Yolanda Adams and Serayah have been tapped to star in Kingdom Business, a music-driven drama executive produced by DeVon Franklin (Miracles From Heaven), Holly Carter (The Clark Sisters: The First Ladies of Gospel), multi-Grammy-award-winner Kirk Franklin and Michael Van Dyck.
Written by John Sakmar and Kerry Lenhart, co-creators of Mr. & Mrs. Smith the series, the eight-episode Kingdom Business explores the gospel music industry through the lenses of family, faith, love and the redemptive power of music.
The series will be led by Adams as the reigning “Queen of Gospel” Denita Jordan and Serayah as Rbel, a talented up-and-coming gospel star with a troubled past who threatens Denita’s crown. In addition to their leading roles, both Adams and Serayah will be featured in musical performances.
SOURCE: Deadline.com
Michael Jai White also stars as Julius “Caesar” Jones, a powerful producer and Denita’s former collaborator turned rival; Michael Beach as Calvin Jordan, Denita’s husband and Bishop of First Kingdom Church; and Chaundre A. Hall-Broomfield as Taj Jordan, the son of Calvin and Denita and the apple of his mother’s eye.
The series follows Denita (Adams), a gospel superstar who runs an in-house record label, Kingdom Records, in addition to acting as First Lady of First Kingdom Church, who is determined to guard her family and its many secrets at all cost. Just as Denita is enjoying the fruits of her labor, the world she’s worked so hard to put together begins to unravel when an unexpected contender in the gospel music scene threatens her status. Rbel (Serayah) is a young woman on the rise whose checkered past as an exotic dancer is no match for her destiny to turn the gospel world on its head with her new-found voice.
Recurring cast includes Tamar Braxton as Sasha, La’Miya Good as Essence, Aspen Kennedy as Zyan, Kiandra Richardson as C.J. Jordan-Walker, Kajuana Shuford Marie as Dani and Sam Malone as Dex.
Lenhart and Sakmar executive produce with Carter, founder of Relevé Entertainment; DeVon Franklin, CEO of Franklin Entertainment; Kirk Franklin, multi-Grammy-award-winner and Chairman & CEO of Fo Yo Soul Entertainment, who also serves as the show’s executive music producer; and Michael Van Dyck, founder of Inspired Entertainment. The series is produced by DAELight Media.
The series is currently in production in Atlanta and will air exclusively on BET+ next year.
Known known as the Queen of Contemporary Gospel Music, Adams has sold nearly 10 million albums worldwide, with some achieving multi-platinum status. She has won four Grammy Awards, five BET Awards, six NAACP Image Awards, six Soul Train Music Awards, two BMI Awards and 16 Stellar Awards, among others. She was the first Gospel artist to be awarded an American Music Award. She made her acting debut in 2009 on BET’s The Mo’Nique Show. Adams is repped by XXX.
Best known for her breakout role as Tiana Brown in Fox’s Empire, Serayah recurs on Starz’s Black Mafia Family and recently starred in the feature films Envy and Favorite Son. She also plays a recurring arc on Netflix’s True Story opposite Kevin Hart and Wesley Snipes. Serayah is repped by Pantheon, Stride Management and attorney Barry Littman.
