Arts & Culture Black in the Green Room; Trey Haley Talks BET’s ‘The Black Hamptons’ and ‘The Family Business’
April 20, 2023
By Keith L. Underwood
Trey Haley is the director and co-executive producer of two BET series, “The Black Hamptons” and “The Family Business.”
He is also the president of the television and film company Tri Destined Studios. Haley’s long-time business partner at Tri Destined is Nikaya “ND” Brown Jones. Brown Jones serves as the studio’s CEO.
In addition to “The Black Hamptons” and “The Family Business,” Tri Destined is the production company behind films like “Always a Bridesmaid,” “The Preacher’s Son,” and “The Man in 3B.”
On January 23, 2023, “The Black Hamptons” was nominated for a Best Limited Series NAACP Image Award but lost to “The Best Man: The Final Chapters.”
“Seriously, and not to sound cliché,” said Haley, “just to be nominated is already the icing on the cake. There were so many great movies and shows in that category.”
“The Black Hamptons” is not just the title of Haley’s limited series, it is an actual real place located about two-hours from New York City on Long Island’s Sag Harbor. It is a predominately African American owned beach that has been a haven for Black families since the 1930s.
The show was created by long-time Tri Destined collaborator and author Carl Weber. Haley says that Weber owns a home in Sag Harbor and the show was born from a casual conversation between the two men.
“Carl said, ‘Man, we should do a show out here about this environment to really show people what this is,’” said Haley.
Based on the book of the same name by Weber, “The Black Hamptons” TV series focuses on the lives of two-prominent families vying for position and power.
“My business partner and I want to tell stories where we win,” said Haley. “ ‘The Family Business’ has some other elements to it, but we stay on the high end of it.”
“The Family Business” is a family crime drama about a resourceful New York City family that owns a high-end car dealership. The series was created by Carl Weber and based on his bestselling crime drama book series.
The show’s fictional family, The Duncans, will use illegal or legal methods to keep the legacy and the power of their business in their household.
Haley ponders the criminal elements of the show for a moment then comments, “It’s like when you watch the Godfather, you don’t look at it as a bad [influence] movie because you see the power in it. The story is more about family.”
All the projects Haley and Tri Destined have worked on with Weber have been from Weber’s best-selling novels.
Haley was very clandestine about any new plot developments for the upcoming seasons of “The Black Hamptons.” He coyly alluded to many fan-favorite “The Family Business” characters returning, and the continuation of some already established storylines.
“If you saw the ending of Season 4, we will continue that journey and understand a little bit more about this new revelation about one of the Duncan kids actually being a Duncan,” Haley shared.
“The Black Hamptons” has always been promoted as a limited series, leaving many fans of the show, according to Haley, expressing to him their desire for more.
“Maybe we can do another announcement soon about what is happening with the show, but I think y’all might be excited about some upcoming information about ‘The Black Hamptons’… that’s all I can say about that… for now,” Haley concluded.
Carl Weber’s “The Family Business” and “The Black Hamptons,” directed and co-produced by Trey Haley, are currently streaming on BET and BET+.