Fans who are missing their daily dose of Maurice Johnson since his departure from “Beyond the Gates” can find him in a new dramedy called “Operation: Aunties” premiering on AMC’s streaming network ALLBLK July 11.
Most recently known as Dr. Ted Richardson on the CBS soap that began airing earlier this year, Johnson, who is originally from Augusta, has multiple projects in the works including “Operation: Aunties” which he dubs a “sexy, techy love story.”
“After an attempted trafficking incident impacts her family, professor and blockchain expert Dr. Carol Cleavers (Melissa De Sousa, ‘The Best Man’) uncovers a dark web trafficking ring targeting women through a rideshare app. When the feds start to drag their feet on the case, Carol recruits her ride-or-die bestie, retired detective Sharon O’Hara (Tisha Campbell, ’Martin’, ‘Act Your Age’), and her tech-genius niece Aminah (Amiyah Scott, ‘Star’) to take matters into their own hands. Together, the three women become cyber-age vigilantes on a mission for justice and survival,” according to a news release.
Johnson plays Greer, who is an investigator on the case and happens to be Cleavers’ ex-husband, so the case is personal to him.
Johnson said his fans will get to see something they were hoping to see in “Beyond the Gates” but hadn’t before the cast change.
“They saw ‘Turtleneck Ted,’ the teddy bear,” he said.
In “Operation: Aunties” they’ll get to see more of a sexy version – showing what the actor can bring but didn’t get a chance to show soap fans. Romantic sparks start to fly during the course of the film, and the director really played it up, he said.
“She wanted to see the love and fire in our eyes,” he said.
While the film has its sexy side, it’s also a smart movie that delves into the heavy subject matter of sex trafficking, but it’s not in the same vein of a story such as “Taken.” Fans of “CSI” and other crime dramas should enjoy it, he said.
Johnson shot “Operation: Aunties” before filming began on “Beyond the Gates,” and it’s not his only other project.
For a complete change of gears, Johnson appears in “Dragpires,” a film that is currently in post-production.
According to IMDb, “Dragpires” is “a fabulous drag queen vampire family’s reckless pursuit of blood jeopardizes their very existence.”
Johnson plays Adam in a film starring Glenn Morshower, William Baldwin and Tom Arnold.
“I’m blazing guns for this one and killing vampires,” he said.
He’s got a few additional projects in the works including a holiday movie and a “big one” that he is sworn to secrecy on for the moment. Johnson said he was sought out by the top executives who came to him directly. And he owes that to the exposure he received on “Beyond the Gates.”
Charmain Z. Brackett, the publisher of Augusta Good News and Inspiring: Women of Augusta, has covered Augusta’s news for more than 35 years. She’s won multiple Georgia Press Association awards and is the recipient of the 2018 Greater Augusta Arts Council’s media award. Reach her at charmain@augustagoodnews.com. Sign up for the newsletter here.
