''The Oval'' is an American

political drama A political drama can describe a play, film or TV program that has a political component, whether reflecting the author's political opinion, or describing a politician or series of political events. Dramatists who have written political dramas in ...

and

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

created, executive produced, written, and directed by

Tyler Perry Tyler Perry (born Emmitt Perry Jr., September 13, 1969) is an American actor, comedian, filmmaker, and playwright. He is the creator and performer of the Madea character, a tough elderly woman. Perry's films vary in style from orthodox filmmak ...

, that premiered on October 23, 2019, on

BET Black Entertainment Television (acronym BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting African-American audiences. It is owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global via BET Networks and has offices in New York City, Los A ...

. The series chronicles the lives of a family placed in the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...

by people of power, while also highlighting the personal side and everyday lives of the staff who run its inner workings. A

streaming television Streaming television is the digital distribution of television content, such as TV shows, as streaming media delivered over the Internet. Streaming television stands in contrast to dedicated terrestrial television delivered by over-the-air aer ...

spin-off, '' Ruthless'', premiered on

BET+ BET+ (pronounced "BET plus") is an over-the-top SVOD service operated by Tyler Perry Studios and the Paramount Streaming, a division of Paramount Global. The service was first announced on June 24, 2019 and launched on September 19, 2019. BET+ ...

on March 19, 2020.

Cast and characters

Main

Ed Quinn Arthur Edward Quinn (born February 26, 1968) is an American actor, model and musician. He played recurring roles in a number of television series, including ''2 Broke Girls'', ''Mistresses'', and '' One Day at a Time''. From 2006 to 2012 he starr ...

as Hunter Franklin, the

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...

Kron Moore Kron Moore (pronounced Kay-Ren) is an American actress and singer. She is known for her role as First Lady Victoria Franklin in the BET prime time soap opera ''The Oval'' and Bridget Chapel in '' Stargirl''. Life and career Moore was born and rai ...

as Victoria Franklin, the

First Lady of the United States The first lady of the United States (FLOTUS) is the title held by the hostess of the White House, usually the wife of the president of the United States, concurrent with the president's term in office. Although the first lady's role has never ...

Paige Hurd Paige Audrey-Marie Hurd (born July 20, 1992) is an American actress of mixed African American and Puerto Rican heritage. She is best known for her recurring role as Tasha Clarkson on the CW sitcom ''Everybody Hates Chris'', Samantha Grover in ...

as Gayle Franklin, Hunter and Victoria's daughter (main season 1; guest season 2) *Daniel Croix Henderson as Jason Franklin, Hunter and Victoria's son *Javon Johnson as Richard Hallsen, the White House

Butler A butler is a person who works in a house serving and is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantry. Some a ...

* Ptosha Storey as Nancy Hallsen, the Butler's wife *Vaughn W. Hebron as Bartholomew "Barry" Hallsen, Richard and Nancy's son *Teesha Renee as Sharon Barry's former girlfriend and Kareem's current girlfriend *Lodric Collins as Donald Winthrop, White House Chief of Staff *

Ciera Payton Ciera Payton (born January 26, 1986) is an American actress and writer. She has appeared in television series such as ''The Walking Dead (TV series), The Walking Dead'', ''General Hospital'', ''Graceland (TV series), Graceland'', and ''NCIS (TV se ...

as Lilly Winthrop, wife of Donald *

Taja V. Simpson Taja V. Simpson is an American actress, known for her role as Priscilla Owens in the BET prime time soap opera, ''The Oval''. Life and career Simpson was born in Monroe, but raised in Lake Charles, Louisiana. She graduated from LaGrange High Sc ...

as Priscilla Owens, White House residence staff supervisor *Walter Fauntleroy as Sam Owen,

Secret Service Agent Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tangibl ...

*Brad Benedict as Kyle Flint, Secret Service Agent *Travis Cure as Bobby, Lilly's friend *Matthew Law as Kareem Richardson, local pharmacy owner *Bill Barrett as Max Carter (main season 2–present; recurring season 1), Secret Service Agent *Derek A. Dixon as Dale (season 2–present) *Nick Barrotta as Allan (main season 3–present; recurring season 1–2), Donald's assistant and Ellie's ex-boyfriend *Kaye Singleton as Simone (season 3–present), the Second lady *Russell Thomas as Eli (season 3–present), the

Vice President of the United States The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest officer in the executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks first in the presidential line of succession. The vice ...

