Archuleta, Getty Images