EXCLUSIVE: Morris Chestnut (The Best Man) is set to star opposite Billy Bob Thornton on the upcoming second season of Amazon’s original drama series Goliath, slated to premiere next year. Chestnut was tapped for the role shortly after he became available following the cancellation of his Fox series Rosewood last month.

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On Goliath, Chestnut will play Chief Deputy District Attorney Hakeem Rashad, who was on the losing side of Billy’s (Thornton) last criminal case and has a bitter, old grudge against him. When he learns Billy has taken over the case of a teenager accused of a double murder, he steps in to handle the case personally. He is determined to crush Billy and his defense team, while scoring a big win for the prosecutor’s office.

Goliath reunites Chestnut with another new addition to the series, Clyde Phillips (Dexter), who has been tapped as executive producer and new showrunner. Phillips previously served in the same capacity on Showtime’s dark comedy Nurse Jackie, which cast Chestnut for a season-long stint, earning him the 2014 NAACP Image Award in the Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series category for his performance as Dr. Prentiss.

Goliath, created by David E. Kelley and Jonathan Shapiro, won a Best Actor in a Drama Series Golden Globe in January for Thornton.

Chestnut is known for his roles in such features as Boyz In The Hood, The Brothers, The Perfect Holiday, Think Like A Man, The Best Man and its sequel The Best Man Holiday. He most recently toplined the Fox drama series Rosewood, for which he received his fourth NAACP Image Award nomination. The series got off to a strong start, at least in part due to Chestnut’s appeal. It lost steam in Season 2 after moving to a new night, leading to the May cancellation.

Chestnut’s series credits also include roles on TNT’s Legends and the first season of FX’s American Horror Story. He is repped by WME and LINK Entertainment.