*It’s the end of an era for “The Best Man” cast and crew as the new Peacock Series will mark the end of the beloved franchise.
Based upon the eponymous Universal film franchise written and directed by Malcolm D. Lee, “The Best Man: The Final Chapters” will catch up with Harper, Robyn, Jordan, Lance, Quentin, Shelby, Candace, and Murch as relationships evolve and past grievances resurface in the unpredictable stages of midlife crisis meets midlife renaissance, per the official news release.
The series sees the return of many of the stars of the original 1999 film and the 2013 sequel “The Best Man: Holiday,” including Morris Chestnut, Melissa De Sousa, Taye Diggs, Regina Hall, Terrence Howard, Sanaa Lathan, Nia Long, and Harold Perrineau. Fast forward to 2022, 9 years later and the cast is back together again, and this time around it’s for an 8-part series filled with lots of comedy, drama and most importantly love.
As the cast prepares to say their final goodbye, Howard noted at the LA premiere that the event was like going to a funeral. “30 years,” he said on the red carpet. “This is officially almost 30 years in this thing. How did it happen so quickly?”
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One thing is for certain, the saga may be ending but the characters will live on forever.
“The characters never leave you,” Howard said. “Once you touch it, it’s like water. It leaves a memory in you. It’s waiting for an opportunity to be awakened again.”
As far as whether the franchise is really ending, according to “The Best Man” creator Malcolm D. Lee, it is.
“It’s the end as far as I’m concerned,” Lee said. “I have no other stories to tell with these characters. I think we’ve done a good job of telling these stories. I think we’re in good place.”
When asked to describe the upcoming series in one word, Lee said, “Final.”
If the success of the preceding films is anything to go by, “The Best Man: The Final Chapters,” will leave an imprint on the culture as well.
“We came in, it was a fresh concept,” Chestnut said. “It was very refreshing to the industry. So it just feels good to be here.”
Perrineau also spoke on what fans can expect from his character Murch this time around.
“Murch is still Murch,” Perrineau said. “He’s the nicest guy you ever seen. He really loves his wife. He loves his family. This year some stuff happens, it’s gonna be a little change.”
When it comes to portraying any other character in the series aside, Perrineau’s answer may shock fans.
“If I could, but I know I can’t, I’d be Quentin [Howard’s character],” Perrineau said. “I would be that character but I’m not cool enough to be that character.”
Other celebrities in attendance at the recent LA premiere included Tina Knowles-Lawson, Showrunner Dayna Lynne North, Executive Producer Dominique Telson, Casting Director Robi Reed, cast newcomer Terrence Terrell who plays Will and is Nia Long’s love interest, Stephen A. Smith and his daughter Samantha A. Smith who stars as Kellie, Lance Gross, LaRon Hines, Ginuine, Porscha Coleman, Luenell, Shantel/ Miss Jackson, J. August Richards, and more.
“Just seeing all of the cast,” Knowles-Lawson said. “And to see if the characters get married like they’re supposed to. They kind of left us hanging the last time. I’m just excited to be here. Whatever they do I’m going to be very happy with it because it’s just such a part of our culture.”
The after-party took place immediately following the screening of episode one and featured performances from Ginuwine and R&B group 112 who appear on the first “The Best Man” soundtrack.
It seems as though long-time fans of “The Best Man” will be happy with the upcoming series and although Malcolm says he has no more stories to tell with these characters, the show may end on another cliffhanger.
“Let people still want more,” he said.
“The Best Man: Final Chapters” debut December 22 on Peacock.
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