Meet Bishop James Greenleaf

In OWN’s new drama Greenleaf, Keith David plays Bishop James Greenleaf, the man presiding over the fantastically successful Memphis megachurch called Greenleaf World Ministries.

Bishop James Greenleaf, Keith says in this video introducing his character, is the family patriarch. "My wife and I have been growing this ministry for 40 years, and all of my children are in ministry,” he says. “Being the first family, we’re held to a higher standard, but we’re just human beings trying to do the lord’s work. The bottom line is the pastor is just a man given to all the frailties that human beings are given to.”

While the Greenleaf family dynamics are, in many ways, universal, Keith says there are a few particulars that make this group slightly more compelling. "We’re an affluent family. We’ve all grown up in the ministry, and life goes on around the ministry. The running of a church is a business. Besides the business of saving souls, there are bills to pay and how we pay them, we get a chance to explore some of that."

"The intrigue doesn’t stop," Keith says. "Oh, the plot thickens. It gets us into some pretty rich soup."

Tune in for the two-night season premiere on Tuesday, June 21 at 10 p.m. ET/PT, and Wednesday, June 22 at 9 p.m. ET/PT and 10 p.m. ET/PT. The remaining episodes will air regularly on Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT.