Greenleaf

I love Greenleaf because it isnt too serious, the storylines are dramatic but not to dark. Its a nice break from reality, yes some bits may be abit unrealistic but I enjoy it and will continue to watch it!

The story of a Southern mega-church headed by a family of sly hypocrites. Living in luxury and wielding influence how deep does the spirituality they claim really run? Are their sins products of their own human frailty exacerbated by a difficult world? Or are they bad people pretending to be holy?

It is about time a TV series dealt with the world of organized, profit-motivated religious organizations. A night-time soap take on an African-American mega-church in the Deep South is a novel approach to that telling the stories of people that have not yet been properly told in a fictional construct.

But my praise ends there. A solid cast in an interesting setting largely goes wasted in teleplay scripts so inept that they look like film school dropouts wrote them.

I love night-time soaps. I like the idea for this show as well as the story and the characters and the angle they take in relating the narrative. It is an imagined glimpse into a secret world of powerful people who profess piety and modesty but can't live it and we get to see them at their best and worst. I want to see it get multiple seasons.

But the scripts have to get better. They need to be outlined better and the dialogue needs to be more subtle in relaying information as well as doing so in a natural manner in which real people speak. So far they have tried to cram too much information in each sentence

This is a soap opera with the theme about the workings of a Black church. It has all the trappings of a day or nighttime soap, the woeful background music, the long, lingering glances and stares between the characters, everyone is beautiful or handsome, all walk around fully made up, even when they wake up in the mornings, etc. The dialog is "soapy", as are the sets that are filled with flowers, no matter the home in which the scene is set. It's clearly made for a G rating. As the "seasons" progress, it becomes more "soapy" and less interesting, making it really difficult to stay engaged. The story lines and intrigue lessens to the point of becoming a very watered down version of where it all started. Season 5 is basically a hurried attempt to wrap things up neatly, make sure everyone has a happy ending, and show a lot of "woman power". Not surprising since this was the focus of the "O" network. What on earth was the point of this other than to fill a slot on the "O" Network?

There is heart in this show. Now, as an atheist I would expect that the religious aspect of the show would bother me at some point, but it doesnt. If you like dramas, and House of Cards-esque settings, this might be your thing. It really is a great show. Not perfect, but if you get into the storylines, it will keep you hooked till the very end.

I was prepared to be bored by this series but have been pleasantly surprised.The story lines of each of the characters are seemingly innocent but, become more complex with each episode.

Lynn Whitfield, as always, holds her own as the matriarch of this family whose members seem filled with discontent over the familial pecking order decided by their father. Oprah Winfrey is surprisingly okay as the family rebel aunt who wants to use her niece to bring down her shady brother.

It has, so far, delivered enough shock value to make it entertaining after 3 episodes.