Morris Chestnut has been tapped as the male lead opposite Yaya DaCosta in Fox’s new drama series Our Kind Of People, from writer/executive producer Karin Gist, executive producer Lee Daniels, 20th Television and Fox Entertainment.
For the past two seasons, Chestnut has been a series regular on another Fox/20th TV drama series, The Resident. Morris’ casting in Our Kind Of People is not an indication that The Resident is coming to an end. The medical drama’s Season 5 renewal is expected to come today as Fox unveils its 2021-22 lineup.
I hear Chestnut has fulfilled his contractual obligation to The Resident but tomorrow’s Season 4 finale will not be the last fans see of his Dr. Barrett Cain. Chestnut will continue to appear on the show as a recurring next season. Over the next year, he would actually be juggling three series; Chestnut also is set to reprise his role as Lance Sullivan in the Peacock limited series The Best Man: The Final Chapters.
Written by Gist inspired by Lawrence Otis Graham’s provocative, critically praised book Our Kind of People: Inside America’s Black Upper Class, the drama, which received a straight-to-series order for the 2021-22 season, takes place in the aspirational world of Oak Bluffs on Martha’s Vineyard, a historical stronghold where the rich and powerful black elite have come to play for more than 50 years. Our Kind of People follows strong-willed, single mom Angela Vaughn as she sets out to reclaim her family’s name and make an impact with her revolutionary haircare line that highlights the innate, natural beauty of black women. But she soon discovers a dark secret about her mother’s past that will turn her world upside-down and shake up this community forever.
Chestnut will play Raymond Dupont, Leah’s husband, a powerful man, raised in wealth, he has “Obama swag and presence.” He is a top executive at a food conglomerate, but he has been struggling to revive the company after his white business partner Jack almost tanked the firm through mismanagement. A conscientious father, he is the soft place to land for his daughter. But ignores his son Quincy’s ambitions to become a professional basketball player, something that puts him at sad odds with his son.
Tasha Smith will direct the pilot episode.
Chestnut starred in NBC’s The Enemy Within and Fox’s Rosewood. His most recent films include Screen Gems’ When The Bough Breaks, Sony Pictures’ The Perfect Guy and opposite Robert De Niro in the heist thriller Bus 657. Chestnut is repped by Verve and Link Entertainment.