*Oprah Winfrey is set to recur on her network’s forthcoming drama “Greenleaf,” OWN announced Thursday.
The series follows the unscrupulous world of the Greenleaf family and their sprawling Memphis megachurch, where scandalous secrets and lies are as numerous as the faithful.
Emmy winner Keith David will play Bishop James Greenleaf, the charming but manipulative leader of Greenleaf World Ministries. Emmy winner Lynn Whitfield will play Bishop’s wife, Lady Mae Greenleaf, a money-loving woman who will do anything to protect her power and her position as the First Lady. Merle Dandridge will portray their estranged daughter, Grace Greenleaf, a disillusioned former preacher who returns home after fleeing her contentious family two decades previously.
Winfrey, who is also exec producing the series, will portray Mavis McCready, the sister of Lady Mae Greenleaf and a close confidante of Grace Greenleaf’s.
The cast also includes Desiree Ross as Grace’s teenage daughter, Sophia; Lamman Rucker (Meet the Browns), Kim Hawthorne (Rake), Deborah Joy Winans (Whitney) and Tye White (American Crime Story).
Winfrey most recently appeared in Ava DuVernay’s “Selma” and is also set to recur in DuVernay’s upcoming OWN drama “Queen Sugar.” Winfrey’s past credits include The Butler, Beloved and The Color Purple, for which she earned an Oscar nomination.
Greenleaf, from Lionsgate TV and “Lost” and “Six Feet Under” alum Craig Wright, will premiere in 2016 on OWN.
