Morris Chestnut Stars In A New Fox Drama Series

Morris Chestnut has been cast as the male lead opposite Yaya DaCosta in Fox’s new drama series Our Kind Of People, from writer/executive producer Karin Gist and executive producer Lee Daniels. Tasha Smith will direct the pilot episode. 

Chestnut has been a series regular on another Fox/20th TV drama series, The Resident, for the show’s past two seasons. The medical drama received a Season 5 renewal Monday (May 17) from Fox.

Chestnut has fulfilled his contractual obligation to The Resident, but Tuesday’s (May 18) Season 4 finale will not be the last fans see of his character Dr. Barrett Cain. Chestnut will continue to appear on the show as a recurring next season. Chestnut also is set to reprise his role as Lance Sullivan in the Peacock limited series The Best Man: The Final Chapters, reported Deadline.

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According to Deadline, the new drama was 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 hair care line that highlights the innate, natural beauty of Black women. However, 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. However, he ignores his son Quincy’s ambitions to become a professional basketball player, something that puts him at sad odds with his son.