'Greenleaf' Season 6: Why It Isn't Happening
Greenleaf joined the ranks of shows that earn new viewers after joining Netflix. All five seasons of the Oprah Winfrey Network series are available on the streamer. The fifth season, which aired back in 2020, is the show's last. OWN confirmed the show's fifth season would be its last just before the Season 5 premiere debuted.
The main reason why Greenleaf got the ax was low ratings. The show's fourth season averaged just 1.1 million viewers and a 0.22 rating in the 18-49 demographic in Live+Same Day ratings, TVLine reported back in 2020. That was a 15% drop from Season 3. However, the show was still the top-rated scripted series among African-American women and total African-American viewers. The only show that did better in total viewership and demo rating at OWN was The Haves and The Have Nots.
Although the show's ratings were in decline, it was popular enough that OWN announced plans for a spin-off focusing on Lynn Whitfield's Daisy Mae Greenleaf. In March 2021, Greenleaf creator Craig Wright told TVLine he was still working on that project. Whitfield also told TVLine in June 2021 that the project was still in the works. There haven't been any updates on it since though.
"I am very excited about it, and I think to fans of Greenleaf that one of the most central things to the DNA of Greenleaf is the voice of Lady Mae," Wright told TVLine. "And all I can tell you is that if you are sitting around waiting to hear Lady Mae preach again or waiting to hear Lady Mae tell Charity to put on her big girl pants and get her act together, well, we are working overtime to get you that story. Lynn is an amazing talent, and I am excited about the prospect of being able to work with her again."
Greenleaf is an ensemble drama that focuses on the titular Greenleaf family, who runs a megachurch in Memphis. Keith David and Whitfield played the family leaders, Bishop James Greenleaf and Daisy Mae Greenleaf. Merle Dandridge played their eldest child, Pastor Grace Greenleaf, who returns home after 20 years away from the family at the start of the show. Desiree Ross, Lamman Rucker, Kim Hawthorne, Deborah Joy Winans, Tye White, Gregory Alan Williams, Lovie Simone, and Rick Fox also starred in the show during its run. Winfrey also had a recurring part as Lady Mae's sister Mavis.
The series was produced by Winfrey's Harpo Films with Lionsgate Television and Pine City. Wright, Winfrey, and Clement Virgo were executive producers. The show won the Outstanding Drama Series award at the 2020 NAACP Image Awards.
After Greenleaf, Wright created another series for OWN, Delilah. The show is a legal drama starring Maahra Hill as Delilah Connolly, a Charlotte, North Carolina lawyer who takes on cases big law firms miss. Wright earned an Emmy nomination for writing the Six Feet Under episode "Twilight." He also worked on Underemployed, United States of Tara, Brothers & Sisters, and Lost.