Saints & Sinners is an American prime time television soap opera that aired on Bounce TV from 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.
Contents
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.
Cast
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.
Episodes
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.
