ALEX BROWN
BookTok’s favorite second-chance romance has its leads. Teyonah Parris (WandaVision, The Marvels) and Danielle Brooks (Orange Is the New Black, The Color Purple) will star in Before I Let Go, Peacock’s series adaptation of Kennedy Ryan’s bestselling novel, Deadline reported on November 13, 2026. Peacock ordered the show to series in September.
Who are Teyonah Parris and Danielle Brooks playing?
- Teyonah Parris as Yasmen Wade, a successful mom and restaurateur whose life is upended by a series of losses that cost her nearly everything, including the love of her life.
- Danielle Brooks as Hendrix Barry, Yasmen’s best friend, a successful entrepreneur who pours herself into the people and causes she loves, and who is childless by choice.
The role of Josiah Wade, Yasmen’s ex-husband and the other half of the central love story, has not been announced.
What is Before I Let Go about?
The first book in Ryan’s Skyland series follows Yasmen and Josiah, a couple whose marriage ended in divorce after grief and loss tore them apart. They still co-parent their kids and run a business together, and years later, just as Yasmen is finding joy again, their closeness stirs old feelings. The question is whether they can truly move on, or whether they never really let go. The novel became a word-of-mouth hit, in large part thanks to readers on social media, and is known for treating depression and grief with real care alongside the romance.
Who is making the series?
According to TheWrap’s report on the series order:
- Co-creators: Kennedy Ryan and Malcolm D. Lee (The Best Man films), who co-wrote the pilot. Lee also directs.
- Showrunners: sisters Attica Locke and Tembi Locke
- Executive producers: Lee, Ryan, Dominique Telson, Mike Jackson and John Legend of Get Lifted Film Co., and Debra Martin Chase
- Studio: Universal Television, part of Universal Studio Group
That is a heavyweight team. Attica Locke is an acclaimed crime novelist and TV writer-producer, and Tembi Locke’s memoir From Scratch became a Netflix series.
Why this casting is a big deal for Marvel fans
Parris played Monica Rambeau in WandaVision and The Marvels, and her MCU future has been a regular topic of fan speculation, especially with Avengers: Doomsday on the way. A leading role in a prestige streaming drama is a different kind of showcase. Brooks, meanwhile, earned an Oscar nomination for The Color Purple in 2024 and a Tony nomination for the Broadway version.
Before I Let Go release date
Peacock has not announced a premiere date, an episode count or a start date for filming. With the leads now set, more casting, starting with Josiah, should follow. For more book-to-screen news, see Netflix’s Icebreaker casting and The Age of Innocence.
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Sources: TVLine (citing Deadline), TheWrap, TheGrio.