Merle Dandridge On 'The Flight Attendant' And That Mysterious 'Greenleaf' Spinoff

In their new comedy-drama thriller, HBO Max has reimagined Chris Bohjalian's The Flight Attendant for the small-screen. The compelling miniseries follows Cassie Bowmen (Kaley Cuoco), a first-class flight attendant who wakes up hungover in a swanky Bangkok hotel room with a dead man next to her. As Cassie tries to piece together the previous evening, she attempts to go on about her life as if nothing happened. As her co-workers and good friends, Shane (Griffin Matthews) and Megan (Rosie Perez) become increasingly suspicious; the FBI begins putting their case together. 

Tasked to solve this murder mystery, Greenleaf alum Merle Dandridge stars as FBI agent Kim Hammond, a whip-smart woman who suffers no fools and has even less patience for Cassie's convoluted story. Ahead of The Flight Attendant's debut on HBO MAX, Shadow and Act chatted with Dandridge about the series' twists and turns, and why portraying Kim has been a breath of fresh air. 

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Lovie Simone Has Charisma—In Spades: EXCLUSIVE

When you’re able to make a name for yourself amongst legends like Lynn Whitfield and Keith David–it’s clear that you have an effervescent spirit. Lovie Simone has starred on the hit OWN series, Greenleaf since 2016 as the charismatic and rebellious Zora Greenleaf.  But now, the 20-year-old is more than ready to show the world that portraying Zora is only the tip of the iceberg. With a slew of films debuting soon and an iconic casting announcement, Lovie’s name is exploding around Hollywood.

In addition to Greenleaf–Simone’s forthcoming film, All Rise based on Walter Dean Myers’ National Book Award-winning novel Monster is slated to hit theaters in November. Also, her Sundance hit, Selah and The Spades where she stars opposite Emmy-winner Jharrel Jerome will premiere on Amazon soon. With all of this happening amid Season 4 of Greenleaf, Lovie is one busy woman.

However, the New York native is just taking it all in. Recently, STYLECASTER sat down to chat with Simone about why she left fashion school for acting, Zora’s Season 4 journey, playing the bad girl in Selah, and her bewitching upcoming project.

“I’m very into fashion, but not in the mainstream sense,” Simone revealed about why she left the fashion industry for acting. “But I do feel like acting is for me because it’s not just one perspective that I get to grasp and understand. There are so many characters and so many people that you have to go through and figure out their gray areas. It’s not the white and black that you normally encounter when you come into contact with strangers.”

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Antonio J. Bell On The Dazzling Tribeca Selection, 'Nigerian Prince,' Navigating Lagos And Unraveling His Roots

To be black American is to be at once deeply rooted in and wholly disconnected from the continent of Africa. For first generation black Americans whose parents immigrated to the States from places like Nigeria, Ghana and Senegal, it can feel even more disconcerting. There is an understanding of the culture and the language, yet there is still a sense of division-- even among family. In 2017, writer/director Faraday Okoro received a $1 million grant from the inaugural AT&T’s Untold Stories program to produce his film Nigerian Prince. Set on the bustling streets of Lagos, Nigeria, Nigerian Prince follows Eze (portrayed by Antonio J. Bell), a sullen and internet addicted American teen who is shipped off to his parents' homeland after acting out at school. Evocative of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air in an alternative universe, Eze finds himself adrift and under the care of his fearsome and determined Aunt Grace (Tina Mba). Determined to return home, Eze teams up with his captivating cousin Pius (newcomer Chinaza Uche), who just happens to be one of Lagos’ biggest con-artists.

For Bell, Nigerian Prince was a way to embrace his heritage and to stretch within his craft. “Funny enough, it was just like any other part," Bell said of his feature lead debut. "I auditioned for it. It was actually a busy week; I had like four or five other auditions on the same day. I was like, ‘I'm not getting this one.’ I’m not Nigerian; I’d never been anywhere near Africa. But I read for it, and I heard back like three days later and got a callback. Then I got another, and I spoke to Faraday and everybody, and I was signed onto the contract. It was really crazy."

