Lynn Whitfield: How Greenleaf Tells a Different Type of Story About African Americans

OWN's new mega-church drama Greenleaf tells the type of story we've yet to see on television, says Lynn Whitfield, the actress who portrays Lady Mae Greenleaf.

"This story looks at people of African descent in America who are different than maybe anything we've seen thus far," Lynn explains. "The humanity of them, the flaws of them. Many of the people I know and that you know are very complex human beings, and it's not all about race. Everything isn't a question of race. Everything isn't a question of economics at the very base level."

Lynn explains that the Greenleaf Family is far more complex than what we typically get. "These people have very high aspirations. Maybe they sold a little bit of their souls, but at the very core, it's a good family and you really get to take a look at how hard it is to sustain that level of power, how hard it is to sustain your morality, your real belief system, in the midst of so much power."

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.