More than two decades after The Best Man burst onto the big screen and redefined Black romantic comedies for a generation, creator Malcolm D. Lee is giving fans a new way to connect with the characters they’ve cherished for years. His debut novel, The Best Man: Unfinished Business, co-written with bestselling author Jayne Allen, picks up where the hit Peacock series The Final Chapters left off, diving deeper into the lives, heartbreaks, and triumphs of Harper, Jordan, Robyn, and the rest of the unforgettable friend group.
“I thought after The Best Man: The Final Chapters, that it was over—and that was the reason it was called Final Chapters,” Lee told ESSENCE. “But I’ve always loved the written word, and I’ve fantasized often about writing novels.”
The result is an ambitious and emotionally layered literary debut. In Unfinished Business, Lee and Allen examine unconventional parenthood, career transitions, and the emotional landmines of middle age. As always, Harper is at the center, juggling complicated feelings for Jordan while rebuilding from the wreckage of his marriage to Robyn. But the novel also makes space for the rest of the crew—from Quentin and Shelby’s newlywed antics to Lance’s evolving career path and Julian’s struggle to maintain balance between work and family.
“I didn’t get to do everything I wanted to do in Final Chapters,” Lee admitted. “Once the smoke cleared and dust settled, I was like, ‘okay, what else do I want to say about characters in this friend group and these relationships?’”
To bring his vision to the page, Lee enlisted Jayne Allen—known for her Black Girls Must Die Exhausted series—to help craft a novel that could stand on its own while honoring the legacy of the franchise. “It was certainly a masterclass in character representation and depiction,” she said. “Malcolm is not only very familiar with these characters; but also because the whole world knows these people. It was a wonderful challenge to bring the emotion and the feel of the same characters we all know and love to the page.”
Writing for characters that fans have known for 25 years came with both pressure and possibility. Allen, a self-proclaimed fan since the original 1999 release, approached the material with reverence and intention.
“There was already a standard that I felt internalized, especially telling stories for our culture and our community,” Allen explained. “Malcolm D. Lee is very much the custodian of this franchise, and has held the custodianship of these characters at a standard of excellence that is immaculate.”
That high bar meant many collaborative sessions that were sometimes intense, but always generative. Together, Lee and Allen crafted a story that feels both fresh and familiar. The novel invites readers to not only imagine the scenes in their heads, but also to sit with the inner lives of each character—something the page affords in a way that screen never could.
For longtime fans, Unfinished Business feels like an overdue reunion. For newcomers, it’s a fully realized standalone narrative filled with the drama, wit, and nuance that made the original film a cultural landmark. The novel also marks the beginning of a trilogy, with the next two books set to publish in 2026. That structure allowed Lee to reimagine the franchise’s storytelling scope.
By shifting to the literary form, Lee found space to go deeper—exploring not only what the characters do but how they think and feel. The novel allows for a more intimate look at their inner worlds, something that can be difficult to capture on screen. It’s a bold new chapter that honors the legacy of The Best Man while embracing the expansiveness of literature.
For Lee, the project was more than a creative experiment—it was a chance to stretch himself in a new direction. In the early stages of collaboration, Allen asked him a simple but piercing question: “Do you want to win?” The answer, he said, was immediate—and revealing. “Yeah, I always want to win.”
“I loved that question,” Lee added. “It was then that I knew that Jayne was the one I needed to be working with.”The Best Man: Unfinished Business is available now wherever books are sold.