Though family, connections and the true meaning of home are central themes in this humorous but intense film, scheming remains central. In Nigerian Prince, Prius has his hands in way more than a simple email scam. I asked Bell if he’d heard of the Nigerian prince emails or if he’d ever fallen victim to one. “Well it's funny because the year before I was buying an iPad for my daughter," he said laughing. “And there was a PayPal thing ... I was trying to pay somebody, but there was no PayPal account or website. It was like some kind of knockoff one from Africa. It was weird, nothing added up. When I figured out it wasn't real, I called PayPal. So I was aware of it loosely, but I didn't know what they were called before we did the movie."

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Interview: 'Greenleaf's Deborah Joy Winans

It has been a whirlwind season thus far for the Greenleaf family and their sprawling Memphis megachurch, Calvary. The return of their eldest daughter Grace (Merle Dandridge) last year, turned their world upside down, so much so that the Greenleaf family tree split at the root. Jacob (Lamman Rucker) left the fold to begin his new career with long-time rival church Triumph, while Grace has been steadfast in her desire to seek vengeance against her Uncle Mac (GregAlan Williams). And yet, more than any other character this season, the youngest Greenleaf sibling, Charity Greenleaf-Satterlee has had to find her footing. With the loss of a baby and her marriage coming to a screeching halt, Charity has had to find her inner strength and truly blossom this season. Determined to step into her own, she’s had to make some extremely tough decisions while forging a new path for herself. Recently, I spoke with Deborah Joy Winans who plays Charity about her character's stunning arc. We discussed her character's choices, Winans' apprehension towards singing, that insane mid-season finale and where we’ll find the newly-single Charity once "Greenleaf" returns this summer.

Aramide Tinubu: Let’s talk about the origins of “Greenleaf.” What was that like getting the call that you booked the series?

Deborah Joy Winans: Oh my goodness! I received the call that I got the part while I was walking from Trader Joe's on Vine, between Sunset and Hollywood. I literally was in the middle of the street crying my eyes out. Anytime you've worked so hard for something, and you set a high goal, and then for something to come through in that sort of way, it does something for your soul. I was in tears. My brother, my sister and my husband were there. We just hollered in the street. We danced. We did it all.

AT: How wonderful! Knowing who you family is and your background with gospel music, were you at all apprehensive about "Greenleaf's" subject matter since there are so many different layers to the story surrounding the Black church?

DJW: I think that I knew that I was supposed to do it because of how everything came about. I think anytime we talk about church or talk about people's faith or talk about anything that may seem taboo, everyone is apprehensive. I think everybody is sort of, "How far do we go, how much do we pull back?" There is always a constant checking and re-checking. There is a “What do we write? How does this work?” My hat goes off to the writers for being able to find all these nuances and all of these layered stories for these characters, that the audience can relate to. And, they can also feel the drama that is TV. They can read between the lines. I think that we all care so much about how people receive that we work hard to make sure it comes across as sincere and true and authentic.

AT: Though Charity is a singer, and your family is so huge in the singing world, I read that you have never been passionate about it. Have you grown more fond of singing because of your character or is acting your true passion?

DJW: Oh yeah, I've never loved singing. (Laughing) I have never loved it; I never wanted to do it. I love my family, I love their music, I'm a total fan, but singing was never anything that I loved to do. Acting has been my goal since I was a child. My parents would take us to double feature movies on the weekends, and I would just point at the screen and tell them that that's what I wanted to do. That's what I pursued, I went to college, and I got my BFA at Wayne State University in Detroit where I'm from, “313 stand up!” (Laughing) Then I moved to LA, got my MFA from Cal Arts and just continued to pursue it. There were a lot of times where it seemed like it wouldn't happen or it couldn't happen, a lot of times where I had doubt and wondered, "God is this where you've called me to be?" But, once you prepare, you work hard, and then you surrender the rest to God. I think once I got to that point of surrendering the rest to God and I said: "Look, if this is what you want me to do God, I feel like I've done my part, you have to open the door." That's what he did.

