(VIDEO) Beauty in Black Season 3 Release Date, Cast and Everything to Know Before the Bellarie Family Returns

LOS ANGELES — Tyler Perry’s hit Netflix drama “Beauty in Black” returns for its third season Thursday, dropping all eight episodes at once as the Bellarie family saga takes an even more explosive turn.

The series, which follows a former sex worker’s rise inside a wealthy and dangerous family-run hair-care empire, has become one of Perry’s most closely watched projects for the streamer since it premiered in October 2024. Season 3 arrives just five months after Season 2, Part 2 landed on Netflix, marking one of the fastest turnarounds the streamer has produced for a scripted drama.

When and how to watch

Season 3 of “Beauty in Black” premieres Thursday, Aug. 27, on Netflix, with all episodes available to stream at once, according to the streamer. Netflix confirmed the release date on July 28, alongside a batch of first-look photos from the new season.

Where the story picks up

Season 3 opens with Kimmie, played by Taylor Polidore Williams, finally holding a seat at the table of the powerful Bellarie family after a hard-fought rise from surviving in a Chicago strip club to becoming chief operating officer of the family’s hair-care empire.

That position of power, however, is far from secure. According to the official logline released by Netflix, “Kimmie finally has a seat at the Bellarie table, but when a deadly family feud erupts, she’s forced into an uneasy alliance with Mallory.” The two women, once bitter rivals, must now navigate “a ruthless world of blackmail, revenge, and buried secrets as the family wages war against one of its own, threatening to bring the entire empire crashing down.”

The new season builds directly off Season 2’s finale, in which Kimmie called a board meeting to order with her former adversary Mallory, played by Crystle Stewart, standing beside her, and her husband Horace joining them at the table — a stunning alliance that reshaped the power structure of the entire family business.

Speaking about that shift ahead of the new season, Williams described the turning point in her character’s arc to Netflix’s Tudum. “Part 2 is really the moment Kimmie stops surviving and starts playing the game,” she said.

The cast returning for Season 3

The core cast returning for the new season includes Taylor Polidore Williams as Kimmie and Crystle Stewart as Mallory, the two women whose uneasy new partnership sits at the center of the season’s central conflict.

They are joined by Ricco Ross as Horace, Amber Reign Smith as Rain, Xavier Smalls as Angel, Julian Horton as Roy, Steven G. Norfleet as Charles, Richard Lawson, Terrell Carter, Bryan Tanaka, Charles Malik Whitfield as Jules and Debbi Morgan.

The season’s expanded ensemble also includes Bailey Tippen, Rodrigo Aburto, Randall J. Bacon, George Middlebrook, Greg Clarkson, Jasmine Burke, Aria Celeste Castillo, Gianmarco Duin, Philemon Chambers, Philip Boyd, Ty Anthony, Deeric Williams, Herb Magwood, Tre McBride, Kevin Savage, Jazmine Robinson, Kaja Brielle, Shay Mack, Steven Rho, Aaron Serotsky, Mikeal L Dwayne Griggs, Sara Spadacene, D’kia Anderson, Antoine Williams, Ty Courtad, Raven Chambers, Michael Butler, Jillmarie Lawrence and Jim Braswell, according to cast information released by Netflix.

Who’s behind the camera

Perry created “Beauty in Black” and continues to serve as the show’s writer, director and executive producer, a role he has held since the series debuted as his first project for Netflix. Producers Angi Bones and Tony Strickland round out the executive producing team for Tyler Perry Studios, with music from Wow Jones and Jimijame$.

How many episodes

Season 3 consists of eight episodes, all released simultaneously on premiere day, continuing the binge-friendly release model Netflix has used for the show’s previous seasons.

A future beyond Season 3

Perhaps the biggest surprise surrounding the new season is that it will not be the end of the Bellarie family’s story, despite earlier reports suggesting Season 3 would serve as the show’s finale. Netflix confirmed on July 23 — just days before announcing the Season 3 premiere date — that “Beauty in Black” has been renewed for a fourth season.

Perry addressed the reversal in comments shared alongside the renewal announcement, saying there was more of the Bellarie family’s story he wanted to tell and thanking viewers around the world for their support of the series. The quick turnaround between the Season 3 announcement and the Season 4 renewal underscores how much momentum the show has built for Netflix since its debut.

Catching up before the premiere

For viewers who haven’t kept up with the series or want a refresher before diving into the new season, both Season 1 and Season 2 of “Beauty in Black” remain available to stream on Netflix. The first season introduced Kimmie’s desperate circumstances after being kicked out by her mother, contrasting her struggle with Mallory’s position running a seemingly successful business — two women whose lives become increasingly entangled as the series unfolds.

Season 2 escalated that entanglement considerably, tracking the ruthless, backstabbing dynamics within the Bellarie family as Kimmie worked her way from outsider to a formidable presence inside their world, culminating in the power-shifting boardroom alliance that sets up Season 3’s central conflict.

With a deadly family feud, a fragile new alliance between former enemies, and a hair-care empire on the verge of collapse, “Beauty in Black” Season 3 sets up high stakes for the Bellarie family as it streams in full starting Thursday on Netflix — and with Season 4 already confirmed, Perry’s soapy drama shows no signs of slowing down.