I still remember when The Best Man dropped in ’99 — Malcolm D. Lee’s first feature film hit number one at the box office, and for so many of us, it instantly became more than just a movie. It was a whole cultural moment. We got pulled into Harper Stewart’s world — the ambitious writer trying to keep it together during a wedding weekend that brings all the drama. It was all about Harper, Lance, Quentin, Julian, Jordan, Robyn, Mia, and Shelby. Secrets came out, and relationships got tested. It was the first time we saw ourselves, our friendships, our messy love lives, and our unspoken truths portrayed with so much style and complexity.
Now, with the release of The Best Man: Unfinished Business, a new book that dives deeper into the characters and legacy of the series, Malcolm D. Lee is once again inviting us in to reflect on love, growth, and ties that will always bind.
BGN had the opportunity to speak with Lee via Zoom to talk about the book: the vision, the weight of legacy, and what it means to tell Black stories with nuance and joy.
In the book, right away we see Harper in some drama! But we can also recognize his growth which is great to see. The storytelling puts us right in his head. How did you approach Harper’s growth as far as what success and emotionally accountability look like for Black men in high-achieving spaces?
I think he’s gone through a lot. He’s had the financial success; he’s been able to be married and have a child. But he got divorced and what is the toll of that on a person? He didn’t want to be divorced but at the same time wasn’t emotionally mature enough to make the sacrifices he needed to make. This is the journey of him learning to think about someone other than himself, in a profound and true way. I think my approach is that you get involved with a character and you want to go to a place of growth and evolution. So, with the help of Jayne Allen, my partner in writing this book, we asked ourselves the challenging questions about where he needs to go and what he needs to do. As you develop the story, the story tells you where it needs to go. You have to respect that.
There were also a lot of reoccurring themes of self-care, meditation and therapy in the book, particularly as it relates to Black women. Why was this an important narrative?
Self-care, therapy and meditation are coming to our communities much more in ways they never have before. My wife is a psychotherapist and I have learned a lot from her, in that there is a lot of healing that needs to happen in our community. Just seeing ourselves reflected in ways that are three dimensional is healing to what we’ve been fed over the years. I think this was important for Black women who have constantly been self-sacrificial with their mates, their husbands, for their country to say “I’m going to put me first.”
The cliffhanger at the end of the book – OMG! I won’t give anything away! For the first book of the trilogy, what made you decide to focus on the love triangle between Harper, Jordan and Robyn?
I wanted each character to have a chapter dedicated to their POV, because they are all very intriguing. I think everyone loves all the characters, but everyone is interested in the relationship now between Harper and Jordan, as well as Harper and Robyn post-divorce. They have a child together and live on two different continents. Harper is still in New York; Jordan has moved to Los Angeles. What does that look like? Are they still in contact? In Final Chapters, there’s an indication from Harper that Jordan is his soulmate. We decided whether we would answer that question, or start to delve into what that is. For me, those characters needed their voices heard and we wanted to do that for the other characters in the later books.
As seen throughout The Best Man franchise, the men would often come together over a glass of bourbon. That tradition lives on with the inclusion of the Sable Bourbon brand. Sable debuted during the 25th anniversary of The Best Man‘s release in 2024. It encompasses the friendship of Lee, Harold Perrineau, Morris Chestnut and Taye Diggs that has lasted as long as the film.
What made you decide on “Sable?”
Sable connotes “Black,” and “Excellence.” We wanted to have that as a representation of the friendship between me, Morris Chestnut, Harold Perrineau, and Taye Diggs. It’s dark, it’s rich, it’s full of flavor. We wanted that to be representative of us and be a part of the experience.
The Best Man: Unfinished Business is the first novel in a planned trilogy and is available now wherever books are sold. The next two books are expected to release in 2026.
Sable Bourbon is available online at www.sablebourbon.com and available in retail stores across the United States.