Sparks Fly in Tonight's 'Greenleaf' Mid-Season Finale

The first half of the second season of “Greenleaf” has been a rollercoaster ride, to say that least. Though the series centers around a Black mega church and the family at the heart of it, it also tackles subjects like sexual abuse, infidelity, corruption and sexuality. Unfortunately, these are topics that the Black church has traditionally shied away from discussing, choosing instead to ignore things or sweep them under the rug entirely. As a firm believer of opening up about pain in order to heal it, I believe that OWN and “Greenleaf” have created a platform through art and entertainment for these ideas, thoughts, and values to be expressed and discussed. “Greenleaf” not only gives a holistic representation of the Black church and the people within those communities, but it often portrays people with issues that might prevent them from actually attending church. Grace Greenleaf (Merle Dandridge) anchors the series. Returning home after her sister Faith commits suicide, she tried the to find the proper path to take down her Uncle Mac (Gregory Alan Williams) who sexually abused Faith. Unfortunately, Grace learns that Faith wasn’t the only young girl that Mac abused. Despite the evidence mounted against him, she’s been unable to get any charges to stick. Blinded by rage and revenge, Grace who’d been finding her way back to the pulpit as a head preacher at the family’s Calvary Baptist Church seems to be losing her faith once more. Her anger and lack of belief continues to drive a wedge between herself and her parents, particularly her mother, Lady Mae (Lynn Whitfield).

Despite her outwardly poised disposition, Lady Mae has her own secrets and burdens to carry. Still deeply hurt by her own painful and abusive relationship with her father, Lady Mae can’t seem to see eye to eye with her eldest daughter. We also learned this season, that Lady Mae had an extramarital affair that isn’t as dead and buried as she had hoped. Though she thinks her husband, Bishop James Greenleaf (Keith David) is oblivious, the Greenleaf patriarch sees a lot more than he’s letting on. Things have been particularly precarious for Lady Mae since her ex- flame's son Aaron (William H. Bryant) moved into the Greenleaf mansion and snagged a postion at the church as their new attorney.

Though Bishop James always doted upon and indulged Grace, she has pushed him to his limit this season. As he struggles with a recent Parkinson’s diagnosis, he has yet to repair his deeply fractured relationship with his son Jacob (Lamman Rucker). After Grace’s arrival home, the tension between father and son was too much to bear. As a result, Jacob packed his family up, left the Greenleaf mansion and Calvary for a position at a rival church, Triumph. Since his move, Jacob has found himself in the clutches of fast-talking and conniving head pastor, Basie Skanks (Jason Dirden).

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'Greenleaf' S2/E7 Recap: Everyone Is Unhinged

It's been exactly one year since Faith Greenleaf took her own life and Grace returned to Memphis, her family, and Calvary. Yet, there has been no real healing during this time. All of the suffering and secrets that led to Faith’s tragic end have finally exploded, sweeping everyone in the Greenleaf family away in a tsunami of grief and pain. As the day of Faith’s memorial approaches, Grace is having nightmares about her Uncle Mac. She’s no longer able to keep her composure, and it irks her to no end that her parents aren’t taking action against him. However, everyone grieves differently. Lady Mae and Bishop are at their wit's end as well, not just with trying to process the loss of their youngest daughter but also with Grace who can’t seem to let it go. Like oil and water, Grace and her mother clash, with Lady Mae revealing her terrible secret about her relationship with her abusive father. Too clouded by her own anger, Grace doesn’t pick up on it, but Bishop does.

