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Peacock's "The Best Man: The Final Chapters" Premiere Event - Arrivals

Source: Frazer Harrison / Getty

Best Man franchise executive producer and co-showrunner Malcolm D. Lee and Insecure executive producer and co-showrunner Dayna Lynne North, have teamed up to give the culture one of the best gifts this holiday season: THE BEST MAN: THE FINAL CHAPTERS. For the first time in nearly a decade, the iconic cast is on-screen back together again.

Fans of the franchise may remember the cliffhangers left during The Best Man Holiday in 2013. Terrence Howard’s character, Quentin, announced he was getting married though no future Mrs. Spivey was named, Lance, played by Morris Chesnut, was to start a new life without the love of his life, Mia, and Taye Diggs’ Harper was actively writing, including a memoir about Lance called God, Family, and Football.

The final installment of the beloved franchise picks up to show how the relatable relationships, life happenings, and past grievances evolve and resurface into the unpredictable stages of life. Filmed in New York City, Kearny, New Jersey, and the Dominican Republic (no spoilers here), the final chapters will run as a limited drama series featuring eight hour-long episodes exclusively on Peacock. Girl’s Trip and Best Man Holiday costume designer, Danielle Hollowell managed the clothing throughout scenes and locations, and hip-hop

Favorites Morris Chestnut, Melissa De Sousa, Taye Diggs, Regina Hall, Terrence Howard, Sanaa Lathan, Nia Long and Harold Perrineau, have all returned to finish the story. Other actors joining them this December are Nicole Ari Parker, Ron Canada, Terrence Terrell, Monica Calhoun, Brandon Victor Dixon, and Yvonna Pearson.

Ahead of the series premiere, HelloBeautiful sat down and spoke via Zoom with Lee, North, and members of the cast. All were in good spirits during the press tour, smiling and joking with each other, hanging on each other’s words, and eager to share what the new series meant to them, their careers, and Black culture.

“I hope that seeing Black people who are educated and upwardly mobile is a normal thing and that we have normalized Black life in America,” said Lee donning black-rimmed glasses. (Earlier that day he polled his Instagram audience on whether to wear the lenses). “It has always been my goal to do that and to have anyone who watches it – Black, White, Latino, Asian – relate to these characters because these are all universal themes that we deal with.”

North agreed with the need for more representation. Known for authentic storytelling through the hit show Insecure and her own social media campaign #BeLoudSis, North is anticipated to bring an even fresher perspective to the screen.

“Much like it was on my previous series Insecure, friendship as the foundation is also a core theme … It was also important to me to, not only broaden the series POV to include more of the women characters’ perspective but to also tackle issues of gender and identity. I’m proud to play a part in moving these stories and characters forward.”

“Malcom and I were both very intentional starting with our writer’s room,” North added as she smiled wearing a red lipstick shade that perfectly matched her brown skin tone. “We thought about who’s telling these stories and who do we want to tell the stories … we had an all-Black writer’s room. We had Black people telling Black stories from a Black point of view. It was really important to us.”

In addition to diversified perspectives and voices, audiences can expect to feel a gamut of emotions next week. Sitting next to cast member, Morris Chesnut, in a black turtleneck and long brown and blond highlighted tresses, Regina Hall expounded on the upcoming episodes. “The Best Man is always a combination of the things that really make you laugh, that are familiar, that are nostalgic, and then the things that shock you, that are like ‘oh no,’ that happen in real life. This [series] has that element to that.”

A “hilarious ride where familiar characters deal with their own journeys through parenting, activism, old love, new love and the complexities of being Black in 21st Century America,” THE BEST MAN: THE FINAL CHAPTERS premieres next Wednesday, December 22 on Peacock. What better way to kick off the holiday season with a watch party?

Get your first look at THE BEST MAN: THE FINAL CHAPTERS below.

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