Ambitions

Ambitions is an American drama television series created by Jamey Giddens and Will Packer, and executive produced by Will Packer Productions and Lionsgate Television. The series stars Robin Givens as the glamorous and powerful Stephanie Carlisle, the wife of Atlanta Mayor Evan Lancaster (Brian J. White) and Essence Atkins as Amara Hughes, a lawyer in the U.S. Attorney's Office, who recently relocated to Atlanta. The series premiered on June 18, 2019 on the Oprah Winfrey Network. The second half of the first season debuted on OWN, November 12, 2019. In January 2020, OWN canceled the series after one season. Premise Ambitions explores the sexy, deceitful machinations of love, power and politics in America's hottest urban mecca, Atlanta, Georgia. The action revolves around two intense rivalries. The first has formidable legal eagles Stephanie Carlisle (Robin Givens) and Amara Hughes (Essence Atkins), former best friends from Spelman College, as adversaries in both their personal and professional lives. At the story's inception, Amara and her husband, Titus Hughes (Kendrick Cross), move to Atlanta for a fresh start. Stephanie, who is married to Evan Lancaster (Brian J. White), the city mayor, is driven to ruin Amara's marriage over an old conflict over who would become Titus's long-term love interest. The second is between two powerful families—the Carlisles (who own a major law firm) and the Purifoys (who own a large pharmaceutical corporation). The series features themes such as infidelity, blackmail, stalking, murder, gentrification, racism, intra-racial class stratification and the American opioid crisis, which ground the show in contemporary issues. Unforgettable strivers like Mayor Lancaster's sister and round-the-way diner owner Rondell Lancaster (Brely Evans) and his mistress Mexican-American fashion designer Bella Tru (Erica Page) round out the ensemble cast of regulars. Cast and characters Main Robin Givens as Stephanie Carlisle Lancaster, an ambitious attorney and the wife of Atlanta Mayor Evan Lancaster Essence Atkins as Amara Hughes, Assistant United States Attorney and former friend-turned-adversary of Stephanie Lancaster Brian J. White as Evan Lancaster, Jr., Stephanie's husband and the ambitious Mayor of Atlanta, Georgia Kendrick Cross as Titus Hughes, Amara's husband Brely Evans as Rondell Pauline Lancaster, Evan Lancaster's older sister and owner of Thelma's Place Erica Page as Bella Tru, a fashion designer.