Meanwhile, Mac has resurfaced. With the time to take any action against him regarding his case running out, he’s attempting to restart his life by bribing Memphis’ Deputy Mayor for a job. He's also trying to weasel his way back into the Greenleaf’s lives. He even has a new boo, Loraine who instead of trusting her gut about Mac, seems too thrilled to have a man. She really needs to get a clue.

With Faith’s memorial closing in on her and her opportunity to get Mac back in jail slipping through her fingers, Grace finally receives her last lifeline from the detective she reached out to earlier this season. If you recall last season while living in his old building, Mac befriended a troubled young girl named, Michaela Reese. In their report, the police noted that Mac seemed to have some sort of relationship with the girl, but they never followed up. Grace does their job for them. Though Michaela is adamant that Mac never laid a hand on her, we know their relationship was still not appropriate. Michaela reaches out to Ma to let him know about Grace’s visit. Expecting the same listening ear that she has grown accustomed to, its obvious that Mac’s brush off hurts her feelings. Michaela might just blow this whole case against Mac wide open.

Jacob Asserts Himself & Grace Loses Her Way In 'Greenleaf's "Point Of No Return" (Season 2, Episode 5 Recap)

“Point Of No Return” finds the two older Greenleaf children in polar opposite stages of their lives. Jacob, who has previously struggled to find his footing not just within his family, but also as a head Pastor at Triumph, has finally found his voice and he’s not about to be silenced any time soon. In contrast, Grace seems to have lost both her faith and her calling as she continues to feel paralyzed by her Uncle Mac’s freedom. Her daughter, Sophia’s newfound relationship with the Lord, doesn’t even revive her. Though Jacob is finally standing on his two feet, things aren’t exactly going well in his new home or at Triumph. He and Kerissa’s bungalow has some major electrical issues among other things, and Kerissa is fed up. While she attempts to get their home life in order, Jacob finds himself standing up to his parents and Triumph’s lead Pastor, Basie Skanks. He’s determined that this is a new chapter in his life, and he’s going to make the most of it. Jacob even tells Grace that he’s not going to sit back and pretend that her returning home, didn’t upend his entire life. Despite his enthusiasm and determination, it looks like Jacob’s plans are about to be thwarted in a very big way. Not only have the Greenleafs issued an injunction against Triumph 2.0, but Kerissa also discovers through Pastor Skanks’ wife Tasha, that everything might not be on the up and up when it comes to Triumph’s financials. (I wonder how they paid Kirk Franklin to perform.) Whatever they’ve gotten themselves into is probably going to be really bad. By the way, I’m finally starting to like Kerissa; it took long enough.

While Jacob is standing tall, Grace is wilting. As the episode opens, Sophia catches her mama sneaking in from being with Darius in the wee-hours of the morning, and later, a wedding that Grace is supposed to be officiating crumbles around her. Though the would-be bride is obviously a head case, Grace takes the demise of the relationship to heart, and her internal struggle with her faith seems to have her at an all-time low. Unlike before, there is no option for her to run, so at some point, she’s going to have to confront her feelings head on. I think prayer was a good first step.

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'Greenleaf' Confronts Old Friends & Even Older Wounds In "Revival" (Season 2, Episode 2 Recap)

From her sadistic relationship with her father Henry to her torrid affair with a family friend, it appears that Lady Mae’s secrets run deep. Ahead of Calvary’s annual revival, Bishop James calls on his friend, Bishop Lionel Jeffrey (Tim Reid), to attend and preach in front of the congregation. Nothing seems amiss until we witness the look between Bishop Jeffrey and Lady Mae as soon as he crosses the threshold of the Greenleaf mansion. It was a mixture of both hatred and lust, and I knew then that whatever happened between the two of them, which was so passionate that they actually considered running off together, isn’t buried as deep in the past as they might like it to be. I also don’t entirely trust Bishop Jeffrey. While he seems to be keeping up appearances, the presence of his son, Aaron, definitely caused me to raise my eyebrows. Bishop James and Lady Mae are still desperate to squash Pastor Skanks and Jacob from erecting Triumph 2.0. It just seems all too convenient (even for TV) that Bishop Jeffery’s son Aaron has the solution to their problem. With one call from his father, Aaron comes to town to file an injunction on the construction of Triumph 2.0 with the hopes that Jacob and Skanks will give up on building the new church. Still, Aaron’s presence alone wasn’t the only thing that raised the alarm for me. The fact that Bishop James is so willing to let Aaron move into Jacob’s old quarters made we wonder if he didn’t have some inkling of Lady Mae’s affair with Bishop Jeffrey. There is something much more sinister happening here. I don’t know if Bishop Jeffrey has just sent his son to spy on Lady Mae or if Aaron knows about their affair or what, but things jut aren’t adding up.

