The series is a spin-off from Hot in Cleveland, in which Cedric guest starred in the 2011 episode "Bridezelka", the backdoor pilot for The Soul Man.

[2] On December 13, 2012, TV Land picked up The Soul Man for a second season of 10 episodes with Yvette Lee Bowser replacing Phoef Sutton as showrunner.

The series follows R&B superstar-turned-minister Reverend Boyce "The Voice" Ballantine (Cedric the Entertainer), who was living the high life in Las Vegas at the top of the music charts when he got "the calling" and decided to relocate to St. Louis with his family to become a preacher in his father's church.

However, his family members — including wife Lolli (Niecy Nash), daughter Lyric (Jazz Raycole) and younger brother Stamps (Wesley Jonathan) — are not exactly eager to give up the fabulous superstar life for their new humble one.

[13] On April 18, 2011, it was announced that Cedric the Entertainer would guest star in a season 2 episode of Hot in Cleveland, as a minister that gets caught up in the girls' problems.

Stan Lathan, who previously directed Cedric in every episode of The Steve Harvey Show, served as the director of the first season.