Nia Long Gives Big Update on ‘The Best Man’ Limited Series (Exclusive)

Nia Long has appeared in a number of hit shows and films over the years but when it comes to films that stand out in Long’s career, starring as Jordan Armstrong in the 1999 movie The Best Man and the 2013 sequel, The Best Man Holiday, is on top of the list. Earlier this year, Peacock ordered a 10-episode limited series titled The Best Man: Final Chapters and Long will return with the original cast that includes Taye Diggs, Morris Chestnut, Sanaa Lathan and Regina Hall. PopCulture.com recently caught up with Long who gave an update on the new series. 

“It’s coming along,” Long told PopCulture. “We haven’t started shooting yet, but we’re all talking and hanging and excited to read scripts. And honestly, just to get back together like that crew, that cast, that’s family for me. And we’ve all gone off and worked on other things, projects. And it’ll be fun. We’re all grown up now.  

“So, the conversations will be funny and silly and we’ll have a lot more stories to tell. So, I think we’re all looking forward to it and I know Malcolm [Lee] is working really hard to get the scripts to where he wants them and to give the audience what they want. People have been asking for this for a long time and now they get to see us weekly. So, it’ll be nice.”

The Best Man films are about friendships and relationships among a tight-knit group of people. And as Long mentioned, the characters are in different stages in their lives from where they were in 1999 and 2013. Bringing back the franchise in streaming form means a new generation of viewers will learn about the characters. But was Long all-in when she first heard about the limited series?

“I think when I do something that I know people love and hold close to their hearts and it’s one of those iconic film titles,” Long said. “Everyone is expecting something from this group to pick up where we left off and I’m protective of that. I’m protective of what we’ve done. And so, we just wanted to make sure that we were going to create something or to be a part of something that is going to be just as great as the films were or are.

“It’s like each film, each project that I work on is like one of my babies. And there are certain babies that get a little favor to them and that’s The Best Man and Jordan are definitely one of them. So, when you say series, it’s like, ‘Oh, wow, okay well how will that work?’ And I think we all had one condition and the condition was that we all wanted to make sure it’s the original cast is coming back.”