Charity and Kevin’s relationship was also at the center of “Revival,” but it looks like there will be no resurrecting their marriage. With a sexy new bob and her music producer giving her the eye, Charity is ready to pull the plug on her relationship, and I can’t say that I blame her. Her look of horror when Kevin tried to come on to her made me laugh and cringe at the same time. Though they have decided that their marriage over, the duo has chosen to keep it under wraps for now. Hopefully, that means Kevin will refrain from taking that toxic poison he was given by his support group to combat “impure thoughts.” Overall, I’m not too worried about these two, they are still really good friends, so perhaps their split won’t be volatile. Hopefully, this will be an opportunity for Kevin to finally be true to himself.

Bishop and Lady Mae aren’t the only one’s getting in touch with old friends. One of Grace’s girlhood friends Rebecca, a fellow Pastor has come to visit for the revival. She and Grace reminisce over old times and Rebecca bonds with Sophia, who seems to be in search of something of her own in the wake of  Zora’s absence. Seeing Rebecca also brings forth old memories for GG. Back in the day, Grace, Faith, Rebecca, and Charity had a singing group called Mystic, and seeing her sister on those old tapes reinvigorates Grace’s desire to do something about the fact that Uncle Mac is just out here in these streets.

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A War Is Brewing On 'Greenleaf' -- Unpacking Season 2, Episode 3 With 5 Questions That Need Answers

Though it had a few hilariously shady moments and a couple of revelations, season 2, episode three of “Greenleaf” (titled “A Mother’s Love”) mostly felt like filler. To be fair, I believe that this episode is setting us up for the next several episodes, which are probably going to be jaw dropping. The episode opens with Grace getting a troubling phone call. She rushes to the hospital, and we find out that Danielle, the young girl Grace was able to convince to come forward and testify against her Uncle Mac for sexual assault, has tried to kill herself. Somehow (even though she’s a minor) her name has been leaked to the public, and the students at her high school are making her life a living hell. The young girl can’t seem to understand why Mac is still out roaming the streets as a free man and neither can I. Seeing Danielle again shocks Grace into action. We know that she’s been littering Mac’s new neighborhood with sex-offender fliers, but after seeing Danielle, it looks like Grace is finally ready to go to war.

Away from his mama and the Greenleaf mansion for the first time in his life, Jacob is finally standing on his own two feet. Desperate to get her son to return home, Lady Mae tells Jacob that Pastor Skanks is out for revenge. She reveals to him that Skanks is the son of the caretaker who died in the church fire. Jacob doesn’t seem all that concerned; he is determined to press forward carving out a path for himself away from his family, even if it is under Skanks’ direction. However, that doesn’t mean he’s going to be a puppet. When Skanks tries to convince Jacob to go con a wealthy dying woman out of her money for some costly unforeseen work on the Triumph 2.0 site, Jacob sticks to his scruples. For the first time, he’s also super present at home scolding his teenage daughter Zora, after she sneaks out of the church to hang out with the worship singer Isaiah. Jacob might survive all of this after all, but I can’t say the same for his wife, Kerissa.

