`Soul Food' Keeps TV Viewers Hungry For Drama And Intrigue

People are eating up "Soul Food," Showtime's tantalizing original TV drama.

The series first premiered in June last year and scored big with viewers in breakneck speed. In just a short while it later became the cable station's highest-rated new original series.

What's more delicious is that audiences can expect to savor more of the intriguing drama because Showtime executives hurried to renew it for a second season.

"Soul Food" is based on the 1997 hit film by the same name. The movie centers around the Joseph family. Mama Joe (Irma P. Hall) is the matriarch of the family who is the glue that holds everything together. After Mama Joe's death, the Joseph clan struggles to keep the close-knit family bonded by attempting to carry on Mama Joe's 40-year tradition of having Sunday dinner.

The TV series premiered where the movie left off, with the Joseph sisters grieving the death of their mother. The series shows the sisters moving on with their lives and then finding themselves confronted with new struggles and triumphs.

Teri (Nicole Ari Parker) is the eldest Joseph sister. An ambitious attorney, she recently divorced her attorney husband, Miles (Isaiah Washington), who has followed his dream of becoming a musician. She has since taken up with a new lover, the sexy, much younger Damon (Boris Kodjoe).

Maxine (Vanessa Williams) is the middle sister. Happily married to the hardworking Kenny (Rockmond Dunbar), Maxine is the sister most like Mama Joe who always tries to keep the family together. Maxine and Kenny are the parents of three, which includes 12-year-old Ahmad (Aaron Meeks).

Bird (Malinda Williams) is the youngest sister of the Joseph clan. As a new mom and owner of a beauty shop, Bird battles to keep things in order with her ex-convict husband, Lem (Darrin DeWitt Henson), who has a difficult time holding down a job.

Hall reprises her role from the movie as Mama Joe in a series of flashbacks on the show.

George Tillman Jr. wrote and directed the film, based on his experiences growing up in the Midwest. Felicia D. Henderson created the series for television and serves as executive producer. Tillman, Tracey Edmonds, Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, Robert Teitel and Kevin Arkadie co-executive produce the series.

This month the show relaunched the second half of its first season. Things started out with a bang as the Joseph sisters were unexpectedly paid a visit by a mysterious new family member.

It's not hard for the cast members to figure out why the show is generating steam each week.

"Viewers have been so hungry for this kind of representation on television for so long," Vanessa Williams tells JET. "We see ourselves in a real down home way and as just ordinary folks."

"It excites the nervous system," adds Henson. "People can identify with the show because they've probably gone through very similar situations. Being a drama series, we go through a lot of drama and hardship so we can relate to the show. We know what it's like to live, love and laugh hard."

Henderson says she strives to make the show its best without looking to pigeonhole it. "It's a one-hour `dramady'. The comedy is just as important as the drama in it. People tune in because they like that mixture of comedy and drama. It's an important mix because we get too much drama in life already. You need comic relief."

The cast praises Henderson and her staff of five writers for developing such poignant storylines.

"It's by Black people, about Black people and written by Black people," relates Vanessa Williams. "It's from someone writing about what they know. A fine writer can create any world. It's an honest reflection of our people."

Asserts Parker, "You never know you're thirsty until someone hands you a glass of water. We are hungry for what we already know. We wanted to see ourselves. It's thorough and in depth."

But it's the talented cast, concedes Henderson, that makes the show such a hit. "This is the smartest cast I've ever worked with. They know these characters. They are the most talented ensemble cast on television."

Blacks aren't the only ones sinking their teeth into the intriguing drama. The cast recognizes this and is pleased that the audience is growing.

"The stories are transcendent of race and deal with life that we can all relate to," explains Kodjoe, the son of a German mother and Ghanaian father. "It's about family and every person on this planet is part of a family. People can identify with at least one character on the show and the family issues."

Though the show deals with family, sometimes the scenes can get a bit steamy when it comes to the romance department.

"It has more adult things than the movie did," shares Henderson. "We show the ugly, true, real, sexy and horrible without pulling back. The only prerequisites we go by is that it is true and honest."