OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network (Canada) Debuts New Drama Series, Greenleaf in a Two-Night Exclusive Event on June 21 and 22

Oprah Winfrey returns in her first, recurring scripted television role in 20 years

Greenleaf premieres Tuesday, June 21 at 10 p.m. ET, followed by back-to-back episodes on Wednesday, June 22 at 9 p.m. ET

­­Free preview of OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network (Canada) for month of June

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TORONTO, May 3, 2016 /CNW/ - OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network (Canada) announced today that the highly anticipated series Greenleaf, executive produced by Oprah Winfrey will launch with a two-night premiere on Tuesday, June 21 at 10 p.m. ET, followed by two all-new back-to-back episodes on Wednesday, June 22 at 9 p.m. ET. The Lionsgate drama will air day-and-date with the U.S. Featuring Oprah Winfrey's first recurring scripted television role in two decades, the family drama is set against the backdrop of a sprawling Memphis megachurch and the family who runs it. After the two-night premiere, the 13-episode series will air in its regular timeslot on Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET.

From award-winning writer/producer Craig Wright (Lost, Six Feet Under, Brothers and Sisters), Greenleaf takes viewers into the unscrupulous world of the Greenleaf's and their family-built church, where scandalous secrets and lies are as numerous as the faithful.  Beneath the Greenleaf family's loving exterior lies a den of iniquity -- greed, adultery, sibling rivalry, and conflicting values -- that threaten to tear apart the very core of their faith that holds them together. 

The series centers on the journey of the Greenleafs' estranged daughter and disillusioned preacher Grace (Merle Dandridge, The Night Shift) who has returned home after 20 years on the occasion of the mysterious death of her sister, Faith.  As she reenters the world of Calvary Fellowship World Ministries, the Memphis megachurch run by her powerful parents Bishop James Greenleaf (Keith David, Enlisted, Community) and Lady Mae Greenleaf (Lynn Whitfield, The Josephine Baker Story), it becomes evident that things are not as virtuous as they seem and that the family's outward display of faith hides sin and misdeeds.     

Greenleaf also stars Kim Hawthorne (Rake) as Kerissa Greenleaf; Lamman Rucker (Meet the Browns) as Jacob Greenleaf; Tye White (The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story) as Kevin Satterlee; Deborah Joy Winans (Whitney) as Charity Greenleaf-Satterlee; Desiree Ross (Falling Skies) as Sophia; and Oprah Winfrey (Selma) in a recurring role as Mavis McCready.  Greenleaf is produced for OWN by Lionsgate.  Executive producers are Oprah Winfrey, Craig Wright and Clement Virgo (The Book of Negroes).

Oprah Winfrey Network (Canada) will be offered as a national Free Preview, including On Demand service, this June with participating Broadcasters. Greenleaf episodes will be available On Demand following their premiere.

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About OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network (Canada)
On March 1, 2011, OWN launched in over six million Canadian homes on what was previously the VIVA channel. OWN is available in Canada through a license agreement with OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network.

About Corus Entertainment Inc. 
Corus Entertainment Inc. (TSX: CJR.B) is a leading media and content company that creates and delivers high quality brands and content across platforms for audiences around the world. The company's portfolio of multimedia offerings encompasses 45 specialty television services, 39 radio stations, 15 conventional television stations, a global content business, digital assets, live events, children's book publishing, animation software, technology and media services. Corus' roster of premium brands includes Global Television, W Network, OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network Canada, HGTV Canada, Food Network Canada, HISTORY®, Showcase, National Geographic Channel, Q107, CKNW, Fresh Radio, Disney Channel Canada, YTV and Nickelodeon Canada. Visit Corus at www.corusent.com.

About Lionsgate
Lionsgate is a premier next generation global content leader with a diversified presence in motion picture production and distribution, television programming and syndication, home entertainment, international distribution and sales, branded channel platforms, interactive ventures and games, and location-based entertainment. The Company has nearly 80 television shows on 40 different networks spanning its primetime production, distribution and syndication businesses. These include the critically-acclaimed hit series Orange is the New Black, the hit broadcast network series Nashville, the syndication successes The Wendy Williams Show and Celebrity Name Game (with FremantleMedia), the breakout series The Royals and the Golden Globe-nominated dramedy Casual.

The Company's feature film business spans eight labels and includes the blockbuster Hunger Games franchise, the Now You See Me, Divergent and John Wick series, Sicario, The Age of Adaline, Roadside Attractions' Love & Mercy and Mr. Holmes, Codeblack Films' Addicted and breakout concert film Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain and Pantelion Films' Instructions Not Included, the highest-grossing Spanish-language film ever released in the U.S.

Lionsgate's home entertainment business is an industry leader in box office-to-DVD and box office-to-VOD revenue conversion rates. Lionsgate handles a prestigious and prolific library of approximately 16,000 motion picture and television titles that is an important source of recurring revenue and serves as a foundation for the growth of the Company's core businesses. The Lionsgate and Summit brands remain synonymous with original, daring, quality entertainment in markets around the world. www.lionsgate.com

SOURCE Corus Entertainment Inc.

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Image with caption: "Corus Entertainment Inc. (CNW Group/Corus Entertainment Inc.)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20160503_C6321_PHOTO_EN_680966.jpg

For more information on OWN (Canada), please contact: Catrina Jaricot, Corus Entertainment, 416.479.6397, [email protected]; Rebecca Rebeiro, Corus Entertainment, 416.479.6474, [email protected]