LOS ANGELES โ OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network announced today that Joy Bryant (โParenthood,โ โFor Lifeโ) and Henry Simmons (โMarvelโs Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.,โ โNYPD Blueโ) have been set to star in season two of award-winning creator Ava DuVernayโs anthology drama series โCherish the Day,โ from ARRAY Filmworks and Warner Bros. Television. Production will begin this month in New Orleans, with the new season expected to debut in 2022.
“Cherish the Day” is an anthology series that chronicles the relationship of one couple, with each episode spanning a single day. In season two, the rekindling of a romance is told — the love story of Ellis (Henry Simmons) and Sunday (Joy Bryant), who fell in love in high school but find themselves reunited in beautiful New Orleans. Ellis is a former basketball player who is now a single father of two, and Sunday is a vegan celebrity chef on the cusp of fame. Each episode of the season-long narrative unfolds in a single day to reveal significant moments in a relationship that compel us to hold true to the ones we love, from the extraordinary to the everyday.
Joy is best known for her NAACP Image Award-nominated role as Jasmine in the long-running series โParenthood,โ and recently starred in the ABC series โFor Lifeโ opposite Nicholas Pinnock and Indira Varma. Joy has appeared opposite Dwayne โThe Rockโ Johnson on HBOโs Emmy Award-nominated drama โBallers,โ was a regular on the critically acclaimed Amazon original series โGood Girls Revolt,โ and guest starred in the final season of HBOโs award-winning series โGirls.โ Her film credits include โAbout Last Night,โ โHit and Run,โ โBobby,โ โGet Rich or Die Tryinโ,โ โThe Skeleton Key,โ โCarmen: A Hip Hoperaโ with Beyoncรฉ, and Denzel Washingtonโs directorial debut, โAntwone Fisher.โ
Simmons most recently starred in โMarvelโs Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.โ for ABC, and previously starred in the final six seasons of the landmark ABC drama โNYPD Blue,โ created by Steven Bochco and David Milch. He was also a series regular on the CBS legal drama โSharkโ and ABC comedy โMan Up.โ Simmons starred in the feature film โNo Good Deed,โ opposite Idris Elba and Taraji P. Henson, for Screen Gems. He also starred opposite Henson and Michael Clarke Duncan in โFrom the Rough,โ and opposite Robin Williams in the independent film โWorldโs Greatest Dad.โ He was named Best Actor at the 2007 American Black Film Festival for his performance in โSouth of Pico.โ Additional film acting credits include โMadeaโs Family Reunion,โ โSomething New,โ โTaxi,โ โAre We There Yet?,โ โThe Insurgents,โ โA Gentlemanโs Game,โ and โAbove the Rim.โ
The first season of โCherish the Dayโ starred Xosha Roquemore, Alano Miller, and the legendary Cicely Tyson, and debuted in February 2020. On average during its seven-week first season, the series ranked #1 in its time period across all of cable with African American women, households, and total viewers.
The DuVernay-led series achieved full gender parity with a production crew of more than 50% women, including 18 female department heads, an initiative DuVernay will continue in season two.
โCherish the Dayโ is produced for OWN by ARRAY Filmworks and Harpo Films in association with Warner Bros. Television. Ava DuVernay, Paul Garnes, Raynelle Swilling, Teri Schaffer, and Oprah Winfrey serve as executive producers. Swilling, who won the 2020 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Breakthrough Creative (Television) for โCherish the Day,โ and Schaffer are co-showrunners of season two.