Saints & Sinners (2016 TV series)

Saints & Sinners is an American prime time television soap opera that aired on Bounce TV March 6, 2016 until May 22, 2022. Starring Vanessa Bell Calloway, Clifton Powell, Keith Robinson, Christian Keyes, and Gloria Reuben. The series was the first original drama produced by the African-American-oriented television network Bounce TV and was a ratings success, running for six seasons.

Premise
The series follows the daily lives of members of a Baptist church in a small town in Georgia. The destinies of Pastor Darryl Greene (David Banner) and the choir director (Keith Robinson) will be crossed with those of Lady Ella Johnson (Vanessa Bell Calloway).

Production
On May 7, 2015, Bounce TV announced that it had ordered a new original drama, Saints & Sinners, from independent production company Swirl Films to premiere in 2016. The series serves as the first original drama commissioned by the African-American-oriented digital television network, whose previous originals were sitcoms. Saints & Sinners has been compared to the Oprah Winfrey Network drama series Greenleaf, which is also set at an African-American run church and was produced in Atlanta at the same time.

The eight-episode first season began filming in Atlanta, Georgia in January 2016. On January 12, 2016, Vanessa Bell Calloway, Gloria Reuben, Clifton Powell, Richard Lawson, Keith Robinson, Christian Keyes, Jasmine Burke, J. D. Williams, and Afemo Omilami were announced as main cast members of the series. The pilot was directed by filmmaker Jerry Lamothe. Principal photography ended February 25, 2016. To promote the series, Bounce TV allowed affiliates who carry the network on a digital subchannel to air an encore of the series premiere on their main channels. On April 13, 2016, the show was renewed for a second season that premiered on March 5, 2017. Bounce announced on January 22, 2019, via their Twitter account that the show was renewed for a fourth season, set to premiere on July 7, 2019. On August 11, 2020, the series was renewed for a fifth season and a stand-alone film was also announced. The series followed up with a made-for-TV movie titled Saints & Sinners: Judgment Day which aired February 14, 2021 on Bounce TV. On February 2, 2022, the series was renewed for a sixth and final season which premiered on April 3, 2022. Its final episode aired on May 22, 2022.

Main

 * Vanessa Bell Calloway as Lady Ella Johnson, First Lady of Greater Hope Baptist Church and new Mayor
 * Gloria Reuben as the Mayor Pamela Clayborne (Seasons 1, 2), Cypress Mayor
 * Christian Keyes as Levi Sterling (Season 1–3; Guest, Season 4–6), a member of Greater Hope Baptist Church and close friend of Christie
 * Jasmine Burke as Dr. Christie Johnson, Ella's daughter
 * Clifton Powell as Rex Fisher
 * Keith Robinson as Miles Calloway, church choir director and secret love interest of Christie
 * J. D. Williams as Jabari Morris, a long time friend of Ella and church member and Paige's husband.
 * David Banner as Pastor Darryl Greene, a pastor at Ella's church
 * Tray Chaney as Kendrick Murphy
 * Demetria McKinney (Season 1–4) and Ashani Roberts (Season 5–6) as Tamara Austin/Tamara Austin Callaway, Miles wife and rival of Ella and Christie
 * Lisa Arrindell as Rebecca Jourdan
 * Emilio Rivera as Officer Francisco Cooper, a Cypress police officer
 * Afemo Omilami as Detective Noah St. Charles
 * Donna Biscoe as Lady Leona Byrd

Recurring

 * Dawn Halfkenny as Angela Parks
 * Jonny Hazen as Vice Det. Mario Rodriguez
 * Kendrick Cross as Ben Truman
 * Chris Gann as Travis Ford
 * Sarafina King Rachel
 * Maria Howell as Lt. Hawkins
 * Tony Vaughn as Vernon
 * Richard Lawson as Pastor Evan Johnson, Ella's husband and Christie's father
 * Summer Parker as Savannah Sterling
 * Jeff Rose as Chief Herman Douglas
 * Neil Carter as Maxwell Wallace
 * Karlie Redd as Paige Morris, Jabari's wife
 * Chelle Ramos as Detective Josephine Alvarez
 * Jevon "Vawn" Sims as T.K.
 * Mara Hall as Caledonia Kendall
 * L. Warren Young as Zeke
 * Dorothy Steel as Mother Harris
 * Robin Givens as Wilhelmina Hayworth
 * Keke Wyatt as Lady Azia Greene
 * Kaye Singleton as Josie
 * Patrice Fisher as Stacia Cunningham (Season 2–5) & Anna (Season 6)
 * Anthony Dalton (Season 3) and Karon Riley (Season 4–5) as Malik Thompson
 * Tami Roman (Season 4) and Lisa Wu (Season 5) as Felicia Thompson
 * Gregalan Willams (Season 5) as Victor Thompson
 * Michael Anthony (Season 6) as Ray Ray

Television movie
Saints & Sinners announced they would air an all new original made-for-TV film titled Saints & Sinners: Judgement Day, which aired on Bounce TV, Valentine's Day, 2021. The movie chronicles the events that ended in season 4, leading into season 5 which aired in April 2021.

Reception
Saints & Sinners has received mixed to positive reviews from critics, but became a breakthrough series for Bounce TV, and their most-watched program ever since it launched. The first episode earned 1.3 million viewers, and in second week it drew 1.5 million viewers.

Robert Lloyd of Los Angeles Times wrote that "An engaging cast compensates for a multitude of dramatic or technical sins, and where it doesn’t, it usually makes them entertaining." Ashly Moran of TV Insider praised the cast chemistry and strong female characters, comparing the show's drama and use of music to FOX's Empire.