Kerrisa is just miserable. But, what else is new? Though Pastor Skanks’ wife desperately tries to befriend her and offer her help with decorating their new home, the Ice Queen is having none of it. When Grace visits Jacob and Kerrisa’s new house to offer some well wishes, Kerissa flat out tells her that she and Jacob wouldn’t even be there if Grace hadn’t come home. Whatever happened to that teacher who was grinning in Kerrisa’s face? Perhaps she needs to give him a call. Either way, Pastor Skanks’ wife and Kerissa are definitely going to have some words in the future, and it will probably get really ugly.

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Will 'Greenleaf' Take A Stand For The LGBTQ Community? Recapping Episode 2, 'Strange Bedfellows'

In episode 2, “Strange Bedfellows”, the Greenleafs are moving in all different directions. Jacob is determined to move out of the Greenleaf mansion and take charge as the head pastor at Triumph’s second location. However, Lady Mae wants Bishop to talk to him about Pastor Skanks claiming to be the son of Darryl, the deceased caretaker who was killed in the arson James committed years ago. Both Lady Mae and Bishop are puzzled by the claim, since they only remember Darryl having daughters. Meanwhile, Jacob’s transition to Triumph isn’t going quite as smoothly as he would like. Skanks demands that Jacob go door to door in Calvary territory, telling folks about Triumph’s new location. It feels like a cheap move to Jacob, but he does it anyway. In the midst of this, Pastor Skanks’ wife finally shows Kerissa the home she and Jacob will be moving their family into. Kerissa is LESS THAN impressed, and I couldn’t stop laughing.

Despite the upcoming move, Sophia and Zora are still two peas in a pod (for now). Sophia has her sights set on a Triumph singer named Isaiah Hambrick, and the girls plot and plan to attend his rehearsal. The only trouble is, when they arrive, Isaiah only has eyes for Zora. This is going to be bad!

The younger girls aren’t the only ones who are trying to figure out their love lives. I guess Grace’s ex-flame Noah has officially gone back to his fiancée. However, Grace has caught the attention of a journalist by the name of Darius Nash (Hey Rick Fox!). If you recall, he was the writer who aired the Greenleafs’ dirty laundry in the newspaper when Bishop was under investigation. After some convincing, GG goes out with Darius, and they have a great time.

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5 Burning Questions We Have After Watching The Season Premiere Of 'Greenleaf'

The Greenleafs have returned for a second season in episode 201,”A House Divided,” and quite frankly, the Lord is not smiling down upon them. Despite the heaps of sexual abuse evidence against Uncle Mac, he’s walking free after getting his father Henry to testify against Bishop James. Apparently, back in 1983, James burned down his original church, First Baptist in order to collect the insurance money and build Calvary. Unfortunately, the church’s caretaker, a man named Darryl, was still inside the structure as it burned to the ground. Three months after Mac’s release from jail, things are only sliding further downhill for the Greenleafs. Grace is barely holding it together at the pulpit with her sermons boring everyone to tears. The church’s donations are down forty percent, and it’s not because of the investigation into the Bishop or the allegations against nasty Uncle Mac. Nope! Apparently, people are more worried about the gay choir director and his husband (hey Kyle from “Living Single”) and not the fact that an apparent murderer and child rapist are running around on the loose. <INSERT SIDE EYE HERE.>

We learn that Grace’s baby sister Charity has lost one of her twins, and though she gives birth to a healthy baby boy named Nathan, she and Kevin are still on the outs. Props to her for not going to that horrible pray the gay away therapy group with him. Honestly, Kevin needs to be real with himself, and come out so they can co-parent and move on.

Speaking of moving on, Grace’s brother Jacob has been given the reigns over at Triumph’s new location. Triumph is Calvary’s rival church so this puts further strain on Jacob’s relationship with Bishop. At least he’s finally moving out and becoming his own man. In the midst of all of this, Aunt Mavis is having her own downward spiral. Without a club to tend to, Auntie has set her sights on being a talent manager when she’s not preoccupied with drinking herself into an early grave.

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