Chicago’s Patricia Frontain has returned from the Caribbean as she wraps her most recent Lifetime film as director of Terry McMillan Presents: Paradise with You.
The romantic drama stars Taye Diggs (The Best Man, All American) and Heather Hemmens (Roswell, New Mexico, Dad Stop Embarrassing Me!), who also serve as executive producers alongside bestselling author Terry McMillan (Waiting to Exhale, How Stella Got Her Groove Back). Chet Fenster executive produces for Motion Entertainment, a WPP Media company. Produced by The Ninth House in association with Motion Entertainment, with Autumn Federici, Jake Helgren and Shelby Stone producing.
Frontain directed from a script by Ejay Jamison.
The film follows Carter, played by Diggs, an NFL superstar on the brink of retirement who retreats to the Caribbean island of Nevis to reset and recharge. There he meets Simone, played by Hemmens, an interior decorator rebuilding her life after betrayal. What begins as a passionate island romance becomes complicated when the two discover they are competing for the same coveted estate, forcing them to choose between passion, pride and the future if they are brave enough to claim it.
Cynthia Bailey also stars, along with Troy Brookins and SwagBoyQ.
Many in Chicago’s production community know Frontain from her decade-long run as script supervisor on NBC’s Chicago P.D. She left the position in 2023 to pursue directing, drawing on years of experience working closely with directors, actors and department heads on set.
The experience sharpened her sense of storytelling, pacing and performance, while giving her a deep understanding of how every department contributes to the finished scene. She made her Lifetime directing debut with Twisted Sister in 2023, followed by Surviving the Sleepover, Trapped in the Rockies, Murder in Nashville, Snatched from the Cradle and Dead Girl Summer.
Frontain is also the founder of Patrick Lives On, the charitable organization she created following the loss of her 14-year-old son, Patrick Boswell, to gun violence on January 2, 2015. The organization supports youth programs and arts education and brings Chicago’s film community together through the annual Patrick Lives On Film Showcase and Fundraiser.
Terry McMillan Presents: Paradise with You is currently in post-production and is expected to debut in Fall 2026.
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