Recurring

Melissa L. Williams Melissa L. Williams is an American actress and model, known for playing Denise and Ruth Truesdale in the BET prime time soap opera ''The Oval'' and its spinoff '' Ruthless''. Life and career Williams was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. She is t ...

as Ruth Truesdale/Denise Truesdale *Russell Charles Pitts as Picky/Leon (season 1) *Maurii Davenport as Lindsay Yuma (season 1) *Ashley Monique Harper as Jean Peterson (season 1) *Yvonne Senat Jones as Tally (season 1) *Natasha Ward as Ellie Lyles (season 1–3) *Gillian White as Diane Wilmont (season 1–2) *

Janee Michelle Janee Michelle (born Geneva Leona Mercadel; 1946), also known as Gee Tucker, is an American actress, former model, dancer, and businessperson, best known for her role in the 1974 horror film '' The House on Skull Mountain''. Her acting and model ...

as Maude, Victoria's mother (season 1–2) *

Donna Feldman Donna Feldman (born April 28, 1982) is an American model, actress, and TV host. Feldman is known for her role in the American soap opera ''Fashion House''. She also made a cameo appearance in the 2008 American comedy film ''You Don't Mess with ...

as Dr. Meadows

Episodes

Series overview

Season 1 (2019–20)

Season 2 (2021)

Season 3 (2021–22)

Season 4 (2022–23)

Production

On February 23, 2021, BET renewed the series for a third season, which premiered on October 12, 2021. On March 22, 2022, BET renewed the series for a fourth season, which premiered on October 11, 2022.

Spin-off

On November 7, 2019, it was announced that

ordered '' Ruthless'', a spin-off starring

as Ruth Truesdale about a religious sex cult. The series premiered on March 19, 2020.

Storylines between ''The Oval'' and ''Ruthless''

The pilot episode of ''Ruthless'' takes place alongside ''The Oval'' (the first two episodes) after Barry's daughter Callie is kidnapped by his ex-girlfriend Ruth, who is also the mother of Callie. Ruth arrives with three other members of a cult called the Rakudushis, who attacked the Hallsen residence. Their series storyline begins exactly after they left the house to arrive back at their camp. In the 8th episode of ''The Oval''s first season ("Eye on the Sparrow"), the cross-over scene goes forward in the proceeding five episodes parallel with the storyline of the 19th episode ''Ruthless''s season 2 ("The Raku Way") after a central character, who is a member of the Rakudushis, has escaped. However, parallels with the storyline from episodes 13 & 14 of ''The Oval'' the second season of Ruth meeting with Barry have not yet matched with ''Ruthless''. The storyline could most likely pair in the forthcoming second-half conclusion of the third season or the fourth season, and the timeline of The Oval 17th episode from season 2 could possibly minorly contradict events during ''Ruthless'' the third season where a Rakudushi member named Manny appears on ''The Oval'' in slight hairstyle difference (

dreadlocks Dreadlocks, also known as locs or dreads, are rope-like strands of hair formed by locking or braiding hair. Origins Some of the earliest depictions of dreadlocks date back as far as 1600–1500 BCE in the Minoan Civilization, one of Europe' ...

up-do, which was cut late season 2-''Ruthless'') and clothing appears in his first form of the purple cloth. Later, his clothing was changed to a military uniform, which would alter the timeline of events leading up to ''The Oval's'' such as Richard going to the Rakudushis' camp to try and rescue Barry after his kidnapping from Ruth, in which season 3 haven't addressed how Ruth was able to leave the camp after member Tally escaped, while it's possible the events could still match within the timeline onwards.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Oval (TV series), The English-language television shows 2010s American drama television series 2010s American political television series 2010s American black television series 2019 American television series debuts 2020s American drama television series 2020s American political television series 2020s American black television series American television soap operas American primetime television soap operas American political drama television series BET original programming Television series about families Television series created by Tyler Perry White House in fiction Television series by Tyler Perry Studios Television shows set in Washington, D.C.