Have just discovered this show on Netflix Australia and loving every minute of it. I love reading novels about family dramas, secrets and lies and so this was perfect for me.To the cast and crew, keep up the great work.

This show had all the potential needed for a great series: a secretive family with all it's flaws, the hypocrisy embedded in religious circles etc. But bad writing combined with one-dimensional characters put it at risk. I only watch it to gorge on Keith David and I am a sucker for gospel music. Being gay I hoped that the gay character in the show would be someone to relate. But alas! You will have to look harder to find a more one deimentional a character. The gay love scene we have so far seen is laughable. How disappointing! So dishonest! If a gay character is to be believed and be authentic, he/she has to "do" something! What, are supposed to take the producers word for it? Reminds you the gay character from Melrose Place. It is so symptomatic of the fear of anything gay that permeates the black production community. Be bolder, dammit! If the actors can't go "all the way", find gay ones!

In my never ending quest of finding new shows with diverse casts, I came across Greenleaf on Netflix and was hooked after the first episode. It offers excellent acting, dialogue, character plots and a unique perspective of behind the scenes of a megachurch family.What I like most about this show is the drama! Just when you think things can't get more dramatic, they somehow always do. There is sibling rivalry, church rivalry, family secrets, mistresses! This show borders on being a soap opera, but I think what makes it different is in the excellent writing and the cast performance.Like many shows, this series comes with a few drawbacks such as predictability and repeated plot lines. Although the series does have excellent writing, I find a lot of the plot lines to be very predictable. Often when I'm watching Greenleaf, I can predict what's going to happen with accuracy which is a little disappointing. The plot has many scenarios that are not new to television. A secretly gay husband, the pedophile uncle, the affair with the secretary. Come on; I've seen every one of these before in other shows.Although I do love drama, some of the scenes are so dramatic that they make me laugh. For example, there was a scene when the gay husband (Kevin) is secretly looking at half naked men on his cell phone as his wife (Charity) talks to him. I was like really?I recently started watching season two and discovered that there were some major story lines from season one that received little to no attention in season two, leaving a few plot holes. For example, Gigi's ex tries to get full custody of their daughter Sophia. It's a huge problem, and Gigi takes him to court. The father gets custody for 90 days and takes Sophia with him to Phoenix. Gigi is distraught and contemplates moving back to Phoenix to be with her daughter. Season one ends with Sophia being driven off by her dad and Gigi distraught. In season two Sophia is back with Gigi, and there is no mention at all about the custody battle which surprised me.Also, Charity was pregnant in season one with twins. Once season two starts, we discover that she lost one of the babies, but it is mentioned very casually in conversation. Last time I checked, losing a child is a BIG deal, and that should have gotten more attention in the show.All in all, I do enjoy watching Greenleaf and tune in each week for the drama! I recommend Greenleaf if you are looking for a new show to watch on Netflix that has the privilege of being written by a team of black writers and has an all black cast too.

I was prepared to be bored by this series but have been pleasantly surprised.The story lines of each of the characters are seemingly innocent but, become more complex with each episode.Lynn Whitfield, as always, holds her own as the matriarch of this family whose members seem filled with discontent over the familial pecking order decided by their father. Oprah Winfrey is surprisingly okay as the family rebel aunt who wants to use her niece to bring down her shady brother.It has, so far, delivered enough shock value to make it entertaining after 3 episodes.